How do I install the Overnight skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add nli33/overnight 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 Overnight safe to use?

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

Which AI agents work with Overnight?

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 Overnight free to use?

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

Who published Overnight?

nli33 (@nli33) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Overnight by nli33 — Agent Skill

Name: Overnight
Rating: 4.2 (5 reviews)
Author: nli33

Overnight

Run Claude Code autonomously overnight on the UTM Linux VM (warvm) via a "Ralph loop" — fresh stateless claude -p per iteration, state on disk. Use when the user wants to launch, check on, or resume an unattended overnight agent run on the VM.

nli33 Updated Sep 22, 2026

File contents

overnight

Architecture: an outer bash loop (scripts/overnight.sh in the target repo) launches a fresh, stateless claude -p each iteration — no --continue/--resume. Each invocation reads PROGRESS.md + CLAUDE.md, does one task, updates PROGRESS.md, commits, exits. The filesystem (not conversation context) is the memory. Exit conditions: DONE written as the last line of PROGRESS.md, or STALL_LIMIT iterations with no new commit. Full design rationale lives in the target repo's OVERNIGHT.md if present — read that for the why, this skill covers the mechanics.

What the agent should know

VM reached via SSH alias warvm (~/.ssh/config), passwordless key auth. VM is UTM/QEMU on bridge100, typically 192.168.64.2 — re-derive with arp -a | grep bridge100 + nc -zv <ip> 22 if the alias ever stops resolving (DHCP lease tied to VM's fixed MAC, so it's stable in practice but not guaranteed).
Git on the VM must use the SSH remote (git@github.com:...), not HTTPS — GitHub dropped git password auth over HTTPS; the VM's existing SSH key is what's registered on GitHub.
File transfer: 9p mount, host /Users/n/code/shared ↔ VM /mnt/shared, persistent via VM's /etc/fstab. Ad hoc copy/paste: warvm-copy / warvm-paste (host-initiated only, no live clipboard sync — intentional, since the VM runs an unrestricted agent).
Interrupting a running iteration (Ctrl-C) is safe: the loop only commits after claude -p fully returns, so a killed mid-task run just means no commit happened — same as a stall, not corruption. Untracked scratch dirs (e.g. .venv/) may need a .gitignore entry afterward.
Remote Control doesn't fit this architecture — each iteration is a new short-lived headless process, so there's no persistent interactive session to attach to. For phone visibility, SSH into the VM and either tmux attach (see below) or tail PROGRESS.md / a log file directly — works from any SSH client (e.g. Termius, Blink) with no extra setup.
Run must be in tmux (or equivalent) so it survives SSH disconnects — a plain foreground ./scripts/overnight.sh over SSH dies when the connection drops.

End-to-end instructions (human, no agent needed)

# 1. Start the VM (UTM app on the Mac, or `utmctl start "Linux-ubuntu"` from the CLI)

# 2. SSH in (alias already configured)
ssh warvm

# 3. Start tmux and launch the loop
tmux new -s overnight
cd ~/war-analyzer          # or whichever repo has scripts/overnight.sh
./scripts/overnight.sh     # override MAX_ITERATIONS=NN / STALL_LIMIT=NN as env vars if needed

# 4. Detach, leave it running
#    Ctrl-b then d

# 5. Check on it anytime (from laptop or phone SSH client)
ssh warvm -t tmux attach -t overnight    # reattach and watch live
ssh warvm 'tail -30 ~/war-analyzer/PROGRESS.md'   # peek without attaching

# 6. When finished
ssh warvm -t tmux attach -t overnight
# exit   (or from outside: ssh warvm 'tmux kill-session -t overnight')

If ssh warvm doesn't resolve (VM's DHCP lease changed): find its IP with arp -a | grep bridge100 on the Mac, confirm SSH is up with nc -zv <ip> 22, then update HostName in ~/.ssh/config's Host warvm block.

---name: overnightdescription: Run Claude Code autonomously overnight on the UTM Linux VM (warvm) via a "Ralph loop" — fresh stateless claude -p per iteration, state on disk. Use when the user wants to launch, check on, or resume an unattended overnight agent run on the VM.---# overnightArchitecture: an outer bash loop (`scripts/overnight.sh` in the target repo) launches a **fresh,stateless `claude -p` each iteration** — no `--continue`/`--resume`. Each invocation reads`PROGRESS.md` + `CLAUDE.md`, does one task, updates `PROGRESS.md`, commits, exits. The filesystem(not conversation context) is the memory. Exit conditions: `DONE` written as the last line of`PROGRESS.md`, or `STALL_LIMIT` iterations with no new commit. Full design rationale lives in thetarget repo's `OVERNIGHT.md` if present — read that for the why, this skill covers the mechanics.## What the agent should know- VM reached via SSH alias `warvm` (`~/.ssh/config`), passwordless key auth. VM is UTM/QEMU on `bridge100`, typically `192.168.64.2` — re-derive with `arp -a | grep bridge100` + `nc -zv <ip> 22` if the alias ever stops resolving (DHCP lease tied to VM's fixed MAC, so it's stable in practice but not guaranteed).- Git on the VM **must use the SSH remote** (`git@github.com:...`), not HTTPS — GitHub dropped git password auth over HTTPS; the VM's existing SSH key is what's registered on GitHub.- File transfer: 9p mount, host `/Users/n/code/shared` ↔ VM `/mnt/shared`, persistent via VM's `/etc/fstab`. Ad hoc copy/paste: `warvm-copy` / `warvm-paste` (host-initiated only, no live clipboard sync — intentional, since the VM runs an unrestricted agent).- Interrupting a running iteration (Ctrl-C) is safe: the loop only commits after `claude -p` fully returns, so a killed mid-task run just means no commit happened — same as a stall, not corruption. Untracked scratch dirs (e.g. `.venv/`) may need a `.gitignore` entry afterward.- Remote Control doesn't fit this architecture — each iteration is a new short-lived headless process, so there's no persistent interactive session to attach to. For phone visibility, SSH into the VM and either `tmux attach` (see below) or tail `PROGRESS.md` / a log file directly — works from any SSH client (e.g. Termius, Blink) with no extra setup.- Run must be in tmux (or equivalent) so it survives SSH disconnects — a plain foreground `./scripts/overnight.sh` over SSH dies when the connection drops.## End-to-end instructions (human, no agent needed)```bash# 1. Start the VM (UTM app on the Mac, or `utmctl start "Linux-ubuntu"` from the CLI)# 2. SSH in (alias already configured)ssh warvm# 3. Start tmux and launch the looptmux new -s overnightcd ~/war-analyzer # or whichever repo has scripts/overnight.sh./scripts/overnight.sh # override MAX_ITERATIONS=NN / STALL_LIMIT=NN as env vars if needed# 4. Detach, leave it running# Ctrl-b then d# 5. Check on it anytime (from laptop or phone SSH client)ssh warvm -t tmux attach -t overnight # reattach and watch livessh warvm 'tail -30 ~/war-analyzer/PROGRESS.md' # peek without attaching# 6. When finishedssh warvm -t tmux attach -t overnight# exit (or from outside: ssh warvm 'tmux kill-session -t overnight')```If `ssh warvm` doesn't resolve (VM's DHCP lease changed): find its IP with`arp -a | grep bridge100` on the Mac, confirm SSH is up with `nc -zv <ip> 22`, then update`HostName` in `~/.ssh/config`'s `Host warvm` block.

Frequently asked questions