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what is probefish fr?

tseno26/probefish — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-05-18

1TypeScriptAudience · developerComplexity · 2/5Setup · easy

tl;dr

A Claude Code skill that catches AI agents silently losing data during code refactors by planting small verified test markers on invariants before changes are made.

vibe map

mindmap
  root((probefish))
    What it does
      Catches silent data loss
      Plants verified markers
      Reconciles a census
    Tech stack
      TypeScript
      Node.js
      Vitest
    Use cases
      Guard refactors
      Track code invariants
      Pair with ponytail
    Method
      Plant marker
      Mutation verify
      Census reconcile

Code map

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filefunction / class

what do people make with this?

VIBE 1

Protect a data field or edge case from being silently dropped when an AI agent consolidates duplicate functions.

VIBE 2

Add a hand written census that reconciles against test markers to catch deleted or unregistered probes.

VIBE 3

Use alongside the ponytail skill to prevent both code bloat and silent data loss during refactors.

what's the stack?

TypeScriptNode.jsVitest

how it stacks up fr

tseno26/probefish0xkinno/neuralvault0xmayurrr/ai-contractauditor
Stars111
LanguageTypeScriptTypeScriptTypeScript
Setup difficultyeasyhardeasy
Complexity2/54/52/5
Audiencedeveloperdeveloperdeveloper

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

how do i run it?

Difficulty · easy time til it works · 5min

Requires copying a single SKILL.md file into a Claude Code skills directory.

License not stated in the README.

in plain english

probefish is a skill for Claude Code that catches a specific kind of AI agent mistake: silently losing data when it changes the shape of code. This often happens when an agent merges several near duplicate functions into one, and the resulting diff looks clean and the tests still pass, but a field or edge case that only one of the original functions handled has quietly disappeared. Nothing errors, and the loss might not surface until much later, or never. The tool works by having the agent plant a small, verified test called a marker before making a change that moves data between forms, such as from a form to app state to an API to a database. Each marker pins down one specific thing that must survive the change. To make sure a marker actually works, it has to call the real production code rather than a copy of itself, and the process includes deliberately breaking the protected behavior to confirm the marker turns red, proving it is not a test that would pass no matter what. Every planted marker is also recorded by hand in a separate file called a census. A reconciler test compares the markers actually present in the test suite against what the census says should exist, catching two problems: a marker that was quietly deleted later, called lost, and a marker present but never recorded, called an orphan. Keeping the census hand written and separate from the code is what makes a later deletion show up as a mismatch instead of just shrinking the test count unnoticed. The project is inspired by a lab technique called Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization, which uses a glowing probe to reveal one specific kind of genetic damage that would otherwise be invisible. It is meant to complement another skill called ponytail, which focuses on preventing unnecessary code bloat, while probefish focuses on making sure data survives when that code does get consolidated. Installation is a matter of copying a SKILL.md file into Claude Code's skills folder, either globally or per project.

prompts (copy fr)

prompt 1
Explain how probefish detects silent data loss when an AI agent merges duplicate functions.
prompt 2
Show me how to install the probefish skill in Claude Code and plant my first marker.
prompt 3
Walk me through how probefish's census reconciler distinguishes a lost marker from an orphan marker.
prompt 4
How does probefish mutation-verify that a planted marker actually works?

Frequently asked questions

what is probefish fr?

A Claude Code skill that catches AI agents silently losing data during code refactors by planting small verified test markers on invariants before changes are made.

What language is probefish written in?

Mainly TypeScript. The stack also includes TypeScript, Node.js, Vitest.

What license does probefish use?

License not stated in the README.

How hard is probefish to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated easy, with roughly 5min to a first successful run.

Who is probefish for?

Mainly developer.

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