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ISA: Ideal State Artifact

Lets the agent write and maintain a document defining what 'done' means for a project and keep work aligned to it.

Source Download skill
Repository
danielmiessler/LifeOS
Stars
19,682
Licence
MIT
Files
13 files

What it does

This skill teaches an AI agent to create and maintain an Ideal State Artifact (ISA), a structured document that spells out what finished work looks like for a project. The agent writes a layered summary (one-sentence, short summary, full articulation), a list of testable criteria each with a way to check it, and a test strategy, then restates, discusses, and rates that document so the person and the agent agree on direction before building. It is part of a larger personal AI framework (LifeOS) and depends on many files and tools beyond this folder; the SKILL.md itself is mostly routing instructions that point to other documents.

Great for

  • Developers or project leads who want an AI agent to confirm the goal before building a new feature or project
  • People who keep losing alignment with an agent over what 'done' means and want a written, auditable record
  • Users already running the LifeOS framework who want the ISA workflow

Skip it if

  • Quick one-off tasks where a written done-definition adds overhead; the process is heavy by design
  • Anyone without the LifeOS tools installed: the skill calls scripts at paths like LIFEOS/TOOLS/IsaLadder.ts that are not included in this folder, so many steps will fail or be skipped
  • Situations needing visual critique or skill creation, which the skill itself says belong to other skills

Try asking

  • “Scaffold an ISA for my new invoicing feature from this prompt”
  • “Restate what you think I want for this project before you start building”
  • “Run a drift check: do the current criteria still add up to the top-level goal?”
  • “Rate this ISA and tell me what is missing”
Step-by-step guide: how to use ISA: Ideal State ArtifactInstall, first run, examples, tips and FAQs

Install in 3 steps

  1. 1

    Download the skill

    The ZIP contains the 13 original files, the MIT licence and an attribution note.

    ISA.zip
  2. 2

    Add it to your agent

    Claude Code (all projects)

    mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && unzip ISA.zip -d ~/.claude/skills/

    Claude Code / Agent SDK (this project only)

    mkdir -p .claude/skills && unzip ISA.zip -d .claude/skills/

    Claude apps (web/desktop): Settings → Capabilities → Skills → Upload skill, and choose the ZIP.

  3. 3

    Ask for the task

    No special command needed — the agent reads the skill's description and loads it when your request matches. Try one of the prompts above.

Get better results

  • Install the full LifeOS framework first; without its TOOLS and DOCUMENTATION folders this skill cannot run its documented steps
  • Review the generated ISA yourself, since the skill says the principal (you) must confirm it accurately describes done
  • Use the example files in the Examples folder as models for what a good ISA looks like

What's inside

  • Context.json
  • Examples/canonical-isa.md
  • Examples/e1-minimal.md
  • Examples/e2-backup-verify.md
  • Examples/e2-rotate-credential.md
  • Examples/e3-essay.md
  • Examples/e3-help-redesign.md
  • Examples/e3-project.md
  • Examples/e4-api-migration.md
  • Examples/e4-brand-identity.md
  • Examples/e5-album.md
  • Examples/e5-desktop-app.md
  • SKILL.md

Redistributed unmodified from danielmiessler/LifeOS under the MIT licence. The assessment was drafted with AI from the skill's files on 2026-10-29. Skills can instruct your agent to run code — read SKILL.md and any scripts before installing.