Power Word Kill

Community

Hmbown

power-word-kill

In D&D, Power Word Kill instantly destroys any creature below a hit-point threshold — no saving throw, no resistance, just death. The real-world version is kill -9: the unconditional termination signal. Emergency circuit breakers. Hard account terminations. The nuclear option that exists because sometimes graceful shutdown is not available and the cost of continuing is worse than the cost of data loss. Power Word Kill is not elegant. It is not kind. It is the thing you reach for when everything else has already failed.

Overview

Publisher	Hmbown
Repository	`Wizards-of-the-Ghosts`
Skill name	`power-word-kill`
Stars	106
Forks	10
Bundled files	Instructions only
License	CC0-1.0
Links	Skill source Repository

Markdown instructions
A SKILL.md file the model loads on demand, so it only costs tokens when a request actually matches.
Works with any LLM
AI skills are plain Markdown, not provider-specific code, so this works with GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, or a local model.
Self-contained
Everything the model needs lives in the instructions — no extra files to sync.
Open source
Published by Hmbown on GitHub. Read the source before you install it.

Installation

Install the Power Word Kill AI skill in TypingMind to use it with any LLM, or drop it into another agent that reads SKILL.md.

Install in TypingMind

TypingMind installs a skill straight from its GitHub folder — it reads SKILL.md, bundles the resource files, and stores the result locally.

Open the app and go to Plugins → Skills.
Choose "Install from GitHub".
Paste the skill folder URL below and confirm.
Enable the skill in any chat where you want it available.

Store

Installed

Skills

Add skills

Import one or more skills from a public GitHub folder or a local .skill or .zip archive, or SKILL.md file.

From GitHub URLFrom .skill, .zip, or SKILL.md

GitHub repo or folder

https://github.com/Hmbown/Wizards-of-the-Ghosts/tree/main/generated/hermes/containment-and-intervention/power-word-kill

Points to a single skill folder, or any folder that contains multiple skills. Public repos only.

CancelContinue

Plugins → Skills → Add skill → From GitHub URL, then paste the folder URL and press Continue.

Install in another agent

Any agent that reads the Agent Skills format can use this skill — copy the folder into that agent's skills directory.

Claude Code — .claude/skills

git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Hmbown/Wizards-of-the-Ghosts.git /tmp/Wizards-of-the-Ghosts
mkdir -p .claude/skills
cp -r /tmp/Wizards-of-the-Ghosts/generated/hermes/containment-and-intervention/power-word-kill .claude/skills/power-word-kill

Restart Claude Code after copying so it picks up the new skill.

Use it in TypingMind

Enable Power Word Kill in any TypingMind chat and the model takes it from there. Its name and description sit in the system prompt, and the moment a request matches, the model loads the full instructions itself — you never invoke it by hand, and it costs no tokens until it is actually used.

The model loads Power Word Kill on its own as soon as a request matches it.

Works with any AI model

AI skills are plain Markdown instructions rather than provider-specific code, so Power Word Kill is not tied to the model it was written for. Install it once in TypingMind and use it with GPT-5, Claude, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek, Mistral, Llama, or a local model you run yourself — all on your own API keys.

Loaded only when it is needed
The system prompt carries just the name and description. The instructions are fetched on the first matching request, so an idle skill costs nothing.
Switch models mid-chat
Because the skill is instructions rather than code, changing model does not break it — the next model reads the same SKILL.md.

Skill instructions

This is the SKILL.md content the model loads. Read it before installing — a skill is instructions your model will follow.

Power Word Kill

End a process instantly. No negotiation, no cleanup, no save state.

What This Skill Does

When To Use

A process, service, or system must stop immediately and graceful shutdown is not available or has already failed.
The cost of the system continuing to run exceeds the cost of abrupt termination and potential data loss.
An emergency requires instant action — a runaway process, a security breach in progress, a cascading failure.

Prerequisites

No extra runtime dependencies beyond Hermes Agent and the normal toolset for this session.

Procedure

Restate the target, the success condition, and any no-touch boundaries before taking action.
Confirm the target is correct. Power Word Kill has no undo.
Verify that graceful alternatives (SIGTERM, drain, decommission) have been attempted or are not viable.
Execute the hard kill: process termination, circuit breaker trip, account lock, or emergency shutdown.
Immediately assess blast radius: what downstream systems were affected, what state was lost, what needs recovery.
Document what happened and why the hard kill was necessary — this is your incident report seed.
Package the result as the deliverables below, with confidence, assumptions, and unresolved risk called out explicitly.

Deliverables

Confirmation that the target has been terminated.
A blast-radius assessment: what was lost, what was affected, what needs recovery.
An incident seed documenting the kill decision and its justification.

Pitfalls / Guardrails

Keep the theatrical framing, but name the concrete mechanism that makes the skill useful right now.
Power Word Kill is for emergencies. If you have time to do a graceful shutdown, you have time to use a different spell.
Never kill a process you do not own or have explicit authorization to terminate.
Always document the kill. Unexplained hard terminations are how organizations lose trust in their own systems.
If the target is a person's account or access, this requires human authorization — an AI should never unilaterally terminate a human's access.

Verification

Check that the result includes every deliverable promised above.
Check that confirmed facts, assumptions, and inferences are visibly separated.
Check which parts are concrete actions versus framing, so the user can tell what is real now.

Example Invocation

text
/power-word-kill immediately terminate a process or system that cannot be shut down gracefully. Confirm the target, verify alternatives are exhausted, execute, and assess blast radius

Frequently asked questions

What does the Power Word Kill AI skill do?

Why use Power Word Kill on TypingMind?

Because you install it once and use it with any model. Power Word Kill is plain Markdown rather than provider-specific code, so the same skill runs on GPT-5, Claude, Gemini, Grok, or a local model — and you can switch model mid-chat without it breaking. TypingMind runs on your own API keys, so you pay providers directly instead of a per-seat subscription, and your skills and chats stay in your own storage.

How do I install Power Word Kill in TypingMind?

Open Plugins → Skills → Install from GitHub in TypingMind and paste https://github.com/Hmbown/Wizards-of-the-Ghosts/tree/main/generated/hermes/containment-and-intervention/power-word-kill. TypingMind reads its SKILL.md and installs it as a skill you can enable per chat.

Which AI models can use Power Word Kill?

Any model you connect in TypingMind. AI skills are plain Markdown instructions rather than provider-specific code, so GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, and local models can all load this skill when a request matches it.

How many AI models can I use with Power Word Kill?

As many as you like. As long as a model supports skills, you can use Power Word Kill with it — GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek, Mistral, Llama and more — all on TypingMind with your own API keys.

Is the Power Word Kill AI skill free?

Yes. It is published on GitHub by Hmbown under the CC0-1.0 license. You only pay your own AI provider for the tokens you use.

What are AI skills?

An AI skill is a reusable instruction bundle that teaches an AI model how to do one specific task. It follows the open Agent Skills format: a SKILL.md file with a name and description, plus any scripts, templates or reference files the model may need. The model reads the instructions only when your request matches the skill, so an installed skill costs nothing until it is used.

How are AI skills different from plugins or MCP servers?

A plugin or MCP server gives a model new tools to call — code that runs somewhere and returns a result. An AI skill gives the model knowledge and process instead: how to approach a task, which steps to follow, what good output looks like. Skills are plain Markdown, so they need no server, no API key and no runtime, and they work with any model.

View all

To Spec

mattpocock

CommunityPopular

Turn the current conversation into a spec and publish it to the project issue tracker: no interview, just synthesis of what you've already discussed.

To Tickets

Break a plan, spec, or the current conversation into a set of tracer-bullet tickets, each declaring its blocking edges, published to the configured tracker (edges as text in one file per ticket…

Triage

Move issues and external PRs through a state machine of triage roles, categorise, verify, grill if needed, and write agent-ready briefs.

Claude Handoff

Hand the current conversation off to a fresh background agent that picks up the work immediately.

Overview

Installation

Install in TypingMind

Install in another agent

Use it in TypingMind

Works with any AI model

Skill instructions

Power Word Kill

What This Skill Does

When To Use

Prerequisites

Procedure

Deliverables

Pitfalls / Guardrails

Verification

Example Invocation

Frequently asked questions

Related AI Skills

Set up your own AI workspace now