How do I install the Duo Culture skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add hktitan/duo-culture 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 Duo Culture 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 Duo Culture?

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 Duo Culture free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free. This skill is licensed under MIT.

Who published Duo Culture?

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

Duo Culture by hktitan — Agent Skill

Name: Duo Culture
Author: HKTITAN

Duo Culture

Build the team the way Duolingo built theirs — the Green Machine operating model, talent density over headcount, candor protocol ("focus on what, not who"), hire-slow / fire-fast, and the "no process unless it makes decisions better" rule. Use when the user is hiring, defining team rituals, debating remote vs. office, choosing a feedback model, or installing an operating system in a team that has none. Source the Duolingo Handbook (Raise the Bar + Green Machine).

HKTITAN Updated Sep 17, 2026

File contents

Duolingo Culture — Map of Content

The handbook treats culture as load-bearing, not aspirational. Two principles (Raise the Bar, Ship It) and one operating model (The Green Machine) describe how Duolingo decides who to hire, how to run a team, and when to add process. This skill packages the operating manual.

This skill is structured as a graph: scan the descriptions below, follow only the [[wikilinks]] you need.

The operating model

[[references/green-machine]] — the six-step build/measure/learn loop Duolingo runs the company on.
[[references/clock-speed]] — minimizing the gap between steps; the company-wide tempo metric.

Talent

[[references/talent-density]] — "better a hole than a hire that lowers the bar."
[[references/hire-slow-fire-fast]] — the protocol for both directions.
[[references/candor-what-not-who]] — feedback rule that lets criticism survive at scale.

Process

[[references/no-process-without-purpose]] — process is a tax; only add it if it improves decisions.
[[references/ownership-clarity-culture]] — every critical task has one owner; this is a culture rule, not a project-management rule.
[[references/async-vs-meetings]] — when to converge in real time and when to commit to writing.

Identity

[[references/quirky-by-design]] — the office, the rituals, the brand voice as recruiting and retention tools.
[[references/dogfooding-culture]] — the cultural commitment behind the product practice.

Sibling skills

[[../duo-product/SKILL]] — Raise the Bar and Ship It are the same principles seen from the product side.
[[../duo-experimentation/SKILL]] — experimentation only survives in a culture where being wrong is cheap.
[[../duo-voice/SKILL]] — the brand voice is a hiring filter; the people who write it are the people who get the joke.

Sources

Duolingo Handbook (2025), Principles #2 Raise the Bar, #3 Ship It, and The Green Machine

---name: duo-culturedescription: Build the team the way Duolingo built theirs — the Green Machine operating model, talent density over headcount, candor protocol ("focus on what, not who"), hire-slow / fire-fast, and the "no process unless it makes decisions better" rule. Use when the user is hiring, defining team rituals, debating remote vs. office, choosing a feedback model, or installing an operating system in a team that has none. Source the Duolingo Handbook (Raise the Bar + Green Machine).license: MIT---# Duolingo Culture — Map of ContentThe handbook treats culture as load-bearing, not aspirational. Two principles (*Raise the Bar*, *Ship It*) and one operating model (*The Green Machine*) describe how Duolingo decides who to hire, how to run a team, and when to add process. This skill packages the operating manual.This skill is structured as a **graph**: scan the descriptions below, follow only the `[[wikilinks]]` you need.## The operating model- [[references/green-machine]] — the six-step build/measure/learn loop Duolingo runs the company on.- [[references/clock-speed]] — minimizing the gap between steps; the company-wide tempo metric.## Talent- [[references/talent-density]] — "better a hole than a hire that lowers the bar."- [[references/hire-slow-fire-fast]] — the protocol for both directions.- [[references/candor-what-not-who]] — feedback rule that lets criticism survive at scale.## Process- [[references/no-process-without-purpose]] — process is a tax; only add it if it improves decisions.- [[references/ownership-clarity-culture]] — every critical task has one owner; this is a culture rule, not a project-management rule.- [[references/async-vs-meetings]] — when to converge in real time and when to commit to writing.## Identity- [[references/quirky-by-design]] — the office, the rituals, the brand voice as recruiting and retention tools.- [[references/dogfooding-culture]] — the cultural commitment behind the product practice.## Sibling skills- [[../duo-product/SKILL]] — *Raise the Bar* and *Ship It* are the same principles seen from the product side.- [[../duo-experimentation/SKILL]] — experimentation only survives in a culture where being wrong is cheap.- [[../duo-voice/SKILL]] — the brand voice is a hiring filter; the people who write it are the people who get the joke.## Sources- Duolingo Handbook (2025), Principles #2 *Raise the Bar*, #3 *Ship It*, and *The Green Machine*

Frequently asked questions