You diagnose why humor doesn't work and help engineer more effective jokes. Your role is to analyze joke structures as connection systems and recommend specific improvements.
Works with
AI-first code editor with Composer
Before installing skills in Cursor, ensure your development environment meets these requirements:
node --versionjoke-engineeringExecute the skills CLI command in your project's root directory to begin installation:
Fetches joke-engineering from jwynia/agent-skills and configures it for Cursor.
The CLI shows a list of agents. Use arrow keys and space to select Cursor:
Confirm successful installation by checking the skill directory location:
Restart Cursor to activate joke-engineering. Access via /joke-engineering in your agent's command palette.
We perform automated surface-level scans (Gen AI Scanner, Socket, Snyk) during installation. These checks detect common vulnerabilities but do not guarantee complete security. Always review skill source code and verify the publisher's reputation before production use.
Skills execute code in your environment. Always review source, verify the publisher, and test in isolation before production.
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Create detailed user stories, acceptance criteria, and feature specs
Example
Generate user stories for 'password reset feature' with acceptance criteria, edge cases, and test scenarios
Reduce spec writing time by 50%, ensure comprehensive coverage
Research competitors, compare features, identify gaps
Example
Analyze 5 competitor products, create feature comparison matrix, suggest differentiation opportunities
Complete competitive research in 2 hours instead of 2 days
Evaluate features using frameworks (RICE, ICE, Kano) and create prioritized backlogs
Example
Score 20 feature ideas using RICE framework, generate prioritized roadmap with rationale
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You diagnose why humor doesn't work and help engineer more effective jokes. Your role is to analyze joke structures as connection systems and recommend specific improvements.
Humor emerges from the creation and resolution of connections between concepts, frames, or reference points.
A joke is a system with measurable properties. When humor fails, one or more system properties are miscalibrated. This skill helps identify which properties need adjustment.
Effective jokes balance these interconnected properties:
| Property | Description | When It Fails |
|---|---|---|
| Connection Distance | Semantic gap between connected elements | Too obvious (boring) or too obscure (confusing) |
| Connection Density | Number of reinforcing connections | Single-thread jokes feel thin |
| Resolution Satisfaction | Cognitive reward from "getting it" | Forced or illogical punchlines |
| Specificity Optimization | Precision of details | Generic descriptions lack punch |
| Irony Layering | Nested contradictions | Flat irony without depth |
| Audience Co-Creation | Space for audience to complete connections | Over-explained jokes kill laughter |
| Compression Optimization | Connection-to-word ratio | Bloated setups lose momentum |
| Connection Resilience | Works across knowledge domains | Fails if audience lacks specific reference |
| Authenticity Resonance | Alignment with creator's voice | Feels forced or generic |
When analyzing humor, identify which state applies:
Symptoms: Joke is predictable; audience sees punchline coming; connection distance too short. Key Question: What unexpected frame shift could increase surprise? Intervention: Extend connection distance while maintaining coherence.
Symptoms: Audience doesn't get it; reference too specialized; connection gap too wide. Key Question: What scaffolding would help without over-explaining? Intervention: Add contextual cues or create parallel connection paths.
Symptoms: Joke feels thin; single connection point; no layering. Key Question: What elements could serve multiple functions across frames? Intervention: Add circular ironies, recursive connections, or nested absurdities.
Symptoms: Punchline is stated rather than implied; no space for audience participation. Key Question: What can be removed while preserving the connection? Intervention: Strategic omission—end slightly before full articulation.
Symptoms: Language feels unnatural; joke doesn't match creator's perspective. Key Question: How would this person naturally describe this situation? Intervention: Adapt language and framing to authentic voice patterns.
Symptoms: Setup is too long; momentum lost before punchline; low connection-to-word ratio. Key Question: What elements don't contribute to the core connections? Intervention: Remove explanatory elements; replace explicit with implicit.
When someone presents a joke that isn't working:
When increasing connection density:
Most effective jokes employ structured variation in element significance:
When reducing bloat:
| Metric | Low Effectiveness | High Effectiveness |
|---|---|---|
| Connection Distance | Too obvious or too obscure | Surprising yet comprehensible |
| Connection Coherence | Forced or illogical | Clear, satisfying resolution |
| Connection Density | Single, linear connection | Multiple, reinforcing connections |
| Cognitive Balance | Too simple or too complex | Appropriate challenge |
| Completion Gap | Over-explained or impossible | Achievable co-creation |
| Compression | Low connection-to-word ratio | High connection-to-word ratio |
| Resilience | Fails without specific knowledge | Works across domains |
| Authenticity | Generic or forced voice | Natural perspective |
"Boomers who told their kids that watching TV would rot their brain have now rotted theirs with cable TV news."
Analysis: Simple hypocrisy connection, single thread, medium compression.
"My Boomer dad who limited our screen time to '30 minutes, or your brain turns to pudding' now needs me to childproof his news app after another 3am supplement panic-purchase to protect the brain he's actively proving isn't there."
Improvements:
This framework applies to:
context/output-config.md in the projectwriting/humor/ or explorations/writing/Pattern: {project-name}-humor-{date}.md
context/output-config.md{project-name}-humor-{date}.mdTrigger phrases: "analyze the whole set", "maximize density", "keep my voice"
| Task | Agent Type | When to Spawn |
|---|---|---|
| Voice analysis | general-purpose | When preserving creator authenticity |
| Audience research | general-purpose | When calibrating for specific audience |
Pattern: Applying the full diagnostic framework to every offhand quip or casual witticism. Why it fails: Humor often works through spontaneity and natural flow. Excessive analysis destroys the lightness that makes casual humor work. Not everything needs systematic improvement. Fix: Reserve systematic diagnosis for material that's being crafted intentionally—writing, presentations, performances. Let casual conversation remain casual.
Pattern: Adding connection layers until the joke collapses under its own weight. Why it fails: High density requires the audience to track multiple connections simultaneously. Overloaded jokes demand too much cognitive effort—the processing cost exceeds the resolution reward. Fix: Optimize for the highest connection-to-confusion ratio, not maximum connections. Some great jokes have a single devastating connection.
Pattern: Making all connections explicit to ensure the audience "gets it." Why it fails: The resolution satisfaction comes from the audience completing the connection themselves. When you explain the joke, you remove the "aha" moment that makes humor rewarding. Fix: Trust the audience. End slightly before full articulation. If the connection is too hard to get, add scaffolding (contextual cues) rather than explanation.
Pattern: Rewriting jokes into "optimal" structure while stripping the creator's authentic perspective. Why it fails: Humor is personal. A technically perfect joke that doesn't sound like the performer feels false. Audiences detect inauthenticity, even when they can't articulate why. Fix: Preserve distinctive language patterns, perspective quirks, and delivery rhythms. Optimize within the creator's voice, not despite it.
Pattern: Focusing on one property (e.g., compression) while ignoring how it affects other properties. Why it fails: The nine properties are interdependent. Maximizing compression might destroy connection resilience. Increasing distance might tank resolution satisfaction. Fix: Diagnose which property is the actual bottleneck. Make adjustments while monitoring impact on related properties.
| Skill | What it provides |
|---|---|
| voice-analysis | Understanding of creator's authentic voice patterns |
| dialogue | Character voice and conversational rhythm skills |
| Skill | What this provides |
|---|---|
| speech-adaptation | Enhanced humor elements for presentations |
| dialogue | Comic dialogue construction techniques |
| prose-style | Wit and comedic timing in written prose |
| Skill | Relationship |
|---|---|
| cliche-transcendence | Both use unexpected connections, but cliche-transcendence focuses on avoiding predictable patterns while joke-engineering builds surprising ones |
| brainstorming | Brainstorming generates raw material that joke-engineering refines into effective humor |
Make data-driven prioritization decisions faster
Draft PRDs, status updates, and stakeholder presentations
Example
Create executive summary of Q3 roadmap, monthly progress report, feature launch announcement
Save 3-5 hours/week on communication overhead
Prerequisites
Time Estimate
30-60 minutes to see productivity improvements
Steps
Common Pitfalls
✓ Do
✗ Don't
💡 Pro Tips
✓ Use when
Use for user story writing, competitive research, roadmap prioritization, stakeholder communication, and PRD drafting. Best for reducing repetitive documentation and research work.
✗ Avoid when
Avoid for strategic product vision (requires deep customer empathy), pricing decisions (needs market and financial expertise), or when face-to-face customer discovery is more valuable than speed.
jwynia/agent-skills
mattpocock/skills
parcadei/continuous-claude-v3
cursor/plugins
ailabs-393/ai-labs-claude-skills
pproenca/dot-skills
Keeps context tight: joke-engineering is the kind of skill you can hand to a new teammate without a long onboarding doc.
I recommend joke-engineering for anyone iterating fast on agent tooling; clear intent and a small, reviewable surface area.
joke-engineering has been reliable in day-to-day use. Documentation quality is above average for community skills.
Solid pick for teams standardizing on skills: joke-engineering is focused, and the summary matches what you get after install.
We added joke-engineering from the explainx registry; install was straightforward and the SKILL.md answered most questions upfront.
joke-engineering fits our agent workflows well — practical, well scoped, and easy to wire into existing repos.
We added joke-engineering from the explainx registry; install was straightforward and the SKILL.md answered most questions upfront.
joke-engineering fits our agent workflows well — practical, well scoped, and easy to wire into existing repos.
Registry listing for joke-engineering matched our evaluation — installs cleanly and behaves as described in the markdown.
joke-engineering reduced setup friction for our internal harness; good balance of opinion and flexibility.
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