---
id: "claim-use-scripts-for-deterministic"
type: "claim"
source_timestamps: ["17:25:00", "17:35:00"]
tags: ["architecture"]
related: ["concept-hard-wiring-vs-skills", "action-use-scripts-for-hardwiring", "contrarian-dont-use-skills-for-everything"]
confidence: "high"
testable: true
speakers: ["Nate B. Jones"]
sources: ["s43-file-format-agreement"]
sourceVaultSlug: "s43-file-format-agreement"
originDay: 43
---
# Deterministic behavior requires scripts, not skills

## Claim

If a workflow requires 100% hard-wired, deterministic execution, it must be written as **traditional code (a script)**. Skills are probabilistic by nature; while agents generally follow them, they cannot guarantee absolute fidelity for rigid procedural logic.

## Confidence: High · Testable: Yes

## Validation (Enrichment)

Supported as best practice. LLMs excel at reasoning but fail on 100%-fidelity tasks — use deterministic scripts (e.g., Python tools) for precision, invoked via agent tool-calling, and reserve skills for judgment-heavy tasks. Aligns with neuro-symbolic hybrids combining LLMs with rule-based code.

## Related

- [[concept-hard-wiring-vs-skills]] — the architectural framing
- [[action-use-scripts-for-hardwiring]] — the practice
- [[contrarian-dont-use-skills-for-everything]]