How do I install the Polycount Budget Checker skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add thanhnguyxnorg/polycount-budget-checker 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.

What does the Polycount Budget Checker skill do?

Validate per-mesh and total-scene triangle counts against the pinned budget; flag worst offenders and topology hints without modeling. It is listed under Finance & Business on SkillMD.

Is Polycount Budget Checker 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 Polycount Budget Checker?

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 Polycount Budget Checker free to use?

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

Who published Polycount Budget Checker?

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

Polycount Budget Checker by thanhnguyxnorg

Name: Polycount Budget Checker
Author: ThanhNguyxnOrg

polycount-budget-checker

Purpose

Run a focused pass/warn/fail check on per-mesh and total-scene triangle counts vs the pinned budget from glb-mobile-performance-budget (or any other pinned budget). Surface worst offenders and basic topology hints without performing modeling.

Quick start

read the pinned budget (per-mesh + total-scene)
enumerate every mesh in the scene plan or measured scene
compute per-mesh triangle counts vs per-mesh cap
compute total-scene triangle count vs total cap
flag worst offenders + give topology hints (no modeling)

When to use

before render
before GLB export
after a mesh change request
as a sub-check during full quality review
when glb-mobile-performance-budget is pinned

When not to use

material validation (use material-quality-checker)
lighting / composition validation (other quality checkers)
broad readiness (use blender-scene-quality-checker)
to fix topology (this skill validates, it does not edit)

Trigger phrases

"is the polycount okay"
"check triangle budget"
"what's blowing the budget"
"topology issue?"

Prerequisites / readiness

pinned budget known (from glb-mobile-performance-budget or explicit user)
mesh list known (scene plan or measured scene)

Input schema

Required inputs

Input	Why it is required
Pinned budget (per-mesh + total-scene caps)	Anchors the check
Mesh list (name + triangle count)	Scope of the check

Optional inputs

Input	Use
Scene scope context	Single product vs environment changes per-mesh expectations
Animation flags per mesh	Skinned meshes have stricter caps

Assumptions to confirm

Triangle counts are post-decimation (final), not pre-decimation source.
Counts include all visible meshes; hidden / collection-disabled meshes excluded.
"Triangles" in glTF = primitive triangles after triangulation, not Blender face count.

Output schema

Primary output

A per-mesh row table: name, triangle count, vs per-mesh cap, vs total budget contribution, verdict, hint (no edit).

Secondary output

top-line status (Pass / Warn / Fail) with totals
worst-offender list (top 1–3 meshes)
general topology hints (no modeling)

Evidence / caveat output

Runtime status: Not Run | Attempted | Produced | Verified | Failed | Blocked / Not Run
Artifact status: Not Run | Not Produced | Produced | Verified | Failed
Evidence used: <links, paths, logs, or "none">
Limitations: <known gaps>

Required laws

../../laws/evidence-before-done.md
../../laws/non-blender-user-language.md
../../laws/no-arbitrary-python-interface.md
../../laws/official-runtime-only.md

Official runtime boundary

This skill validates plans or measured scene snapshots. It never decimates, retopologizes, or runs Blender. Hints are advisory.

Operating procedure

Read pinned budget from glb-mobile-performance-budget output (or user input).
Read mesh list with triangle counts.
For each mesh, compute % of total budget consumed.
Apply per-mesh cap rules (see references/per-mesh-rules.md).
Sum scene triangle count vs total cap.
Identify worst offenders (top 1–3 by absolute count).
Generate topology hints (advisory only) per references/topology-hints.md.
Compute top-line status; flag any Fail.
Hand off to blender-scene-quality-checker (broad review) or glb-mobile-performance-budget (re-budget) if needed.

Decision tree

Total triangle count > total cap?
  → Fail (whole-scene)
Single mesh > 50% of total cap?
  → Warn (one mesh dominates)
Single mesh > total cap by itself?
  → Fail
Skinned mesh > per-mesh skinned cap?
  → Fail (skinning cost is non-linear)
Hidden / disabled meshes consume budget by accident?
  → Warn (verify exclusion before export)

Playbooks

Playbook A: Single-product hero (mid-mobile)

Total cap 50K; single mesh ≤ 40K (80% headroom rule); under 4 meshes typical. Fail any mesh over 80%.

Playbook B: Configurator with 5 variants (high-mobile)

Total cap 100K; verify shared geometry; only variant-specific overrides count toward variant budget.

Playbook C: Environment scene (low-end Android)

Total cap 25K; instance heavy meshes (trees, fence posts) so they share geometry; per-instance triangle count = base mesh × N is the scene cost.

Mode handling

Text-only mode

Read counts from scene plan; mark Artifact status: Not Run.

Runtime-ready mode

Read counts from measured scene snapshot; cite tool used. Never upgrade to Verified without recorded measurement.

Blocked runtime mode

Skip rows that depend on measurement; mark explicitly.

Validation checklist

Pinned budget recorded
Every mesh listed with triangle count
Per-mesh % of total budget computed
Verdicts assigned per mesh
Worst offenders highlighted
Topology hints advisory only (no modeling done)
Top-line status from rows

Pass / Warn / Fail rubric

Verdict	Criteria
Pass	All meshes under per-mesh cap; total under cap with 20% headroom; no single mesh dominates.
Warn	Total within 80–100% of cap; one mesh dominates (>50% of total); skinned mesh near per-mesh cap.
Fail	Total over cap; single mesh over total cap; skinned mesh over per-mesh cap; missing budget.

Failure handling

Missing budget → refuse; redirect to glb-mobile-performance-budget.
Mesh count missing → mark Not Run per row; do not fabricate.
User pushes for "Pass" without checks → restate requirement.

Troubleshooting

Problem	Response
Total over cap	Identify worst offenders; recommend decimation / texture detail trade.
One mesh over per-mesh cap	Recommend split into multiple primitives or LOD.
Skinned mesh expensive	Reduce bone influences per vertex (clamp ≤ 4); reduce bone count.
Hidden meshes counted	Verify export options exclude hidden/disabled collections.

Best practices

Use total + per-mesh caps together; either alone is misleading.
Reserve 20% headroom against absolute caps.
Treat instances as shared geometry; count once, not per-instance.
Keep this skill narrow.

Good examples

"Total 38K of 50K cap (76%). Per-mesh worst: shoe-upper 18K (47% of total). All under per-mesh cap. Verdict: Pass with one Warn (shoe-upper dominates)."

Bad examples

"Polycount looks fine." — no numbers.
"Verified" without measurement.

User-facing response template

Pinned budget: <total triangles cap> | <per-mesh cap>

| Mesh | Tri count | % of total | Verdict | Hint (advisory) |
|---|---|---|---|---|

Total: <N> of <cap> (<%>) | Per-mesh worst: <name> at <count>
Top-line: <Pass / Warn / Fail>
Limitations: <gaps>
Next: blender-scene-quality-checker / glb-mobile-performance-budget

Anti-patterns

Decimating inside this skill.
Inventing triangle counts.
Marking Verified without measurement.
Mixing material / lighting / composition checks.

Cross-skill handoff

Pinned budget source → ../glb-mobile-performance-budget/SKILL.md
Broad readiness review → ../blender-scene-quality-checker/SKILL.md
Material validation → ../material-quality-checker/SKILL.md
Lighting validation → ../lighting-quality-checker/SKILL.md
Composition validation → ../composition-quality-checker/SKILL.md

Non-goals

Decimate or retopologize.
Generate topology recipes.
Replace blender-scene-quality-checker.
Run Blender.

References

references/per-mesh-rules.md
references/topology-hints.md
references/instance-counting-rules.md
../../laws/evidence-before-done.md
../../docs/skill-system.md

Polycount Budget Checker

File contents