shipshitdev/arena
skills/arena/SKILL.md
Spawn N parallel candidates at the same task, pick a base, and graft the strongest parts of the losers into it. Use for arena this, throw it in the arena, or when one attempt at a non-trivial artifact would lock in the wrong shape.
$ install --global
skillsauthnpx skillsauth add shipshitdev/library arenaInstall this skill globally with one command. Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and Windsurf.
Security Scan Results
3 of 9 scanners reported clean
Some scanners were skipped, did not run, or reported a non-clean status. Review each row below.
3
Scanners Passed
9
Scanners in report
Clean
TrivyContainer and dependency vulnerability scanner
95%
Clean
SemgrepStatic code analysis for vulnerabilities
95%
Clean
mcp-scan (Snyk)Model Context Protocol security validation
95%
Skipped
Snyk (dep)Open source security scanning
50%
Skipped
Socket.devSupply chain security analysis
50%
Skipped
VirusTotalMulti-engine malware detection
50%
Skipped
CrowdStrikeAdvanced threat intelligence
50%
Skipped
OSV-ScannerOpen Source Vulnerability database check
50%
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OWASP Dep-Check
50%
Last scanned: Aug 31, 2026, 2:40 AM307.6s3 files scanned
SKILL.md
- name:
- arena
- description:
- Spawn N parallel candidates at the same task, pick a base, and graft the strongest parts of the losers into it. Use for arena this, throw it in the arena, or when one attempt at a non-trivial artifact would lock in the wrong shape.
- disable-model-invocation:
- true
- license:
- MIT
- version:
- 1.0.0
- tags:
- fan-out, bakeoff, design, synthesis
- author:
- Ship Shit Dev
- source:
- https://github.com/cursor/plugins/blob/main/pstack/skills/arena/SKILL.md
- upstream_repo:
- cursor/plugins
- upstream_ref:
- main
- upstream_commit:
- bdf7aa355337
- last_synced:
- 2026-08-26
- when_to_use:
- arena this, throw it in the arena, compare N attempts, bakeoff
Arena
Fan out N parallel attempts at the same task. Read every candidate end to end. Pick the strongest as the base. Graft the best ideas from the others into it. Verify the synthesized result.
Companion to swarm, which covers different slices or races and
returns a report. Arena synthesizes one artifact.
Contract
Inputs:
- A task whose first attempt would lock in the wrong shape
- Optional N and a shared grounding pack
Outputs:
- One synthesized artifact
- A short synthesis note: base, grafts, rejections, dropouts, verification
Creates/Modifies:
- Candidate outputs in separate worktrees or
.tmp/arena-<slug>/candidate-<n>/ - The synthesized artifact
External Side Effects:
- None beyond local files unless the caller lands the result
Confirmation Required:
- None for the bakeoff itself
Delegates To:
worktreewhen candidates need isolated checkoutsverification-before-completionbefore claiming the result works
Phases
Open a todo list: Frame, Fan out, Cross-judge, Pick, Graft, Verify.
A. Frame
State the artifact. Derive a rubric of 3-6 concrete gradeable criteria. Candidates see the task, not the rubric.
Pick runners across capability tiers and, when possible, different families. Same-tier N times only when the work is generation-bound.
Assign each candidate its own output path. Shared writes fail Separate Before Serializing Shared State.
B. Fan out
Spawn all N subagents in one message. Each produces the artifact and a rationale naming alternatives it rejected. A dropout proceeds as N-1.
C. Cross-judge
After candidates complete, spawn one read-only judge on a different tier or family from the parent. It scores each criterion and recommends a base.
D. Pick
Read every candidate end to end. Score criterion by criterion. Compare against the cross-judge. Prefer the cleaner boundary when two feel tied.
E. Graft
Walk each loser once. Port one or two things, by hand, so the result stays coherent. Record rejections. Wild divergence means Phase A was under-specified. Reframe and re-run.
F. Verify
The synthesized artifact holds up under the same scrutiny as any other output. A miss here is a re-frame or a missed graft, not a paper-over.
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