How do I install the Keep Tidy skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add janjaszczak/keep-tidy 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 Keep Tidy safe to use?

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

Which AI agents work with Keep Tidy?

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 Keep Tidy free to use?

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

Who published Keep Tidy?

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

Keep Tidy by janjaszczak — Agent Skill

Name: Keep Tidy
Rating: 4.666666666666667 (3 reviews)
Author: janjaszczak

Keep Tidy

Keep the workspace tidy while the agent works: no orphan scratch docs/scripts, confine temp to .agent-scratch/ or tmp/agent-*, clean before declaring done. Use during implementation, multi-file edits, shell/write batches, or when marking work done — continuous hygiene, not post-hoc /cleanup.

janjaszczak Updated Sep 9, 2026

File contents

keep-tidy

Continuous “clean as you go” for agent sessions. Complements (does not replace):

/cleanup + APPLY CLEANUP — deep audit / MERGE / scripts consolidation
migration-and-doc-consolidation — migrations and canonical runbook moves
agent hygiene / verifier hygiene pass — post-work proposals

Deterministic enforcement (when configured): hooks/stop_hygiene_nudge.py on stop, hooks/session_end_hygiene_audit.py on sessionEnd.

Activation gate

Activate if any of:

Implementing or editing files (Write / multi-file diffs)
Running shells that create artifacts
Declaring work done / DoD / verify-before-done
User asks to keep tidy, avoid clutter, or clean as you go

Skip for pure Q&A with no file or env side effects.

Must rules

Prefer editing canonical files (docs/, README*, existing modules). Do not create root orphans: *_analysis.md, *_notes.md, fix-*.md, TEMP*.md, debug*.md, scratch*, tmp_*.
Scratch / experiments → .agent-scratch/ or tmp/agent-<id>/ (gitignored). Delete that scratch before declaring done.
After a tool batch that creates files: git status --porcelain — remove or merge your own clutter before continuing.
Do not touch .env*, lockfiles, node_modules/, or commit caches (__pycache__/, .next/, dist/, coverage).
Do not run global environment prune (docker system prune, wiping OS %TEMP% / /tmp outside the session scratch dir, global npm/pip cache wipe) unless the user explicitly asks.
Before “done”: hygiene pass (delete/merge orphans you created). If MERGE target is unclear → point to /cleanup instead of inventing a new report file.
Large/experimental work: prefer an isolated git worktree over littering the main checkout.

Mini-check (cheap)

git status --porcelain

Act on untracked/modified paths matching scratch patterns or living only under .agent-scratch/ / tmp/agent-*.

Relation to hooks

stop nudge may followup_message listing remaining clutter — fix it, then stop.
sessionEnd may wipe allowlisted scratch dirs only; it does not replace this skill.
Uncertain consolidations still need /cleanup + APPLY CLEANUP.

Output when activated mid-task

Brief note of what was removed/merged (paths), or “workspace tidy”.
If blocked: list UNCERTAIN paths and recommend /cleanup.

---name: keep-tidydescription: Keep the workspace tidy while the agent works: no orphan scratch docs/scripts, confine temp to .agent-scratch/ or tmp/agent-*, clean before declaring done. Use during implementation, multi-file edits, shell/write batches, or when marking work done — continuous hygiene, not post-hoc /cleanup.--- # keep-tidy Continuous “clean as you go” for agent sessions. Complements (does not replace): - `/cleanup` + **APPLY CLEANUP** — deep audit / MERGE / scripts consolidation - `migration-and-doc-consolidation` — migrations and canonical runbook moves - agent `hygiene` / verifier hygiene pass — post-work proposals Deterministic enforcement (when configured): `hooks/stop_hygiene_nudge.py` on `stop`, `hooks/session_end_hygiene_audit.py` on `sessionEnd`. ## Activation gate Activate if any of: - Implementing or editing files (Write / multi-file diffs) - Running shells that create artifacts - Declaring work done / DoD / verify-before-done - User asks to keep tidy, avoid clutter, or clean as you go Skip for pure Q&A with no file or env side effects. ## Must rules 1. Prefer editing **canonical** files (`docs/`, `README*`, existing modules). Do **not** create root orphans: `*_analysis.md`, `*_notes.md`, `fix-*.md`, `TEMP*.md`, `debug*.md`, `scratch*`, `tmp_*`. 2. Scratch / experiments → `.agent-scratch/` or `tmp/agent-<id>/` (gitignored). Delete that scratch **before** declaring done. 3. After a tool batch that creates files: `git status --porcelain` — remove or merge your own clutter before continuing. 4. Do **not** touch `.env*`, lockfiles, `node_modules/`, or commit caches (`__pycache__/`, `.next/`, `dist/`, coverage). 5. Do **not** run global environment prune (`docker system prune`, wiping OS `%TEMP%` / `/tmp` outside the session scratch dir, global npm/pip cache wipe) unless the user explicitly asks. 6. Before “done”: hygiene pass (delete/merge orphans you created). If MERGE target is unclear → point to `/cleanup` instead of inventing a new report file. 7. Large/experimental work: prefer an isolated git worktree over littering the main checkout. ## Mini-check (cheap) ```text git status --porcelain ``` Act on untracked/modified paths matching scratch patterns or living only under `.agent-scratch/` / `tmp/agent-*`. ## Relation to hooks - **stop** nudge may `followup_message` listing remaining clutter — fix it, then stop. - **sessionEnd** may wipe allowlisted scratch dirs only; it does not replace this skill. - Uncertain consolidations still need `/cleanup` + **APPLY CLEANUP**. ## Output when activated mid-task - Brief note of what was removed/merged (paths), or “workspace tidy”. - If blocked: list UNCERTAIN paths and recommend `/cleanup`.

Frequently asked questions