# Experiment

> Run scientific (software) experiments. Use when the user asks to "run an experiment", "run an investigation", or "research with Asta." Also use this skill to analyze experimental data generate a research report from it. The user may refer to this system by its internal project name, "Panda."

- Skill: `allenai/experiment` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add allenai/experiment`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/allenai/experiment/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Docs & Writing
- Author: allenai (https://skillmd.com/u/allenai)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/allenai/experiment

---

# Run Experiments

Run a computational experiment. Given a research question that can be answered via software,
this skill will write and run the necessary software and generate a report on the results.

This skill can also be used to analyze experimental data and generate a research report from it, even if the experiment itself was not run by Asta. In that case, the user can provide the experimental data as a file input, and Asta will analyze it and generate a report.

## Environment Variables

`asta experiment` (Panda) reads its model choice and credentials from the environment. These are not exposed as CLI flags, so set them before invoking the skill if you want to override the defaults.

**Model selection:**
- `PANDA_LLM` — selects the underlying LLM (e.g., a Claude or GPT model name). If unset, the default defined in `panda_agent/config.py` is used.

**Provider credentials** (set the ones matching the model you select via `PANDA_LLM`):
- `OPENAI_API_KEY` — required for GPT models; also required for Panda's default configuration.
- `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY` — required to use Claude models.
- `TOGETHER_API_KEY` — required to use Mistral or Llama models.
- `INFERD_TOKEN` — required to use OLMo models.

**Example — run the experiment with Claude:**
```bash
export PANDA_LLM="claude-3-5-sonnet-latest"
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="..."
asta experiment --task "..." --outputs_dir "$OUTPUTS_DIR" --result_file "$OUTPUTS_DIR/result.json"
```

For the authoritative list of supported models and any additional variables, see `asta experiment --help` and the [Panda README](https://github.com/allenai/panda).


## Workflow

The user will either:
1. describe the research task (TASK) and (optionally) background knowledge (BACKGROUND_KNOWLEDGE)
   or
2. provide paths to *files* that contain
   a. the task (TASK_FILE)
   b. (optionally) the background knowledge (BACKGROUND_KNOWLEDGE_FILE)

### Default Output Locations

**IMPORTANT**: Always specify output locations to keep experiments organized in `.asta/experiment/`:

- **OUTPUTS_DIR**: `.asta/experiment/<YYYY-MM-DD-slug>/` where:
  - `YYYY-MM-DD` is the current date
  - `slug` is a short descriptive name derived from the task (e.g., "french-translation", "gpt4-eval")
- **RESULT_FILE**: `<OUTPUTS_DIR>/result.json`

**Example directory structure:**
```
.asta/experiment/
├── 2024-01-15-french-translation/
│   ├── result.json
│   └── [experiment outputs]
└── 2024-01-16-model-comparison/
    ├── result.json
    └── [experiment outputs]
```

The user may optionally override these locations by providing:
3. a custom directory for experimental outputs (OUTPUTS_DIR)
4. a custom path for the result summary JSON (RESULT_FILE)

### Task and Background Knowledge

If the user describes a task and (optionally) provides background knowledge, then run as follows:

**With default output locations (recommended):**
```bash
# Create output directory with date and slug
OUTPUTS_DIR=".asta/experiment/$(date +%Y-%m-%d)-<task-slug>"
mkdir -p "$OUTPUTS_DIR"

asta experiment \
  --task "TASK" \
  --background_knowledge "BACKGROUND_KNOWLEDGE" \
  --force_report \
  --outputs_dir "$OUTPUTS_DIR" \
  --result_file "$OUTPUTS_DIR/result.json"
```

**Example:**
```bash
# Task: Assess GPT-4 translation quality
OUTPUTS_DIR=".asta/experiment/$(date +%Y-%m-%d)-gpt4-french-translation"
mkdir -p "$OUTPUTS_DIR"

asta experiment \
  --task "Perform an experiment to assess how good gpt-4o is at translating into French. Use just 5 test examples." \
  --force_report \
  --outputs_dir "$OUTPUTS_DIR" \
  --result_file "$OUTPUTS_DIR/result.json"
```

**With custom output locations (if user specifies):**
```bash
asta experiment \
  --task "TASK" \
  --background_knowledge "BACKGROUND_KNOWLEDGE" \
  --force_report \
  --outputs_dir "/custom/path/experiments/" \
  --result_file "/custom/path/result.json"
```
### Task and Background Knowledge Files

When the user provides files containing the task and background knowledge:

**With default output locations (recommended):**
```bash
# Create output directory with date and slug (derived from task filename or content)
OUTPUTS_DIR=".asta/experiment/$(date +%Y-%m-%d)-<task-slug>"
mkdir -p "$OUTPUTS_DIR"

asta experiment \
  --task_file "TASK_FILE" \
  --background_knowledge_file "BACKGROUND_KNOWLEDGE_FILE" \
  --force_report \
  --outputs_dir "$OUTPUTS_DIR" \
  --result_file "$OUTPUTS_DIR/result.json"
```

**Example:**
```bash
# Files: my_project/task.txt, my_project/background_knowledge.txt
OUTPUTS_DIR=".asta/experiment/$(date +%Y-%m-%d)-custom-experiment"
mkdir -p "$OUTPUTS_DIR"

asta experiment \
  --task_file "my_project/task.txt" \
  --background_knowledge_file "my_project/background_knowledge.txt" \
  --force_report \
  --outputs_dir "$OUTPUTS_DIR" \
  --result_file "$OUTPUTS_DIR/result.json"
```

**With custom output locations (if user explicitly specifies paths):**
```bash
asta experiment \
  --task_file "my_project/task.txt" \
  --background_knowledge_file "my_project/background_knowledge.txt" \
  --force_report \
  --outputs_dir "my_project/experiments/" \
  --result_file "my_project/result.json"
```

### Notes

- **Output Directory**: Always create `.asta/experiment/<YYYY-MM-DD-slug>/` directory before running the experiment using `mkdir -p`
- **Task Slug**: Create a short descriptive slug from the task (e.g., "gpt4-translation", "model-comparison"). Keep it lowercase with hyphens.
- **Result File**: Always save to `<OUTPUTS_DIR>/result.json` for consistency
- **Background Knowledge**: Optional - can be omitted if not provided by user
- **Custom Paths**: If user explicitly provides custom output paths, use those instead of defaults
- Always return the result to the user and inform them where outputs were saved