Anti-Slop Labs

Start here · both labs

Anti-slop labs: set up your local environment

Download the lab (ZIP) Public skills only (ZIP) All GIFs (ZIP) GitHub repository

Two hands-on labs share this one local environment. Each lab has its own guide and its own GIF walkthroughs:

Lab What you practice Guide
Lab 1: /commands + Spec Kit Built-in slash commands (/explain, /plan, /tests, /fix, /review, /rubber-duck, /compact) and spec-driven development with GitHub Spec Kit (/speckit.* or /speckit-*) LAB-1-COMMANDS-SPECKIT.md
Lab 2: anti-slop skills Discover skills with the client's built-in skill tools (/skills, /af, /skills reload), load ten popular public skills from five repositories, then use them from plan to handoff: /grill-me, /systematic-debugging, /test-driven-development, /verification-before-completion, /receiving-code-review, /code-simplification, /humanizer (plus /source-driven-development and /frontend-design for your own projects) LAB-2-ANTI-SLOP-SKILLS.md

Both labs work in VS Code (Copilot Chat, Local session) and in the GitHub Copilot app (desktop, local repository, Interactive session). Every exercise starts from deliberately broken code and ends with an independent check that rejects plausible-but-wrong results.

1. Install the prerequisites

Needed for Install
Both labs Node.js 22.20+ and Git
Both labs, one client VS Code signed in to GitHub Copilot, or the GitHub Copilot app with a local repository
Lab 1 Spec Kit part only uv and Python 3.11+ (uv can fetch Python if your network allows it)

You do not need an npm install, API key, Azure resource or backend. GitHub Desktop and Microsoft Copilot are different products; they are not substitutes for the GitHub Copilot app.

2. Get the lab

Pick one:

  • ZIP (easiest): download anti-slop-lab.zip from the workshop site and extract it. Open a terminal in the extracted anti-slop-lab folder.

  • Clone:

    git clone https://github.com/AkashAi7/anti-ai-slop.git
cd anti-ai-slop\lab

The ZIP already contains the ten public skills for Lab 2, their licenses and a SHA-256 inventory pinned to each upstream commit. Nothing else is downloaded for Lab 2.

3. Check your machine

Run the doctor for the track you plan to use. It prints what is missing.

npm.cmd run doctor -- builtins
npm.cmd run doctor -- spec-kit
npm.cmd run doctor -- spec-kit-skills
npm.cmd run doctor -- skills

Windows examples use npm.cmd to avoid PowerShell's npm.ps1 execution policy prompt. On macOS/Linux, use npm.

4. Create a practice workspace

Each track gets a fresh Git repository under work\, with the broken starter code and a baseline commit, so you can review your diff later.

Track Lab Client Setup command Open this folder
builtins Lab 1 VS Code or app npm.cmd run setup -- builtins work\builtins
spec-kit Lab 1 VS Code npm.cmd run setup -- spec-kit work\spec-kit
spec-kit-skills Lab 1 Copilot app npm.cmd run setup -- spec-kit-skills work\spec-kit-skills
skills Lab 2 VS Code or app npm.cmd run setup -- skills then npm.cmd run skills work\skills

Setup refuses to overwrite an existing workspace. To start again, rename that one work\<track> folder and rerun setup. Keep the work folder beside scripts and fixtures: the independent checks live outside the workspace.

5. Open the workspace in your client

VS Code

code -n .\work\builtins

Or use File > Open Folder and pick the folder itself, not the parent lab. Trust the workspace, open Copilot Chat, choose a Local session, and type / to see the real command and skill picker. Keep tool approvals on.

GitHub Copilot app

  1. Add the exact work\<track> folder as a local repository.
  2. Start an Interactive session (not Autopilot).
  3. Type / to see the live picker. Use /skills to list skills, and /skills reload after adding skill files mid-session.

Do not use /allow-all-tools (/yolo) for these labs. Reviewing each change is part of the exercise.

6. Confirm the broken baseline

From the workspace's terminal:

npm.cmd run check -- --baseline
Track Expected baseline Finished
builtins, skills 3/7 pass, 4 intended failures VERIFIED: 7/7, exit 0
spec-kit, spec-kit-skills 2/10 pass, 8 intended failures VERIFIED: 10/10, exit 0

Red is intentional. Now open your lab guide: Lab 1 or Lab 2.

Troubleshooting

Symptom Fix
PowerShell blocks npm Use npm.cmd as shown. Do not change machine execution policy.
A slash command or skill is missing Open the work\<track> folder itself, use a Local (VS Code) or Interactive (app) session, then start a fresh chat. In the app, run /skills reload.
/speckit.* is absent but /speckit-* exists You installed the skills layout. Use the hyphenated names.
App /review is absent It needs an active session that has changes. Make a change first.
Setup says the workspace exists Setup protects your work. Rename that folder and retry.
Spec Kit download or TLS fails Use your organization's approved package index and certificates. Never disable TLS verification. Preflight Spec Kit before the session.
A check is red after "done" Read the failure. Fix the code or the missing tests; never weaken the checker.

Also in this folder

In the repository only (the lab ZIP leaves them out to stay small):

  • assets/: the GIFs, posters and transcripts shown on the site
  • tools/: maintainer-only GIF recorder (npm run gifs); learners never need it

The GIFs are illustrative reenactments. Their test results come from real fixture runs, but the chat dialogue is authored, not a recorded Copilot session.