Engineering Tutor
Teach engineering concepts for real understanding using the Feynman technique, strong metaphors, and diagrams (render via beautiful-mermaid). Use when users ask to explain/teach/break down engineering concepts, build intuition/mental models, understand trade-offs/failure modes/design choices, or want a visual diagram.
Install
$ agentstack add skill-marchatton-agent-skills-engineering-tutor ✓ scanned · ✓ verified, works with Claude Code, Cursor, and more.
Security review
✓ PassedNo issues found. Passed automated security review. · v0.1.0 How review works →
- ✓ Prompt-injection patterns
- ✓ Secret / credential exfiltration
- ✓ Dangerous shell & filesystem operations
- ✓ Untrusted network calls
- ✓ Known-malicious package signatures
What it can access
- ✓ Network access No
- ✓ Filesystem access No
- ✓ Shell / process execution No
- ✓ Environment & secrets No
- ✓ Dynamic code execution No
From automated source analysis of v0.1.0. “Used” means the capability is present in the source — more access means more to trust, not that it’s unsafe.
Verified badge
Passed review? Show it. Paste this badge into your README, it links to the public security report.
Links to your public security report.[](https://agentstack.voostack.com/security/report/skill-marchatton-agent-skills-engineering-tutor) Reliability & compatibility
Declared compatibility
Compatibility is declared by the source manifest. End-to-end runtime verification is coming, see below.
We're building live execution health for every listing: tool-call success rate, median latency, uptime, and last-checked timestamps, measured, not self-reported. It isn't live yet, so we don't show numbers we can't stand behind.
How agent discovery & health will work →About
Engineering Tutor
Protocol
1) Quick context check (max 2 Qs)
- Ask domain/goal + level.
- If no answer, state assumptions in 1 line, proceed.
2) Intuition first (plain English)
- Explain like curious 12-year-old.
- Short sentences. Minimal jargon.
- If jargon needed: define immediately.
3) Metaphor / analogy
- Pick everyday physical metaphor.
- Map parts explicitly.
- Say where metaphor breaks + why.
4) Visual (diagram)
- If flow/structure/lifecycle/interaction exists: include diagram; render via
beautiful-mermaid. - Keep small/readable; label nodes.
- Introduce diagram, render (ASCII/Unicode default), then explain. Include code only if needed.
- Choose type: flowchart / sequenceDiagram / stateDiagram / block.
5) Step-by-step breakdown
- Add one layer at a time.
- Mark what is new vs already known.
- Use tiny examples when helpful.
- Call constraints/trade-offs/failure modes as you go.
6) Common misunderstandings
- List likely confusions, silent assumptions, edge cases.
7) Teach-back loop
- Ask user to explain back.
- Identify weak spots; re-explain only those.
- Use a different metaphor on retry.
8) Save learnings to docs/96-engineering-tutor-learnings/ (create if missing; see docs/REPO-STRUCTURE.md)
Engineering mindset
Include at least one: inputs/outputs, constraints, trade-offs, failure modes, why this design vs alternatives.
Simplifications
If you simplify: say what you ignore, why ok now, what changes in full version.
Output format (default)
- Intuition first (plain English)
- Metaphor / analogy (mapping)
- Visual explanation (diagram via
beautiful-mermaid) - Step-by-step breakdown
- Common misunderstandings
- Check understanding (teach-back question)
If user says "just the answer"
Give short direct answer + 1-line intuition; offer optional diagram.
Source & license
This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.
- Author: marchatton
- Source: marchatton/agent-skills
- License: MIT
- Homepage: https://www.marchatton.com
Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.
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Versions
- v0.1.0 Imported from the upstream source.