Structural validation proves a skill can load. Effectiveness review asks whether the agent will use it well. Use this skill when reviewing a new skill, improving an existing skill, or deciding whether a proposed skill belongs in the library.
When to Use
- A skill passes format checks but may still be vague or redundant
- A contributor proposes a new skill
- A skill is not triggering when expected
- A skill seems too broad, too long, or hard to verify
Audit Process
- State the intended behavior.
- Write one sentence describing what the skill should make the agent do.
- List 3 user prompts that should trigger it.
- List 2 prompts that should not trigger it.
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Check trigger clarity.
- The frontmatter description should name the task and the trigger.
- Avoid generic descriptions such as "helps with quality" or "improves workflow".
- Prefer concrete verbs: reviews, validates, scans, plans, records, summarizes.
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Simulate agent use.
- Walk through the skill as if responding to a real prompt.
- Note any step where the agent must guess policy, inputs, output format, or stopping conditions.
- Flag steps that say "think about" without telling the agent what to produce.
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Check overlap.
- Compare with nearby skills before approving a new one.
- If overlap is mostly structural, merge or reference the existing skill.
- If the new skill owns a distinct trigger, state that difference clearly.
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Check testability.
- The output should show whether the skill was followed.
- Add verification criteria for high-risk workflows.
- For stateful skills, require
STATE_SCHEMA.yamlrather than prose-only memory.
Verdicts
Use one verdict:
keep- clear trigger, useful behavior, low overlaprevise- useful idea with fixable trigger or process gapssplit- too broad for one skillremove- duplicated, vague, or not a skill-level behavior
Output
Return:
- Verdict
- Trigger assessment
- Actionability issues
- Overlap risks
- Suggested frontmatter rewrite
- Required edits before merge