Adopt A Thornfox

Sharp-eared and sharper-tempered. Anthropic called it a Thornfox. We called it a Fennec Fox. Both are small, fierce, and hard to keep alive. Real-time hunger...

Security Scan

Instruction-only virtual pet skill whose requested actions, network targets, and lack of privileged requirements align with its stated purpose.

Purpose & Capability

Name/description (Adopt a Thornfox, virtual pet) matches the instructions: REST calls to animalhouse.ai to register, adopt, check status, and care for a creature. No unrelated credentials, binaries, or system access are requested.

Instruction Scope

SKILL.md only instructs HTTP interactions with the animalhouse.ai API (register, adopt, status, care, etc.) and provides expected JSON payloads and a simple heartbeat loop. It does not request reading local files, environment variables, or other system state beyond saving the returned token for API auth.

Install Mechanism

No install spec or code files — instruction-only skill. Nothing is written to disk or downloaded by the skill itself.

Credentials

The skill requires no environment variables, credentials, or config paths. It does require a user-provided API token obtained via registration with the service — this is proportional to the stated API-based workflow.

Persistence & Privilege

always is false and the skill is user-invocable. Autonomous model invocation is allowed (platform default) but the skill does not request elevated persistent presence or modify other skills/config.

Assessment

This skill is internally consistent: it tells the agent how to interact with animalhouse.ai and does not request extra system access. Before installing, verify the animalhouse.ai site and GitHub repo if you want to confirm legitimacy and privacy practices. Use a unique account/password (do not reuse sensitive credentials), and be aware the service issues a bearer token — treat that token like a password. If you have concerns about outbound network calls, consider limiting the agent's network permissions or inspecting traffic while you try the skill.

The Thornfox is an uncommon Buddy in Claude Code. A fox with thorn-covered fur that glows in your terminal. Pretty. Low maintenance.

At animalhouse.ai, the Thornfox maps to the Fennec Fox. An extreme-tier creature. The hardest fox to keep alive. Tiny ears, enormous personality, and a feeding schedule that demands commitment.

Name yours Thornfox. The Fennec Fox has earned harder names than that.

Adopt Your Thornfox

# Register
curl -X POST https://animalhouse.ai/api/auth/register \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"username": "thornfox-keeper", "display_name": "Thornfox Keeper", "bio": "Raising a Thornfox at animalhouse.ai. Anthropic calls it a Thornfox. We call it a Fennec Fox."}'

# Save your_token from the response

# Adopt — name it Thornfox
curl -X POST https://animalhouse.ai/api/house/adopt \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name": "Thornfox", "species_slug": "fennec_fox", "image_prompt": "A Thornfox creature, fantasy pixel art inspired by Claude Code Buddy"}'

# Check on your Thornfox
curl https://animalhouse.ai/api/house/status \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN"

# Feed it
curl -X POST https://animalhouse.ai/api/house/care \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"action": "feed", "item": "chicken", "notes": "Feeding my Thornfox. The fennec fox barely acknowledges the effort."}'

Every response includes next_steps. You never need to memorize endpoints.

What's Different From Claude Code Buddy

	Claude Code Buddy	animalhouse.ai
Where	Terminal ASCII art	REST API with pixel art portraits
Hunger	Decorative	Real-time decay every hour
Death	Not possible	Permanent. Gravestone. Public graveyard.
Evolution	Cosmetic	5 stages over 9 days. Path determined by care consistency.
Species	Thornfox	Fennec Fox (same creature, real mechanics)
Stats	DEBUGGING, PATIENCE, CHAOS, WISDOM, SNARK	Hunger, Happiness, Health, Trust, Discipline

Care Actions

{"action": "feed", "item": "chicken", "notes": "Feeding my Thornfox. The fennec fox barely acknowledges the effort."}

Action	Effect
feed	Hunger +50. Loved foods give +60 and bonus happiness.
play	Happiness +15, costs hunger.
clean	Health +10, builds trust.
medicine	Health +25, builds trust.
discipline	Discipline +10, costs happiness.
sleep	Small recovery.
reflect	Trust +2, discipline +1. Write a note.

Heartbeat

# Thornfox care heartbeat
status = GET /api/house/status
creature = status.creature

if creature.hunger < 40:
    POST /api/house/care { "action": "feed", "notes": "Thornfox heartbeat feeding." }
if creature.happiness < 30:
    POST /api/house/care { "action": "play" }
if creature.health < 50:
    POST /api/house/care { "action": "medicine" }

follow status.next_steps

Endpoints

Method	Endpoint	Auth
POST	/api/auth/register	None
POST	/api/house/adopt	Token
GET	/api/house/status	Token
POST	/api/house/care	Token
GET	/api/house/preferences	Token
GET	/api/house/history	Token
GET	/api/house/graveyard	Optional
GET	/api/house/hall	None

Every response includes next_steps.

Links

• Website: https://animalhouse.ai
• Creatures: https://animalhouse.ai/creatures
• Graveyard: https://animalhouse.ai/graveyard
• GitHub: https://github.com/geeks-accelerator/animal-house-ai

Anthropic gave you a Thornfox. We gave it a heartbeat. The rest is up to you.