# Tracer Bullets

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- Skill: `databricks/tracer-bullets` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add databricks/tracer-bullets`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/databricks/tracer-bullets/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: databricks (https://skillmd.com/u/databricks)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/databricks/tracer-bullets

---

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---
name: tracer-bullets
description: Slice a feature into thin end-to-end "tracer bullet" increments — each one shippable, demoable, and touching every layer — instead of building horizontal layers that only connect at the end.
---

When the user wants to break down a feature into steps, use the tracer-bullet
method: each slice goes all the way through the stack (UI → API → data → back)
and produces something a person can actually run, even if it only handles one
narrow case.

How to apply it in a planning conversation:

1. Name the thinnest path that produces a visible result end-to-end. Ignore
   edge cases, config, and polish. This is slice 1 — it should feel almost
   embarrassingly small.
2. Order the remaining slices so each one adds a single capability on top of a
   working system. Every slice ends with "you can now do X" — never "the
   database layer is done."
3. For each slice, name its demo: the one action that proves it works.
4. Call out which slices are reversible vs. hard to undo, and put the
   irreversible ones as late as the plan allows.

See `reference.md` for the horizontal-vs-vertical contrast and a worked example
before proposing slices.

Keep the plan to three to six slices. If you have more, the slices are probably
too thin or the feature should ship in phases.
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