Report · marked 25 Aug 2026

nvm-sh/nvm

Solid foundations, held back in a few specific places.

Shell · 94,733 stars · 439 files · branch master

77 /100 B+

Instructions 27/27Whether the repo tells an agent how to behave before it starts guessing. Full marks.Setup 10/20Whether an agent can install the project and get it running without a human. Losing marks on deterministic install and environment config.Verification loop 19/25Whether an agent can check its own work. This is the category that most decides whether agent output is trustworthy. Losing marks on lint and format rules and static type checking.Context economy 15/20Whether the repo fits in a context window, or fights it. Losing marks on no committed build output and file sizes fit in context.Navigability 8/10How quickly anything new can orient itself. Losing marks on written documentation.

Higher is better. Accent marks what is costing you most.

Fix these first

Deterministic install

Commit the lockfile your package manager generates. Without it, an agent's install and your install are different builds, and 'works on my machine' becomes unfalsifiable.

Lint and format rules

A formatter config is the cheapest way to stop reviewing whitespace in agent diffs. It moves style from opinion to a command.

Static type checking

A type checker gives an agent an error message instead of a runtime surprise. It's the second-fastest feedback loop after the compiler.

The full marking

Every deduction below names the file or setting it came from.

Instructions 27/27 A+

Whether the repo tells an agent how to behave before it starts guessing.

✓Agent instruction file 12/12

AGENTS.md is present, which is the format the most tools read.

Also found: CLAUDE.md

✓Instruction quality 12/12

Specific enough that an agent can act on it.

17,389 characters, a workable length

names the actual commands to run

uses headings, so an agent can skim it

includes copyable code blocks

✓README as an entry point 3/3

README has a clear getting-started section.

Setup 10/20 C+

Whether an agent can install the project and get it running without a human.

✗Deterministic install 0/6

No lockfile. An agent installing dependencies may not get what CI got.

Commit the lockfile your package manager generates. Without it, an agent's install and your install are different builds, and 'works on my machine' becomes unfalsifiable.

✓Discoverable commands 6/6

Commands are declared where an agent will look for them.

package.json scripts (test, test/fast, test/slow, test/install_script, test/installation, test/installation/node…)

Makefile

✗Environment config 2/4

Env vars are mentioned in the README but there's no example file to copy.

Add a .env.example listing every variable with a safe placeholder value. It's the cheapest possible fix and it unblocks the whole first run.

✗Pinned runtime version 0/2

No pinned runtime version.

Add a .nvmrc, .python-version, or equivalent so the agent's toolchain matches yours.

✓Reproducible environment 2/2

dockerfile gives a known-good environment.

Verification loop 19/25 B+

Whether an agent can check its own work. This is the category that most decides whether agent output is trustworthy.

✓Tests exist 8/8

390 test files against 7 source files.

e.g. .github/workflows/nvm-install-test.yml, rename_test.sh, test/common.sh

✓Test command is discoverable 7/7

An agent can find and run `npm run test`.

✓Continuous integration 4/4

17 GitHub Actions workflows define what "passing" means.

✗Lint and format rules 0/3

No linter or formatter config. Style is tribal knowledge, so agent output will drift from yours.

A formatter config is the cheapest way to stop reviewing whitespace in agent diffs. It moves style from opinion to a command.

✗Static type checking 0/3

No static type checking.

A type checker gives an agent an error message instead of a runtime surprise. It's the second-fastest feedback loop after the compiler.

Context economy 15/20 B+

Whether the repo fits in a context window, or fights it.

✗No committed build output 3/6

Generated output is committed: node_modules/.

Add these to .gitignore and `git rm -r --cached` them. Generated files pollute search results, so an agent grepping for a function finds the compiled copy and edits the wrong file.

✓.gitignore hygiene 3/3

.gitignore covers 18 patterns.

✗File sizes fit in context 4/6

1 source file is over 100KB.

A single file that fills the context window forces an agent to work from fragments, and it will confidently edit code it never saw. Splitting the worst offenders pays for itself immediately.

nvm.sh — 165KB

✓Repository weight 5/5

About 4.3MB checked out, which is comfortable.

Here is your AGENTS.md

Drafted from what is actually in this repository: the install command from your lockfile, the commands you already declare, your real directory layout. Anything marked TODO needs a person. Save it at the root as AGENTS.md.

AGENTS.md — drafted for nvm-sh/nvm

undefined

Open the raw markdown or curl -o AGENTS.md agentreadme.com/draft/nvm-sh/nvm.md

Show the mark

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[![agent ready](https://agentreadme.com/badge/nvm-sh/nvm.svg)](https://agentreadme.com/nvm-sh/nvm)

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Think this mark is wrong?

Every deduction above names the file it came from, so this can be settled by looking. If a check missed something, that is a rule worth fixing.

Open an issue, already filled in