ponder
github/awesome-copilotOfficial collectionOther
ponder is a skill in github/awesome-copilot, last changed 30 Oct 2026. It can change agent settings, run shell commands, reach the network and name web addresses — read the findings before installing.
Convergent deliberation loop - repeated grading passes over one subject until the answer stops changing, with coverage enforced so no unit is silently skipped. Use when the user says "ponder <anything>" ("ponder the UI", "ponder our error handling"), "think this over properly", "keep thinking until it converges", "keep looping until it converges", "loop on this until it stops changing", "go through all the screens and grade them", "audit/rate/grade every X", or asks for any broad sweep-and-grade across many units where a single pass would miss things. Also use to resume or recover a ponder already in flight - "where were we", "carry on pondering", a lost thread mid-loop, or a .ponder/ directory in the project - where the move is to run ponder status rather than start over.
At a glance
What it can touch
How much a skill can do, not whether it is risky.
Pattern check
Nothing flagged
That isn't proof the skill is harmless.
Commit 858bca0 · 1 Nov 2026
How the check worksPattern check: nothing flagged
That isn't proof the skill is harmless.
Install
Each tab says whether it installs commit 858bca0, the one we checked, or the latest version.
OpenCode also looks in .agents/skills/ and ~/.agents/skills/, so use the Any agent steps.
Goose also looks in .agents/skills/ and ~/.agents/skills/, so use the Any agent steps.
Windsurf (Devin Desktop) also looks in .agents/skills/ and ~/.agents/skills/, so use the Any agent steps.
Zed also looks in .agents/skills/ and ~/.agents/skills/, so use the Any agent steps.
Roo Code also looks in .agents/skills/ and ~/.agents/skills/, so use the Any agent steps.
Factory Droid also looks in .agents/skills/ and ~/.agents/skills/, so use the Any agent steps.
Junie also looks in .agents/skills/ and ~/.agents/skills/, so use the Any agent steps.
Amp also looks in .agents/skills/ and ~/.agents/skills/, so use the Any agent steps.
No install command here reaches Kiro. Copy the skill's folder into .kiro/skills/ in your project, or ~/.kiro/skills/ for all your projects. github/awesome-copilot/skills/ponder (opens in a new tab)
Antigravity also looks in .agents/skills/, so the Any agent steps reach it with This project. For All projects, see where Antigravity looks.
Cline also looks in .claude/skills/, so the Claude Code steps reach it with This project. For All projects, see where Cline looks.
Claude Code
Pinned to commit 858bca0, the one we checked.
From your project's root folder:
tmp="$(mktemp -d)" &&git clone -q --depth 1 --filter=blob:none --no-checkout https://github.com/github/awesome-copilot.git "$tmp" &&git -C "$tmp" fetch -q --depth 1 origin 858bca0310db344b05bea54d77486e9b680f804c &&git -C "$tmp" sparse-checkout set -- skills/ponder &&git -C "$tmp" checkout -q 858bca0310db344b05bea54d77486e9b680f804c &&mkdir -p .claude/skills &&mkdir .claude/skills/ponder &&cp -R "$tmp"/skills/ponder/. .claude/skills/ponder/ &&rm -rf "$tmp"If Claude Code was already running and this created the skills folder, run /reload-skills.
Claude apps
Pinned to commit 858bca0, the one we checked.
Skills in the Claude apps belong to your account rather than to a project.
Make ponder.zip, with the skill folder at the top level:
tmp="$(mktemp -d)" &&git clone -q --depth 1 --filter=blob:none --no-checkout https://github.com/github/awesome-copilot.git "$tmp" &&git -C "$tmp" fetch -q --depth 1 origin 858bca0310db344b05bea54d77486e9b680f804c &&git -C "$tmp" sparse-checkout set -- skills/ponder &&git -C "$tmp" checkout -q 858bca0310db344b05bea54d77486e9b680f804c &&out="$(mktemp -d)" &&cp -R "$tmp"/skills/ponder "$out"/ponder &&(cd "$out" && zip -qr - ponder) > ponder.zip &&rm -rf "$tmp" "$out"In Claude, open Customize > Skills, select +, then + Create skill > Upload a skill, and choose ponder.zip.
On Free, Pro and Max plans, turn on Code execution and file creation (Create and edit files in newer settings) under Settings > Capabilities.
Codex
Pinned to commit 858bca0, the one we checked.
From your project's root folder:
tmp="$(mktemp -d)" &&git clone -q --depth 1 --filter=blob:none --no-checkout https://github.com/github/awesome-copilot.git "$tmp" &&git -C "$tmp" fetch -q --depth 1 origin 858bca0310db344b05bea54d77486e9b680f804c &&git -C "$tmp" sparse-checkout set -- skills/ponder &&git -C "$tmp" checkout -q 858bca0310db344b05bea54d77486e9b680f804c &&mkdir -p .agents/skills &&mkdir .agents/skills/ponder &&cp -R "$tmp"/skills/ponder/. .agents/skills/ponder/ &&rm -rf "$tmp"Codex picks up new skills on its own; restart it if this one does not appear.
Cursor
Pinned to commit 858bca0, the one we checked.
From your project's root folder:
tmp="$(mktemp -d)" &&git clone -q --depth 1 --filter=blob:none --no-checkout https://github.com/github/awesome-copilot.git "$tmp" &&git -C "$tmp" fetch -q --depth 1 origin 858bca0310db344b05bea54d77486e9b680f804c &&git -C "$tmp" sparse-checkout set -- skills/ponder &&git -C "$tmp" checkout -q 858bca0310db344b05bea54d77486e9b680f804c &&mkdir -p .cursor/skills &&mkdir .cursor/skills/ponder &&cp -R "$tmp"/skills/ponder/. .cursor/skills/ponder/ &&rm -rf "$tmp"Copilot & VS Code
Pinned to commit 858bca0, the one we checked.
From your project's root folder:
tmp="$(mktemp -d)" &&git clone -q --depth 1 --filter=blob:none --no-checkout https://github.com/github/awesome-copilot.git "$tmp" &&git -C "$tmp" fetch -q --depth 1 origin 858bca0310db344b05bea54d77486e9b680f804c &&git -C "$tmp" sparse-checkout set -- skills/ponder &&git -C "$tmp" checkout -q 858bca0310db344b05bea54d77486e9b680f804c &&mkdir -p .github/skills &&mkdir .github/skills/ponder &&cp -R "$tmp"/skills/ponder/. .github/skills/ponder/ &&rm -rf "$tmp"In a running Copilot CLI session, run /skills reload.
Or install it with gh skill, which also installs the commit we checked. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90 or later.
gh skill install github/awesome-copilot skills/ponder/SKILL.md@858bca0310db344b05bea54d77486e9b680f804c --agent github-copilot --scope projectGemini CLI
Pinned to commit 858bca0, the one we checked.
From your project's root folder:
tmp="$(mktemp -d)" &&git clone -q --depth 1 --filter=blob:none --no-checkout https://github.com/github/awesome-copilot.git "$tmp" &&git -C "$tmp" fetch -q --depth 1 origin 858bca0310db344b05bea54d77486e9b680f804c &&git -C "$tmp" sparse-checkout set -- skills/ponder &&git -C "$tmp" checkout -q 858bca0310db344b05bea54d77486e9b680f804c &&mkdir -p .gemini/skills &&mkdir .gemini/skills/ponder &&cp -R "$tmp"/skills/ponder/. .gemini/skills/ponder/ &&rm -rf "$tmp"In a running session, run /skills reload.
Or use Gemini CLI’s own installer. Installs the latest version, not the one we checked.
gemini skills install https://github.com/github/awesome-copilot.git --path skills/ponder --scope workspaceAny agent
Pinned to commit 858bca0, the one we checked.
OpenCode, Goose, Windsurf (Devin Desktop), Zed, Roo Code, Factory Droid, Junie, Amp and Antigravity read .agents/skills in a project.
From your project's root folder:
tmp="$(mktemp -d)" &&git clone -q --depth 1 --filter=blob:none --no-checkout https://github.com/github/awesome-copilot.git "$tmp" &&git -C "$tmp" fetch -q --depth 1 origin 858bca0310db344b05bea54d77486e9b680f804c &&git -C "$tmp" sparse-checkout set -- skills/ponder &&git -C "$tmp" checkout -q 858bca0310db344b05bea54d77486e9b680f804c &&mkdir -p .agents/skills &&mkdir .agents/skills/ponder &&cp -R "$tmp"/skills/ponder/. .agents/skills/ponder/ &&rm -rf "$tmp"Or use the skills CLI from skills.sh. Installs the latest version, not the one we checked. The skills CLI reports installs to skills.sh unless you set DISABLE_TELEMETRY=1.
npx skills@1.7.4 add github/awesome-copilot --skill ponderWhat it can touch
From the files and frontmatter at commit 858bca0. This is how much a skill can do, not whether it is risky.
Pattern check
Pattern check: nothing flagged · commit 858bca0 · 1 Nov 2026
We checked every text file in this skill, at commit 858bca0 on 1 Nov 2026, against 45 published patterns such as download-and-run commands, hidden text and credential access. We don't run the skill, we don't read the web pages it points to, and we can't judge everything its instructions might lead an agent to do. In published tests, pattern checks like this one missed most malicious skills. Read the skill before you install it — especially anything it asks you to download or run.
How the check worksReport an incorrect finding
Outside links we did not follow
- https://github.com/Quinnod345/ponder
- https://github.com/Quinnod345/ponder.git
- https://github.com/Quinnod345/oneiro-oca
Format check
Each agent reads SKILL.md a little differently. We check the file against each one's published rules; we don't run the skill in any agent.
Agent Skills specPasses with warnings
The open format from agentskills.io, held to what the strictest agents enforce, so one folder loads everywhere.
- Warning
The description contains < or >. Uploads to the Claude apps and API reject it. D3
Fix: Remove < and >, or reword (for example "less than").
- Warning
The body is about 12,197 tokens (approx.); the spec suggests under 5,000. B2
Fix: Move detail into reference files that the agent reads only when needed.
- Note
There is no license field, so readers can't tell whether they may reuse the skill. O2
Fix: Add license: with an SPDX name such as MIT or Apache-2.0, or the name of a bundled licence file.
- Note
Reference files over 100 lines with no table of contents at the top: references/harness-notes.md (258 lines), references/perspectives.md (413 lines) and references/protocol.md (781 lines). B5
Fix: Add a short list of the sections at the top of each.
- Warning
Claude CodePasses
Claude Code reads its own extra fields, ignores unknown ones, and still loads a skill whose frontmatter is broken, without its fields.
- Note
The body is about 12,197 tokens (approx.); the spec suggests under 5,000. After compaction Claude Code keeps only the first 5,000 tokens of a skill. B2
Fix: Move detail into reference files that the agent reads only when needed.
- Note
Reference files over 100 lines with no table of contents at the top: references/harness-notes.md (258 lines), references/perspectives.md (413 lines) and references/protocol.md (781 lines). B5
Fix: Add a short list of the sections at the top of each.
- Note
Claude apps & API uploadFails
Uploading to claude.ai or the Claude API, or packaging with Anthropic's script, accepts only the six spec fields and stops on anything else.
- Error
The description contains < or >. Anthropic's validator rejects any angle bracket there. D3
Fix: Remove < and >, or reword (for example "less than").
- Note
The description is 783 characters. The claude.ai Help Center says 200 at most, though Anthropic's API docs and validator allow 1,024. D4
Fix: If the claude.ai upload refuses it, trim the description to 200 characters.
- Note
The body is about 12,197 tokens (approx.); the spec suggests under 5,000. Anthropic's guidance says the same. B2
Fix: Move detail into reference files that the agent reads only when needed.
- Note
Reference files over 100 lines with no table of contents at the top: references/harness-notes.md (258 lines), references/perspectives.md (413 lines) and references/protocol.md (781 lines). B5
Fix: Add a short list of the sections at the top of each.
- Error
- OpenAI (Codex & API)Passes
VS Code & CopilotPasses with warnings
VS Code reads skills one folder below .github/skills, .claude/skills or .agents/skills and falls back to the folder name when the name is missing or differs; GitHub's Copilot docs require the exact name SKILL.md.
- Warning
VS Code deletes text between < and > in a description, so "<anything>" would vanish. D3
Fix: Remove the angle brackets or reword.
- Warning
SKILL.md
Files
4 files
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