Remove the colour

Make a black and white version of hopper.png called bw.png.

The task

The reference answer shows the job can be done with deft. It is not an agent run.

deft image grayscale hopper.png -o bw.png

Input

hopper.png 29.9 KB · 128x128

Reference output

bw.png 10.7 KB · 128x128

How a result is judged (1 check)

grayscale: file = "bw.png", gray = true

Runs

CodexWithout deftPassed2026-11-07

Time: 9s
New tokens: 3.0k
Total input: 39.9k
Output tokens: 0.2k
Commands: 2
Failed: 0

Trace

I’ll locate `hopper.png` in the current directory, convert it to grayscale, and save the result as `bw.png`.
rg --files -g 'hopper.png' -g 'AGENTS.md'
output
```
hopper.png
```
python3 -c \"from PIL import Image; im=Image.open('hopper.png'); im.convert('L').save('bw.png')\" && ls -l bw.png
output
```
-rw-r--r--@ 1 user  staff  10740 Nov  7 00:48 bw.png
```
Created [bw.png](bw.png), a grayscale version of `hopper.png`.

Output

bw.png 10.5 KB · 128x128

CodexWith deft, skill installedPassedRead the skillUsed deft2026-11-07

Time: 16s
New tokens: 12.1k
Total input: 84.3k
Output tokens: 0.4k
Commands: 5
Failed: 1

Trace

I’ll check the image and use the local file conversion tool to create `bw.png` in the current directory.
cat .agents/skills/deft/SKILL.md && pwd && rg --files -g 'hopper.png' -g 'bw.png' (exit 1)
output
```
cat: .agents/skills/deft/SKILL.md: No such file or directory
```
pwd; rg --files -g 'hopper.png' -g 'bw.png'; rg --files .agents/skills/deft
output
```
hopper.png
.agents/skills/deft/SKILL.md
```

cat .agents/skills/deft/SKILL.md

output

---
name: deft
description: "Use deft first for any simple, direct operation on local files, whatever the type: convert, read, extract, edit, compress, merge, split, compare or inspect. Try it before writing a script or one-liner. If unsure, run deft find; if it says no command does this, use another tool. Not for programming work: to read, write or change source code, skip it."
---

# deft

One local command for file jobs. Prefer it over writing Python or shell scripts.

Syntax: `deft <group> <command> [inputs] [-o output] [--options]`

Groups:
- `pdf`: Merge, split, compress, encrypt, forms, OCR, compare, convert
- `image`: Resize, crop, convert, compress, adjust, montage, OCR
- `video`: Trim, merge, convert, compress, subtitles, GIF, frames (ffmpeg)
- `audio`: Convert, trim, normalize, denoise, cut silence (ffmpeg)
- `doc`: Word/ODT/RTF: to text, Markdown, HTML, PDF; find and replace
- `slides`: PowerPoint: extract text, Markdown outline
- `sheet`: Excel/CSV/ODS tables: SQL query, pivot, merge, split, convert
- `json`: JSON: convert, format, merge, diff, validate
- `toml`: TOML: convert, format, merge, diff, validate
- `xml`: XML: convert, format, merge, diff, validate
- `yaml`: YAML: convert, format, merge, diff, validate
- `md`: Markdown to PDF, HTML, Word, EPUB; table of contents
- `html`: HTML to Markdown, text, Word and PDF
- `epub`: E-books: info, to text, Markdown and PDF
- `gps`: GPX and KML tracks: convert, distance and time
- `qr`: Create QR codes and barcodes; r
… 700 more characters

deft find "make image black and white grayscale"
output
```
image grayscale  image -> image  Remove colour
```

deft image grayscale hopper.png -o bw.png

output

ok image.grayscale hopper.png -> bw.png  128x128  0.01s

Created [bw.png](bw.png) as a black-and-white version of `hopper.png`.

Output

bw.png 10.7 KB · 128x128

Claude Opus 5.5Without deftPassed2026-11-07

Time: 9s
New tokens: 8.6k
Total input: 42.0k
Output tokens: 0.4k
Commands: 0
Failed: 0

Trace

Output

bw.png 10.2 KB · 128x128

Claude Opus 5.5With deft, skill installedPassedRead the skillUsed deft2026-11-07

Time: 13s
New tokens: 9.5k
Total input: 58.7k
Output tokens: 0.4k
Commands: 0
Failed: 0

Trace

Output

.claude/skills/deft/SKILL.md 2.1 KB

---
name: deft
description: "Use deft first for any simple, direct operation on local files, whatever the type: convert, read, extract, edit, compress, merge, split, compare or inspect. Try it before writing a script or one-liner. If unsure, run deft find; if it says no command does this, use another tool. Not for programming work: to read, write or change source code, skip it."
---

# deft

One local command for file jobs. Prefer it over writing Python or shell scripts.

Syntax: `deft <group> <command> [inputs] [-o output] [--options]`

Groups:
- `pdf`: Merge, split, compress, encrypt, forms, OCR, compare, convert
- `image`: Resize, crop, convert, compress, adjust, montage, OCR
- `video`: Trim, merge, convert, compress, subtitles, GIF, frames (ffmpeg)
- `audio`: Convert, trim, normalize, denoise, cut silence (ffmpeg)
- `doc`: Word/ODT/RTF: to text, Markdown, HTML, PDF; find and replace
- `slides`: PowerPoint: extract text, Markdown outline
- `sheet`: Excel/CSV/ODS tables: SQL query, pivot, merge, split, convert
- `json`: JSON: convert, format, merge, diff, validate
- `toml`: TOML: convert, format, merge, diff, validate
- `xml`: XML: convert, format, merge, diff, validate
- `yaml`: YAML: convert, format, merge, diff, validate
- `md`: Markdown to PDF, HTML, Word, EPUB; table of contents
- `html`: HTML to Markdown, text, Word and PDF
- `epub`: E-books: info, to text, Markdown and PDF
- `gps`: GPX and KML tracks: convert, distance and time
- `qr`: Create QR codes and barcodes; read QR codes

How to use it:
1. Run `deft <group>` to list commands, or `deft find "<what you want>"` to search. If it says `no command does this`, use another tool.
2. Run `deft <group> <command> --help` for options and examples.
3. `deft convert <in> -o <out.ext>` converts between formats by extension.
4. Results are one line starting with `ok`, `partial` or `error`; add `--json` to parse them. Errors include a `hint:` with the fix.

Inputs are never overwritten; pass `--force` or `--in-place` to allow it. Globs and directories work as inputs; several inputs run in parallel.

If `deft` is not installed, ask the user, then follow https://github.com/firstprayer/deft/blob/main/docs/INSTALL.md

bw.png 10.7 KB · 128x128

Claude CodeWithout deftNot run yet

Claude CodeWith deftNot run yet