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Stress test

Challenges a plan before you commit to it: hidden assumptions, scope creep, edge cases, and whether it’s realistic.

When to use it

When you have a written plan and are about to start building it. It reads the plan with fresh eyes and sorts what it finds into “fix before you start”, “should address” and “good to know”.

A real example

This is a real run, in a fresh Claude Code install with only this skill, on 30 Sep 2026. The reply is shortened: […] marks where we cut. Nothing is reworded.

What we asked

Use the stress-test skill on this plan: build a one-page website for my dog-walking business this weekend with AI, put my prices and a booking form on it, and share the link on the neighbourhood Facebook group on Monday. Keep it short.

What it said back

BLOCKERS (fix before starting) - The booking form has no defined destination. "Put a booking form on it" doesn't say where submissions go. AI-generated static pages routinely produce forms that look real but don't send anywhere. […] Summary Blockers: 4 Risks: 11 Notes: 5 Verdict FAIL I found 4 blockers. The biggest: the plan never confirms the booking form actually delivers submissions anywhere — you could post this to the neighbourhood group Monday and get zero of the requests that come in.

What it can touch

Only what you paste or share with it — your plan, and project files if you share those. It saves a report file only if you say yes.

Install it

Download stress-test.zip

In Claude (website or desktop app)

  1. Download the zip below. Keep it zipped: it already holds the stress-test folder with its SKILL.md inside.
  2. In Claude (the website or the desktop app), go to Customize > Skills, click +, then Create skill, then Upload a skill, and choose the zip.
  3. On the Free, Pro or Max plan, code execution has to be on for skills to work. Turn it on in Settings > Capabilities.
  4. Start a new chat and describe the job. Claude uses the skill when it fits, or you can ask for it by name ("use the stress-test skill").

From Claude’s help page, Use skills in Claude. Menus move now and then; if these don’t match, check there.

In Claude Code

  1. Download the zip below and unzip it. You get a folder called stress-test.
  2. Move that folder into the .claude/skills folder in your home folder, so you end up with ~/.claude/skills/stress-test/SKILL.md. (~ means your home folder. Make the skills folder if it isn’t there yet.)
  3. In Claude Code, type /stress-test to use it, or just describe the job and Claude will pick it when it fits. If it doesn’t show up, start a new session.

From the Claude Code docs, Extend Claude with skills.

Reviewed on 30 Sep 2026 by three independent reviewers: one looked for hidden instructions, one for personal details, and one for what the skill can touch.