Guide · Agent skill
How to use the Hypothesis Formulation agent skill
Updated · written with AI from the project's own documentation and checked against our catalogue data
The Hypothesis Formulation skill is a set of written method guidelines that tells an AI agent how to reason like a scientist when it is asked to explain an observation. Once installed, the agent starts from an observation, reviews what is already known, and writes out null and alternative hypotheses, competing explanations and the predictions each one makes. This guide is for students, researchers and data analysts who want that structure, and it explains how to install the skill, trigger it and use its output safely.
Hypothesis Formulationaiming-lab/AutoResearchClaw · MIT Download the skill Quick start
- 1Download the ZIP. Get the hypothesis-formulation skill ZIP from the project page.
- 2Unzip into a skills folder. Extract it into ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use, or into .claude/skills/ inside a project.
- 3Or upload in the Claude apps. In the Claude apps, open Settings → Capabilities → Skills and upload the skill.
- 4Describe your observation. Tell the agent what you observed and the context, such as your field and the variables involved.
- 5Ask for hypotheses and predictions. Request null and alternative hypotheses, competing explanations and what each one predicts.
- 6Review confounds and controls. Check the confounding variables and control plans the agent suggests against your design.
- 7Validate with experts and data. Verify the reasoning against literature and qualified review before acting on it.
What the skill makes the agent do
The skill guides the agent through a structured process: begin with a clear observation or pattern, review existing literature for known mechanisms, separate what is established from what is uncertain, and then state a specific, testable hypothesis.
The skill asks the agent to write a null hypothesis (H0, no effect or no difference) and an alternative hypothesis (H1, a specific directional effect). For mechanistic claims it uses an "If... then... because..." format. It also asks for at least two or three competing explanations, a ranking by parsimony, consistency with prior evidence and testability, and a note of confounding variables that could produce the same observation.
Install the hypothesis-formulation skill
The skill is distributed as a ZIP file from the project page. Download it, then unzip it into either your personal skills folder at ~/.claude/skills/ or a project's .claude/skills/ folder, so that the hypothesis-formulation folder containing SKILL.md sits there.
If you use the Claude apps instead, upload the skill under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.
- Personal install: unzip into ~/.claude/skills/
- Project install: unzip into .claude/skills/ inside your project
- Claude apps: Settings → Capabilities → Skills, then upload
Trigger the skill with natural requests
You do not need a special command. The skill's description covers formulating testable hypotheses, competing explanations and experimental predictions, so ask for those things in plain language. Mentioning the words hypothesis, prediction, mechanism, falsifiable, null or alternative also helps match the skill's trigger keywords.
Give the agent the observation and any context you have, such as your field, the variables you can manipulate and the resources you have available. The more specific the observation, the more useful the hypotheses.
- "Given that our users churn more on weekends, propose testable hypotheses and competing explanations."
- "Write the null and alternative hypotheses for my reading-speed experiment and say what each predicts."
- "What confounds could explain this drop in plant growth, and how would I control for them?"
What you get back and how to use it
Expect a set of hypotheses, each with its predictions, the expected effect direction and approximate magnitude, the conditions that would confirm or refute it, and the controls it suggests. The skill also asks for a mapping from each hypothesis to an experimental comparison, a sample size check (power analysis), a note on pre-registration where possible, and a plan for what you would conclude from both positive and null results.
Treat this as a checklist for your own thinking. Check each claim against the literature yourself before you rely on it.
- Confirmatory tests and exploratory analyses are kept separate
- Each hypothesis is paired with what would refute it
- Positive and null results are both planned for in advance
What the skill needs and safety notes
The skill lists no requirements. It does not run scripts and does not use the network. It is only a SKILL.md file of written guidance, so it does not run any code or fetch data. Any power analysis or statistics you do must be done with your own tools.
The skill only structures reasoning. The mechanisms the agent proposes still need expert and empirical validation. Do not use its output in medical, safety-critical or regulatory decisions in place of qualified expert review.
- Requirements: none listed
- Runs scripts: no
- Uses network: no
Tips for better results
Give a concrete observation rather than a broad topic. Ask for competing explanations explicitly, because the skill's structure works best when there is more than one candidate. Ask the agent to name the confounds it considered and to say which predictions would separate the hypotheses. Finally, ask for the sample size and control plan, since the skill asks for these but a short prompt may not trigger them in full.
- Start from one clear observation
- Ask for at least three competing explanations
- Request the confounds, controls and expected effect sizes
- Check every proposed mechanism against primary sources
What people use it for
- A thesis student structuring the hypotheses and predictions for a chapter or lab report.
- A researcher planning an experiment who wants several competing explanations compared systematically.
- A data analyst writing falsifiable claims before running a test on existing data.
- A lab team listing confounding variables and deciding which controls to add to a study design.
Frequently asked questions
How do I install the hypothesis-formulation agent skill?
Download the ZIP from the project page and unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use or into .claude/skills/ inside a project. In the Claude apps, you can instead upload it under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.
Does the hypothesis formulation skill require anything else to run?
The skill lists no requirements. It runs no scripts and uses no network, and it consists of a single SKILL.md file with written guidance.
Is the hypothesis-formulation skill free?
The skill is published under the MIT licence. Check the repository's licence file for the terms that apply to your use.
Will this skill give me the correct scientific answer?
No. The skill only structures reasoning. The mechanisms it proposes still need expert and empirical validation before you rely on them.
Can I use this skill for medical or regulatory decisions?
No. Generated hypotheses should not stand in for qualified expert review in medical, safety-critical or regulatory decisions.
How is this different from just asking an AI to brainstorm hypotheses?
The skill imposes a fixed method: starting from an observation, reviewing known mechanisms, writing H0 and H1, ranking competing explanations and planning for null results. A general prompt may skip some of these steps.
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Our verdict
This skill suits students writing a thesis or lab report, researchers planning experiments, and analysts who want falsifiable claims before testing them. It is not a source of definitive answers, and anyone making medical, safety-critical or regulatory decisions should rely on qualified expert review instead.
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