How do I install the Independent Judge Swarm skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add edbertchan/independent-judge-swarm in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Independent Judge Swarm safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Independent Judge Swarm?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Independent Judge Swarm free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Independent Judge Swarm?

EdbertChan (@edbertchan) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Independent Judge Swarm by edbertchan

Name: Independent Judge Swarm
Author: EdbertChan

Independent Judge Swarm

Grade an artifact with a mechanical precheck plus two independent judges (Fable + Codex). Building agent must not self-grade. Use for /grade, /holdings-sheet-swarm-grade, sheet/report second opinions, or when a PASS from the author alone is not enough. Domain files under domains/ bind coding vs equities triggers and cwd scripts.

EdbertChan Updated Sep 17, 2026

File contents

Independent judge swarm

Second opinions from judges that did not build the artifact. Mechanical precheck first, then Fable + Codex in parallel. On FAIL, run thrash-reflect-automate — do not re-prompt the user for that sequence.

Domain selector

After reading this file, read at most one sibling domains/<type>.md:

User named the type (coding, equities, holdings, claim research).
Else cwd has .cursor/judge-swarm-bindings.json, or equities trigger words (holdings, Sheets, research report) → equities; Invoker / catstack / package.json without those → coding.
Else none. Do not read both in one turn.

Invariants (assert)

The building agent MUST NOT be the sole judge.
Run a mechanical precheck before or beside LLM judges when a script exists; LLM PASS alone is not enough when invent/uniqueness can hide.
Use two independent judges (Fable + Codex) in parallel when both are available. If one is missing auth, report that and still run the other.
Prefer local evidence files over “looks fine in the UI.”
If judges disagree on a blocking check, report BOTH and treat as needs_work.
Do not paraphrase away a FAIL.
On FAIL / NEEDS_WORK: invoke thrash-reflect-automate (reflect → fix the class → codify invariant → automate a catch → re-validate). Prefer principle-assert-invariants-not-last-bug for the class fix.

Shared board fields

Every judge output MUST include at least:

Field	Shape
`judge`	string
`verdict`	`pass` \| `fail` \| `needs_work`
`score`	integer 0–100
`blocking_issues`	list of `{id, severity, evidence}`
`root_cause_class`	string (class of bug, not instance name)
`avoid_next_time`	string (mechanical catch to add)

Domain files may require extra fields. Parent-specific or ticker-specific checks belong in the domain file or the repo’s grade schema — not here.

Generic workflow

Resolve the artifact under review (path, URL, or PR) from the user or the domain file.
If a mechanical grade/precheck script exists in cwd (see domain), run it.
Spawn Fable and Codex judges with the same packet; collect boards.
Merge: any blocking FAIL → overall FAIL; else disagreement → needs_work; else PASS.
Reply with verdicts, blocking issues, agreement/disagreement, and one recommended next fix.
On FAIL / NEEDS_WORK, run thrash-reflect-automate before declaring done.

Do not

Invent a CLI that is not present in the cwd.
Put consumer script paths in this generic file. Equities bindings are loaded from the consumer’s .cursor/judge-swarm-bindings.json via scripts/resolve_equities_bindings.py.
Self-grade and stop.
Claim fixed without a new board after thrash.

---name: independent-judge-swarmdescription: Grade an artifact with a mechanical precheck plus two independent judges (Fable + Codex). Building agent must not self-grade. Use for /grade, /holdings-sheet-swarm-grade, sheet/report second opinions, or when a PASS from the author alone is not enough. Domain files under domains/ bind coding vs equities triggers and cwd scripts.---# Independent judge swarmSecond opinions from judges that did **not** build the artifact. Mechanicalprecheck first, then Fable + Codex in parallel. On FAIL, run`thrash-reflect-automate` — do not re-prompt the user for that sequence.## Domain selectorAfter reading this file, read **at most one** sibling `domains/<type>.md`:1. User named the type (`coding`, `equities`, holdings, claim research).2. Else cwd has `.cursor/judge-swarm-bindings.json`, or equities trigger words (holdings, Sheets, research report) → `equities`; Invoker / catstack / `package.json` without those → `coding`.3. Else none. Do not read both in one turn.## Invariants (assert)- The building agent MUST NOT be the sole judge.- Run a **mechanical precheck** before or beside LLM judges when a script exists; LLM PASS alone is not enough when invent/uniqueness can hide.- Use **two independent judges** (Fable + Codex) in parallel when both are available. If one is missing auth, report that and still run the other.- Prefer local evidence files over “looks fine in the UI.”- If judges disagree on a blocking check, report BOTH and treat as `needs_work`.- Do not paraphrase away a FAIL.- On FAIL / NEEDS_WORK: invoke `thrash-reflect-automate` (reflect → fix the class → codify invariant → automate a catch → re-validate). Prefer `principle-assert-invariants-not-last-bug` for the class fix.## Shared board fieldsEvery judge output MUST include at least:| Field | Shape || --- | --- || `judge` | string || `verdict` | `pass` \| `fail` \| `needs_work` || `score` | integer 0–100 || `blocking_issues` | list of `{id, severity, evidence}` || `root_cause_class` | string (class of bug, not instance name) || `avoid_next_time` | string (mechanical catch to add) |Domain files may require extra fields. Parent-specific or ticker-specificchecks belong in the domain file or the repo’s grade schema — not here.## Generic workflow1. Resolve the artifact under review (path, URL, or PR) from the user or the domain file.2. If a mechanical grade/precheck script exists in cwd (see domain), run it.3. Spawn Fable and Codex judges with the same packet; collect boards.4. Merge: any blocking FAIL → overall FAIL; else disagreement → `needs_work`; else PASS.5. Reply with verdicts, blocking issues, agreement/disagreement, and one recommended next fix.6. On FAIL / NEEDS_WORK, run `thrash-reflect-automate` before declaring done.## Do not- Invent a CLI that is not present in the cwd.- Put consumer script paths in this generic file. Equities bindings are loaded from the consumer’s `.cursor/judge-swarm-bindings.json` via `scripts/resolve_equities_bindings.py`.- Self-grade and stop.- Claim fixed without a new board after thrash.

Frequently asked questions