Calculate Shannon entropy, KL divergence, and other information theory metrics.

Install

mkdir -p .claude/skills/entropy && curl -L -o skill.zip "https://agentskills.codes/api/skills/download/4596" && unzip -o skill.zip -d .claude/skills/entropy && rm skill.zip

Installs to .claude/skills/entropy

Activation

This is the description your AI agent reads to decide when to run this skill — the better it matches your request, the more reliably it fires.

Problem-solving strategies for entropy in information theory
60 charsno explicit “when” trigger
Advanced

Key capabilities

  • Calculate Shannon entropy
  • Compute KL divergence
  • Solve differential entropy equations
  • Perform entropy property proofs

How it works

Interface for Scipy and Sympy to execute information theory math scripts based on defined axioms.

Inputs & outputs

You give it
Probability distribution or dataset
You get back
Calculated entropy value

When to use entropy

  • Calculating Shannon entropy for datasets
  • Computing KL divergence between distributions
  • Solving differential entropy equations

About this skill

Entropy

When to Use

Use this skill when working on entropy problems in information theory.

Decision Tree

  1. Shannon Entropy

    • H(X) = -sum p(x) log2 p(x)
    • Maximum for uniform distribution: H_max = log2(n)
    • Minimum = 0 for deterministic (one outcome certain)
    • scipy.stats.entropy(p, base=2) for discrete
  2. Entropy Properties

    • Non-negative: H(X) >= 0
    • Concave in p
    • Chain rule: H(X,Y) = H(X) + H(Y|X)
    • z3_solve.py prove "entropy_nonnegative"
  3. Joint and Conditional Entropy

    • H(X,Y) = -sum sum p(x,y) log2 p(x,y)
    • H(Y|X) = H(X,Y) - H(X)
    • H(Y|X) <= H(Y) with equality iff independent
  4. Differential Entropy (Continuous)

    • h(X) = -integral f(x) log f(x) dx
    • Can be negative!
    • Gaussian: h(X) = 0.5 * log2(2pie*sigma^2)
    • sympy_compute.py integrate "-f(x)*log(f(x))" --var x
  5. Maximum Entropy Principle

    • Given constraints, max entropy distribution is least biased
    • Uniform for no constraints
    • Exponential for E[X] = mu constraint
    • Gaussian for E[X], Var[X] constraints

Tool Commands

Scipy_Entropy

uv run python -c "from scipy.stats import entropy; p = [0.25, 0.25, 0.25, 0.25]; H = entropy(p, base=2); print('Entropy:', H, 'bits')"

Scipy_Kl_Div

uv run python -c "from scipy.stats import entropy; p = [0.5, 0.5]; q = [0.9, 0.1]; kl = entropy(p, q); print('KL divergence:', kl)"

Sympy_Entropy

uv run python -m runtime.harness scripts/sympy_compute.py simplify "-p*log(p, 2) - (1-p)*log(1-p, 2)"

Key Techniques

From indexed textbooks:

  • [Elements of Information Theory] Elements of Information Theory -- Thomas M_ Cover & Joy A_ Thomas -- 2_, Auflage, New York, NY, 2012 -- Wiley-Interscience -- 9780470303153 -- 2fcfe3e8a16b3aeefeaf9429fcf9a513 -- Anna’s Archive. What is the channel capacity of this channel? This is the multiple-access channel solved by Liao and Ahlswede.

Cognitive Tools Reference

See .claude/skills/math-mode/SKILL.md for full tool documentation.

When not to use it

  • Simple data compression tasks
  • Non-information theory math

Prerequisites

scipysympy

Limitations

  • Requires mathematical setup
  • Cannot prove human intent

How it compares

It automates the application of theoretical information formulas to concrete computational inputs.

Compared to similar skills

entropy side by side with the closest alternatives in the catalog.

SkillInstallsUpdatedSafetyDifficulty
entropy (this skill)27moReviewAdvanced
literature-review5592moReviewAdvanced
openalex-database487moReviewIntermediate
scientific-critical-thinking187moReviewAdvanced

Try saying

Example prompts that trigger this skill in your AI assistant.

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