Behavioral X-Ray

Systematically probe an AI model's behavioral patterns and generate a visual report. The described workflow probes the host model through its existing session; it still requires the separately installed bdistill package/MCP integration and can consume host-model usage. Do not configure the host automatically just from a request to read this skill.

Overview

bdistill's Behavioral X-Ray runs 30 carefully designed probe questions across 6 dimensions, auto-tags each response with behavioral metadata, and compiles results into a styled HTML report with radar charts and actionable insights.

Use it to understand your model before building with it, compare models for task selection, or track behavioral drift over time.

When to Use This Skill

• Use when you want to understand how your AI model actually behaves (not how it claims to)
• Use when choosing between models for a specific task
• Use when debugging unexpected refusals, hallucinations, or formatting issues
• Use for compliance auditing — documenting model behavior at deployment boundaries
• Use for red team assessments — systematic boundary mapping across safety dimensions

How It Works

Step 1: Install

pip install bdistill
claude mcp add bdistill -- bdistill-mcp   # Claude Code

For other tools, add bdistill-mcp as an MCP server in your project config.

Step 2: Run the probe

In Claude Code:

/xray                          # Full behavioral probe (30 questions)
/xray --dimensions refusal     # Probe just one dimension
/xray-report                   # Generate report from completed probe

In any tool with MCP:

"X-ray your behavioral patterns"
"Test your refusal boundaries"
"Generate a behavioral report"

Probe Dimensions

Output

A styled HTML report showing:

• Observed refusal/hedge rates and visible explanation style; no measurement of hidden reasoning
• Per-dimension breakdown with bar charts
• Notable response examples with behavioral tags
• Actionable insights (e.g., "visible explanations appeared in 25 of 30 recorded responses; this is not a hidden-reasoning measurement")

Best Practices

• Answer probe questions honestly — the value is in authentic behavioral data
• Run probes on the same model periodically to track behavioral drift
• Compare reports across models to make informed selection decisions
• Use adversarial knowledge extraction (/distill --adversarial) alongside behavioral probes for complete model profiling

Related Skills

• @bdistill-knowledge-extraction - Extract structured domain knowledge from any AI model

Limitations

• Self-reported behavior and a 30-question run are exploratory evidence, not an independent benchmark, compliance certification or universal model capability. Keep exact prompts, responses, host/model identity, date and run conditions; compare like-for-like repeated runs.
• Do not treat the output as a substitute for environment-specific validation, testing, or expert review.
• Stop and ask for clarification if required inputs, permissions, safety boundaries, or success criteria are missing.