experimental-engineer vs three-pillars
experimental-engineer is a plugin bundle for AI coding tools published by codyhxyz. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Claude Code: claude-plugins-community). three-pillars is a plugin bundle for AI coding tools published by CurtisThe. Marketplaces we read that list it: 2 (Claude Code: claude-plugins-community, Community GitHub marketplaces). As of our marketplace pass on 2026-10-14. This pair was picked by a reader, not by our comparison rule, so search engines are asked not to index the page.
Where each is published
| Marketplace |  experimental-engineer |  three-pillars |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Code: claude-plugins-community | Listed Version: 0.4.0 Forks (GitHub): 0 Stars (GitHub): 0 Not marked · First seen |
Listed Version: 2.3.0 Forks (GitHub): 1 Stars (GitHub): 4 Not marked · First seen |
Each figure is the marketplace's own and is never added up across marketplaces. A marketplace that publishes no figure shows none: no number is not zero.
The facts side by side
| Fact | experimental-engineer | three-pillars |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplaces that list it (differs) | 1 (worse) | 2 (better) |
| Stars (GitHub) (differs) | 0 (worse) | 4 (better) |
| Forks (GitHub) (differs) | 0 (worse) | 1 (better) |
| Last release | Not published | Not published |
| Where it runs | Installs as a plugin bundle | Installs as a plugin bundle |
| Transport | Not stated | Not stated |
| Tools it declares | Not published | Not published |
| Environment variables it asks for | Not published | Not published |
| Parts of the bundle (differs) | 2 | 60 |
| Licence (differs) | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Repository (differs) | github.com/codyhxyz/experimental-engineer | github.com/curtisthe/three-pillars-plugin |
| Changes in the last 7 days (differs) | 0 | 2 |
| First seen (differs) | 2026-10-11 | 2026-10-12 |
Lines where the two differ have a tinted background and bold values. Where the data itself says which value is better (more marketplaces, a larger figure of the same marketplace, a fresher release, a verified mark on a marketplace that lists both), the better one is also marked green with ▲ and the worse one red with ▼. Where it runs, the transport, the tools, the settings, hooks, the bundle's parts, the licence and the week's changes are marked only as different: more or fewer is not better in itself.
What each says it does
experimental-engineer
A Claude Code subagent that explores unconventional, first-principles solutions to hard technical problems, pushing Claude out of its normal tendency to play it safe and stick to the smeared average of its training data. Channels John Carmack-style fearless engineering.
three-pillars
Structured development framework for Claude Code with design-first pipelines, multi-persona deliberation, and session continuity. Includes a full TDD pipeline (design → detailed design → plan → implement → audit), a spike pipeline for hypothesis-driven experiments, a Council of 18 historical thinker personas for complex decisions, and session management for continuity across conversations. 23 skills, 18 agents.
How to run each
experimental-engineer As a Claude Code plugin
/plugin marketplace add anthropics/claude-plugins-community
/plugin install experimental-engineer@claude-communitythree-pillars As a Claude Code plugin
/plugin marketplace add anthropics/claude-plugins-community
/plugin install three-pillars@claude-communityCommands built only from what the marketplaces declare; the full set for every client is on each card.
Tools each declares
Neither one's marketplaces publish a list of tools, so there is nothing to compare.
Settings each asks for
Neither one's marketplaces publish the settings it asks for.
What it can do: experimental-engineer · What it can do: three-pillars · Compare two other plugins
Data comes from the public marketplace file https://github.com/anthropics/claude-plugins-community/blob/HEAD/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json. Data comes from public marketplace files in GitHub repositories of their authors. Figures come from our own regular passes over the marketplaces, last read on . We publish no contact details for plugin publishers.