sakanaai/ai-scientist-v3/create-idea

What the skill is about

Produce one concrete, testable next experiment idea with machine-readable rubrics.

Output creation

Write both required JSON files directly with the available file-writing tools. Do not depend on command execution. When command execution is explicitly available, this optional helper can create starter files:

# the script path is relative to the skill file
python ./scripts/create_idea_placeholder.py <working_dir> [--cycle-index N]

• <working_dir>: the agent's current working directory (idea output directory).
• --cycle-index N: cycle index for the idea_id prefix (falls back to CYCLE_INDEX env var, then defaults to 1).

The optional script creates idea_bundle.json and target_rubrics.json with TODO placeholders for every required field. Replace each TODO value with the actual content.

What to do

1. Read task context:

• {{TASK_MD_PATH}}
• {{TASK_GOAL}}
• {{TASK_RUBRICS}}

1. Use cycle and history context:

• cycle_index={{CYCLE_INDEX}}
• recent ideas and attempts from the prompt context
• best-known manifest from the prompt context

1. Write exactly these files directly (or use the optional placeholder helper when execution is allowed):

• {{IDEA_BUNDLE_FILE}}
• {{TARGET_RUBRICS_FILE}}

1. {{IDEA_BUNDLE_FILE}} must be a JSON object with keys:

• idea_id (string)
• title (string)
• hypothesis (string)
• implementation_plan (non-empty array of short strings)
• target_rubrics (non-empty array of {id, description, type})
• notes_for_agent (string)

1. Rubric rules:

• include at least one metric rubric
• include at least one implementation rubric
• use stable snake_case rubric ids
• keep rubric descriptions concrete and measurable

1. Ensure {{TARGET_RUBRICS_FILE}} is exactly equal to idea_bundle.json.target_rubrics.
2. Apply the active harness rules exactly:

{{HARNESS_RUBRIC_REQUIREMENTS}}

When a rubric includes verification, verification must be a JSON object, never a prose string. For harness implementation rubrics, use exactly this shape:

{
  "verification": {
    "type": "source_contains",
    "patterns": ["specific executable snippet"]
  }
}

1. Before finishing, reread both files and confirm every implementation rubric satisfies the active harness rules.
2. Do not modify files outside the required output files.