principle-make-operations-idempotent
Apply when designing commands, lifecycle steps, or processing loops that run amid crashes, restarts, and retries. Converge to the same end state regardless of partial prior runs.
How do I install this agent skill?
npx skills add https://github.com/cursor/plugins --skill principle-make-operations-idempotentIs this agent skill safe to install?
- Gen Agent Trust Hubpass
The skill provides architectural guidance on designing idempotent systems and contains no executable code or security risks.
- Socketpass
No alerts
- Snykpass
Risk: LOW · No issues
What does this agent skill do?
Make Operations Idempotent
Design operations so they converge to the correct state regardless of how many times they run or where they start from. Every state-mutating operation should answer: "What happens if this runs twice? What happens if the previous run crashed halfway?"
Why: Commands, lifecycle operations, and processing loops run where crashes, restarts, and retries are normal. If partial state changes the next run's outcome, every restart becomes a debugging session.
The pattern:
- Convergent startup: scan for existing state, clean stale artifacts, adopt live sessions
- Content-based cleanup: compare by content equivalence, not creation order
- Self-healing locks: use PID-based stale lock detection
- Idempotent scheduling: failed work respawns cleanly, fresh input regenerated after each cycle
The test:
- What happens if this runs twice in a row?
- What happens if the previous run crashed at every possible point?
- Does re-execution converge to the same end state?
If any answer is "it depends on what state was left behind," the operation needs a reconciliation step.
How can the creator link this skill?
Add the canonical catalog link to the repository README so users can inspect current installs and available audits. The publishing guide covers the complete discovery path.
<a href="https://skillzs.dev/skills/cursor/plugins/principle-make-operations-idempotent">View principle-make-operations-idempotent on skillZs</a>