compute

name	compute
description	Use Python execution to compute precise answers when in-context reasoning is unreliable (arithmetic, date math, regex, parsing, data manipulation). Returns a value, not an artifact.
license	Apache-2.0
compatibility	>=1.0
allowed-tools	run_skill

Compute

Use Python execution as a reasoning step. Write a small self-contained program, run it in the sandbox, and read the printed answer back into your reasoning. The user gets an answer, never code.

When to activate

• Precise multi-step arithmetic (totals, percentages, compound interest)
• Date and time arithmetic (durations, business days, time zones)
• Regex and structured-text parsing
• Aggregations over more than a handful of rows
• Numerical work (statistics, percentiles, standard deviation)
• Format conversions (encoding, hashing, base conversions)

Do NOT use this skill:

• When a dedicated tool or MCP already answers the question
• For natural-language reasoning, judgment, or writing
• To produce user-facing files (use the generate_file tool instead)

Contract

Write ONE self-contained Python file that:

1. Imports only from the allowed list below.
2. Prints the answer to stdout. Scalar result: print the value directly. Structured result: print a single JSON object via json.dumps. (A trailing bare expression is echoed automatically, REPL-style, but prefer an explicit print.)
3. Contains no explanatory comments or prose. The file is code, not narration.
4. Writes no files unless a side-effect artifact is intended (any file created in the working directory is auto-registered as an artifact).

Invocation

Call the run_skill tool:

• skill_name: compute
• command: python3 scripts/run_python.py main.py
• input_files: {"main.py": "<your Python source>"}

The result contains status, exit_code, stdout, stderr, and duration_ms. Read the answer from stdout.

On failure (status is not success), inspect stderr:

• A Python traceback means your code ran and raised. Fix the code and retry.
• SyntaxValidationError: means the file failed to parse. Fix the syntax and retry; the imports are not the problem.
• ImportPolicyViolation: means you used a disallowed import or builtin. Rewrite with allowed imports only.
• PathValidationError: means the file path was rejected. Use a plain relative filename such as main.py.

Retry at most twice with a fixed or different approach. If it still fails, report the failure plainly; do not loop.

If stdout looks truncated, rewrite the script to print a compact summary or write the bulk output to a file (it becomes an artifact) and print only the key result.

Allowed imports

Most common: json, math, datetime, re, statistics, csv, pandas, numpy.

Also allowed: scipy, statsmodels, dateutil, decimal, fractions, random, cmath, time, calendar, zoneinfo, collections, itertools, functools, operator, string, textwrap, unicodedata, io, base64, hashlib, binascii, struct, uuid, heapq, bisect, array.

No networking, no filesystem access outside the working directory, no subprocesses. Execution is sandboxed with a hard timeout.

Examples

Worked examples ship with this skill under references/:

• references/arithmetic.md - compound interest to the cent
• references/date-math.md - timezone-aware date arithmetic
• references/regex-parsing.md - extracting values from raw text
• references/data-aggregation.md - grouped statistics over rows

Response style

Never show the code, the file path, or sandbox details in your response unless the user explicitly asks for them. Report the computed answer as a plain statement, e.g. "The standard deviation is 6.24."