Automated summary

Provides progressive hints for exercises using Socratic questioning without giving complete answers.

Strengths

Encourages independent problem-solving
Tailors hints to user's current understanding
Prevents frustration without enabling dependence

Limitations

May be slow for straightforward tasks
Requires careful context awareness
Not suitable for time-sensitive debugging

When to use it

Use when the user is stuck on an educational exercise and needs guidance without the answer.

When not to use it

Do not use when the user needs a direct solution or when the exercise is trivial.

Security analysis

Safe

Quality score75/100

The skill is purely conversational, providing hints and Socratic questioning. It does not involve any tool execution, file access, network operations, or destructive commands. No risk of harmful actions.

No concerns found

How this analysis is made

Examples

Hint for a Python exercise

I'm stuck on the 'FizzBuzz' exercise. Can you give me a hint without telling me the answer?

Socratic hint on an algorithm

Help me understand how to approach binary search. I'm stuck.

Progressive hint for debugging

I'm stuck on why my loop is infinite. Give me a hint.

name: hint description: Provide a progressive hint for the current exercise without giving the answer. Uses Socratic questioning to guide understanding. Use when user says "hint", "help", "I'm stuck", or is struggling with an exercise.

Exercise Hint

Name: Progressive Exercise Hints
Author: Skills Guide Bot

Instructions

Identify current context (which notebook/exercise)
Ask clarifying question first
Provide progressive hints (conceptual → structural → specific → direct)
Never give complete answer on first hint

From the file to a first result

The download contains exactly the content displayed on this page. This copy may differ from the latest version in the source repository.

View the source and supporting files

This download contains SKILL.md only. Any scripts, references, templates and dependencies are not included. Get the required files from the source, preserving their directory structure, before continuing.

1. Download the file

Download SKILL.md

From the root of a test project, save the file as .skill-downloads/progressive-exercise-hints-mma3js5s/SKILL.md, or use the command below. This folder is for inspecting the skill before installation.

Command for macOS/Linux or WSL: requires a POSIX shell and curl. On Windows without WSL, use the download button and create the folder manually.

mkdir -p '.skill-downloads/progressive-exercise-hints-mma3js5s' && curl --fail --show-error --location 'https://skills-guides.com/api/skills/progressive-exercise-hints-mma3js5s/download' --output '.skill-downloads/progressive-exercise-hints-mma3js5s/SKILL.md.part' && mv '.skill-downloads/progressive-exercise-hints-mma3js5s/SKILL.md.part' '.skill-downloads/progressive-exercise-hints-mma3js5s/SKILL.md'

2. Check prerequisites

Read SKILL.md before using it. If it references scripts or external services, inspect them and prepare the required access in your test environment.

No recognized prerequisites section in this file. This does not mean it is self-contained: libraries, tools and access requirements may be mentioned elsewhere in the content or source repository.

The platforms on this page are catalog indications. The paths below follow tool documentation; they do not prove this skill has been run in those tools. No minimum tool version is confirmed for this listing.

3. Load the skill

After inspection, copy the complete folder into your project using one of the commands below, then open a new tool session. The command stops if a folder with the same name already exists: compare the files before replacing it.

Claude Code

test -f '.skill-downloads/progressive-exercise-hints-mma3js5s/SKILL.md' && test -s '.skill-downloads/progressive-exercise-hints-mma3js5s/SKILL.md' && mkdir -p '.claude/skills' && test ! -e '.claude/skills/hint' && cp -R '.skill-downloads/progressive-exercise-hints-mma3js5s' '.claude/skills/hint'

Cursor

test -f '.skill-downloads/progressive-exercise-hints-mma3js5s/SKILL.md' && test -s '.skill-downloads/progressive-exercise-hints-mma3js5s/SKILL.md' && mkdir -p '.cursor/skills' && test ! -e '.cursor/skills/hint' && cp -R '.skill-downloads/progressive-exercise-hints-mma3js5s' '.cursor/skills/hint'

OpenSkills

OpenSkills must already be installed. The local install/read procedure is checked with OpenSkills 1.5.0, which requires Node.js ≥ 20.6.0. Catalog slugs are not resolved automatically.

Official OpenSkills installation

openskills install './.skill-downloads/progressive-exercise-hints-mma3js5s'

openskills read 'progressive-exercise-hints-mma3js5s'

Reading should display the installed file content and its base directory. It does not run the skill or install its dependencies.

For an agent that reads AGENTS.md, then sync the index. This command changes AGENTS.md: review the diff before using it.

openskills sync

Manual method or another tool: attach SKILL.md to a conversation, or open it in an agent that can read files. Include any required supporting resources. No universal folder is recognized by every tool.

4. Try a first task

Use a short, synthetic input: an API endpoint, a small document or an interface brief. In a new conversation, attach the file or give the agent its path, then adapt this request:

Read .skill-downloads/progressive-exercise-hints-mma3js5s/SKILL.md and apply its instructions to this example: [describe a test input]. Identify any missing files, dependencies or access. Produce the result requested by the skill without inventing data or running unreviewed scripts.

Expected result: output matching the skill instructions, or a precise list of missing prerequisites. A read confirmation alone does not validate a first use. If an external resource is unavailable, that path remains untested.

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Claude CodeCursorCodexbeginnerSafe 20,122

Skills Guide Bot