Install
Write philosophy .md first, then express it as p5.js .html and .jsWho it is for
algorithmic-art is for people who explicitly want to make art with code — generative art, algorithmic art, flow fields, or particle systems. It uses p5.js and stresses seeded randomness and interactive parameters, not exporting one static image or wrapping a template. Once triggered you should create original algorithmic art; do not copy an existing artist’s work, to avoid copyright problems.
A closer fit is accepting two steps: first write an algorithmic philosophy (.md), then express that same philosophy as a p5.js sketch (.html + .js). The expression stage should be about 90% algorithmically generated and only about 10% necessary parameters.
It does not fit as an installer. The notes give no install command and do not say that placing it in some directory makes it usable. If the current assistant cannot yet produce the three files in those two steps, the existing notes stop here; do not infer an install path from the page address. It also does not fit “just give me a finished image and skip the philosophy.”
First attempt in 3 minutes
The official first path is to start the two-step creation, not to install. The notes page is https://raw.githubusercontent.com/anthropics/skills/main/skills/algorithmic-art/SKILL.md Follow only the order on that page. Do not write install sentences that never appear.
Prerequisite: the current assistant can already work in the algorithmic-art way, and you only ask for one original small study — for example “a seeded-random particle flow field” — and you do not name a living or copyrighted artist to imitate. There is no install command, so the “location” is the files this conversation will write, not some guessed skill directory.
Low-risk first task: do only step one. Ask for the algorithmic philosophy .md first; do not write .html / .js yet. The philosophy should stress computational process, emergent behavior, mathematical beauty, plus seeded randomness, noise fields, organic systems, particles, flows, fields, forces, parameter variation, and controlled chaos. It must keep stressing craft: the final algorithm should look as if countless hours were spent polishing it, as if it came from a leader in the field. Success signal: you have a philosophy draft that keeps stressing craft, and the assistant asks whether to continue into code.
After you confirm the philosophy, allow it to write the interactive viewer .html and the generation algorithm .js. Before writing, look at which files it will place. The notes do not write a default directory name; the first time, use a disposable practice directory.
Usage cases
Case 1: Produce one interactive sketch in two steps. Write the philosophy .md first, then turn the same idea into p5.js .html + .js. Fits when you want generative art with tunable parameters, not a static poster. The notes require expression to be about 90% algorithmically generated and about 10% necessary parameters. They do not describe what a parameter panel looks like, so you can only go as far as “philosophy first, sketch second, as few parameters as possible and only the critical ones.” If the assistant hands you an image or a template, ask it to return to the philosophy file. The notes page is still https://raw.githubusercontent.com/anthropics/skills/main/skills/algorithmic-art/SKILL.md
Case 2: Make an original study with particles, a flow field, or a noise field. The philosophy must explain through computational process, emergence, seeded randomness, and parameter variation — not a static image or a template. Fits when you want to explore flow fields or particles but must stay original. The notes do not provide a ready-made artist-style inventory and do not allow copying. The first time, constrain one seed and one small-canvas idea; wait until the philosophy passes, then generate code.
Boundaries
No install command: do not treat the page path as an installer. Copyright boundary: work must be original; do not copy existing artists. Output boundary: the three files are philosophy .md, interactive .html, algorithm .js, in that order — philosophy first, expression second. Ratio boundary: about 90% algorithmically generated, about 10% necessary parameters. Craft boundary: the philosophy must keep stressing long polish and top-tier craft; do not write it as a throwaway template. Theme boundary: computational process, emergence, noise fields, particles, flows, fields, forces, parameter variation, and controlled chaos. The notes do not write other media types and do not write how to publish to a website.