Measure instead of eyeballing. Every claim about the health of this repo ("the skill graph is clean", "descriptions fit the budget", "no compromised dependencies") has a script that produces a number or a PASS/FAIL. This skill catalogs those scripts, their exact invocations, and how to read their output.
Conventions for everything below:
- Run all commands from the repo root
(
/home/alext/claude-night-market). - Plain
python3is enough for every script in the table except mutation testing, which needsuv. - All checks here are read-only. None of them mutate the repo.
The ratchet-baseline concept
Several checks are ratchets. A ratchet check counts a category of existing debt (for example, SKILL.md files missing an Exit Criteria section), compares the live count against a frozen number in a baseline JSON file, and:
- passes while the live count is at or below the baseline (pre-existing debt is tolerated),
- fails the moment a NEW violation pushes the count above the baseline (debt may not grow),
- nudges you to lower the baseline number when the live count drops (locking in the win so the debt cannot silently return).
The goal is a baseline that only shrinks, eventually to zero. The
two ratchet baselines live at scripts/skill_graph_baseline.json
(keys max_dangling_bugs, max_uncalled_libraries) and
scripts/skill_exit_criteria_baseline.json
(key max_missing_exit_criteria). When a ratchet prints a
"dropped to N (baseline M). Lower ... to lock the win." line, edit
the baseline JSON down to N in the same PR.
Tool table
Jargon used in the table: "dangling Skill() ref" means a
Skill(plugin:name) reference in a skill/command/agent file whose
target skill does not exist. "Uncalled library" means a
library-role skill no other skill invokes (the risk targeted by
.claude/rules/shared-utility-consumer-rule.md).
| Tool | Invocation | What it measures | How to interpret | When to run |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plugin structure validator | python3 plugins/abstract/scripts/validate_plugin.py plugins/<name> |
plugin.json validity, kebab-case naming, directory layout | Exit 0 with "Plugin validation passed". Any FAIL line names the broken file | Before committing plugin changes. make validate-all loops it over every plugin |
| Skill-graph drift ratchet | python3 scripts/check_skill_graph_drift.py |
Dangling Skill() refs and uncalled libraries vs skill_graph_baseline.json |
Exit 0 at/below baseline. Nonzero exit lists the new dangling refs. "Lower ... to lock the win" means shrink the baseline | After adding, renaming, or deleting skills or Skill() refs |
| Exit-criteria drift ratchet | python3 scripts/check_skill_exit_criteria_drift.py |
SKILL.md files under plugins/ missing an ## Exit Criteria heading vs skill_exit_criteria_baseline.json |
Same ratchet semantics as above | After adding or editing any SKILL.md |
| Pinned-version checker | python3 scripts/check_pinned_versions.py |
GitHub-sourced tool pins vs the latest upstream release (needs network) | "N pin(s) current" is healthy. A "holding X at ..." line documents an intentional hold with its reason (for example bandit 1.8.6 for the Python 3.9 hook floor) | In pre-commit, and whenever a CI tool-setup step breaks |
| Capabilities sync | bash scripts/capabilities-sync-check.sh |
plugin.json registrations vs the generated capabilities reference in book/src/ | "PASSED: All capabilities are in sync" plus counts. On drift, run /sanctum:sync-capabilities --fix |
After changing any skill, command, or agent registration |
| Supply-chain scan | python3 scripts/supply_chain_scan.py |
Lockfiles vs the known-compromised-versions blocklist, plus known malicious artifacts | Two [OK] lines is clean. Any hit must be resolved before release |
When adding dependencies, during incidents, before releases |
| Token stats | python3 plugins/abstract/scripts/context_optimizer.py stats plugins/ --format json |
Bytes and estimated tokens per SKILL.md, bucketed small/medium/large | Skills over ~5,000 estimated tokens breach the quality-gates file limit and are split candidates | When a skill feels bloated, before modularizing |
| Description budget | python3 plugins/abstract/scripts/validate_budget.py |
Sum of all skill/command description characters vs the 90,000-char ecosystem ceiling (ADR-0004, 160 chars per description) | Prints used/ceiling and headroom. Exit 0 means within budget | After editing any frontmatter description |
| skrills validate | skrills validate --skill-dir plugins --target claude |
Skill frontmatter validity per target framework (Claude, Codex, Copilot) | "Validated N skills: ..." then an Errors (n): list with file:line. Fix every listed error |
Skill audits. make validate-skills falls back to uv run python scripts/check_plugin_hooks.py when skrills is absent |
| skrills analyze | skrills analyze --skill-dir plugins |
Skill token usage and dependency structure | Large-token outliers are split candidates | Budget planning. make analyze-skills falls back to scripts/generate_dependency_map.py |
| Mutation testing | cd plugins/<name> && uv run mutmut run --paths-to-mutate=scripts/,src/ --tests-dir=tests/ |
Whether the test suite kills injected code mutations (surviving mutants = untested behavior) | Exit 0 = no survivors. Exit 2 = survivors found (CI treats this as pass-with-report). Any other exit = crash, investigate | Weekly CI (Sunday) or manually before hardening a test suite |
| Markdown link checker | python3 scripts/check-markdown-links.py [file.md ...] |
Broken relative links and anchors. No args = scan the whole repo | Exit 1 prints each broken link as file: link |
After moving or renaming docs or skills |
| Lint-suppression guard | python3 scripts/check_noqa.py <files...> |
Inline lint/type suppressions that lack a stated reason | "BLOCKED" plus a hit list. Fix the issue, or append a reason after the suppression marker | Pre-commit runs it on changed files |
| Docstring quality | python3 scripts/check_docstring_quality.py <files.py...> |
Docstrings that merely restate the function name | Each hit says "delete it or add information". Do exactly that | Pre-commit runs it on changed Python files |
| JSON-utils drift | bash scripts/shared/check-json-utils-drift.sh |
Vendored JSON helper copies in plugin hooks vs the canonical scripts/shared/json_utils.sh |
"OK: all vendored JSON utilities match canonical." Anything else names the drifted copy | After editing json_utils.sh or any inlined copy |
| Export stats | python3 scripts/clawhub_export.py --stats |
Skill counts per plugin and top-20 membership for cross-framework export | Totals line plus a per-plugin table | Before cross-framework publishing |
| Framework detect | python3 scripts/framework_detect.py [--json] |
Which agent-framework capabilities the current directory exposes (skills, agents, hooks, commands, mcp, a2a) | [+]/[-] capability checklist |
When debugging cross-framework export targets |
Interpretation notes
- context_optimizer stats prints nothing in the default text
format. This is a verified quirk:
statson a directory with no--formatflag produces empty output and exit 0. Always pass--format json(clean JSON) rather than--format table, which dumps a raw Python dict. - Ratchet failures name the new violations. A ratchet that
fails after your change means your change added debt. Fix the
new ref or add the missing section. Never raise a baseline number
to make a check pass, with one documented exception: a brand-new
library skill legitimately starts uncalled, and
scripts/check_skill_graph_drift.pyitself (plus the_commentinscripts/skill_graph_baseline.json) instructs you to raisemax_uncalled_librariesto record the 30-day consumer grace period that.claude/rules/shared-utility-consumer-rule.mdgrants (the rule grants the grace period; the script defines the baseline mechanics). night-market-architecture-contract records the same exception in its ratchet invariants. - Mutation exit codes are the contract. CI
(
.github/workflows/mutation-testing.yml) treats exit 0 and exit 2 as success and posts survivors to the step summary. Only exits other than 0 and 2 fail the workflow. So a green mutation run does NOT mean zero survivors. Read the report. - check_pinned_versions needs network access. It queries GitHub for latest releases. Offline, expect failures that are environmental, not real findings.
Health snapshot in one command
scripts/health-snapshot.sh (in this skill directory) runs the six
cheap checks and prints a PASS/FAIL table. It is read-only,
needs only bash and python3, requires no network, and completes in
about 6 seconds (measured 2026-07-02).
bash .claude/skills/night-market-diagnostics-toolkit/scripts/health-snapshot.sh
It runs: plugin structure validation (all plugins), capabilities sync, supply-chain scan, both drift ratchets, and the description budget. Exit 0 means all six passed. Exit 1 means at least one failed, and the failing check's full output is printed to stderr above the table. Run it at session start, before a PR, and after any bulk skill edit.
Blocking vs advisory
Which failures stop a merge and which are signals:
| Check | Gate | Effect on failure |
|---|---|---|
| validate_plugin.py | pre-commit (19 hook entries) | Blocks commit |
| Skill-graph drift ratchet | pre-commit | Blocks commit |
| Exit-criteria drift ratchet | pre-commit | Blocks commit |
| check_noqa.py | pre-commit | Blocks commit |
| check_docstring_quality.py | pre-commit | Blocks commit |
| check-markdown-links.py | pre-commit | Blocks commit |
| validate_budget.py | pre-commit | Blocks commit |
| check-json-utils-drift.sh | pre-commit | Blocks commit |
| check_pinned_versions.py | pre-commit | Blocks commit |
| capabilities-sync-check.sh | pre-commit and CI (capabilities-sync.yml) | Blocks commit and PR |
| Mutation testing | CI (weekly and manual dispatch) | Advisory: survivors reported, workflow stays green |
| supply_chain_scan.py | manual / make supply-chain-scan (not wired to CI) |
Advisory day-to-day, treat as blocking before any release |
| context_optimizer, skrills analyze, clawhub stats, framework_detect | manual | Advisory: measurement only |
The dimension-level policy lives in .claude/quality_gates.json:
enforce_blocking is true with max_critical_issues: 3, and only
the security dimension sets block_on_violation: true. The
performance (20KB / 5,000-token file limits, 60-line functions,
complexity under 12), maintainability (debt ratio under 0.3,
nesting under 5), and compliance dimensions are advisory
(block_on_violation: false). So: security findings block,
size/complexity findings warn.
When NOT to use
- Running the test suite, lint, typecheck, or a release: use night-market-operations (command anatomy and artifacts).
- You already have a failure and need symptom-to-cause triage: use night-market-debugging-playbook.
- You need the meaning and default of a config knob rather than a measurement: use night-market-config-catalog.
- You are deciding whether evidence is sufficient to claim work complete: use night-market-validation-and-qa.
Exit Criteria
-
bash .claude/skills/night-market-diagnostics-toolkit/scripts/health-snapshot.shruns from the repo root, prints a six-row PASS/FAIL table, and exits 0 when all checks pass and 1 when any fails. - Every invocation in the tool table is copy-pasteable from the repo root and executes without a usage error.
- A reader who has only this file can state the ratchet contract: baseline freezes existing debt, new violations fail, shrinking the baseline locks in wins.
- The blocking/advisory table matches
.pre-commit-config.yamlentries and theblock_on_violationflags in.claude/quality_gates.json. - Mutation exit-code semantics (0 clean, 2 survivors tolerated,
anything else is a crash) match
.github/workflows/mutation-testing.yml.
Provenance and maintenance
Compiled 2026-07-02 against repo v1.9.15 on branch discussions-fix-1.9.14. Volatile numbers observed that day: 197 skills, 134 commands, 56 agents registered; description budget 73,135 of 90,000 chars used (81.3%); ratchet live counts 5 dangling refs (baseline 31), 7 uncalled libraries (baseline 8), 1 missing Exit Criteria (baseline 127); 13 version pins current with bandit intentionally held at 1.8.6.
Re-verification one-liners:
# Baselines and live ratchet counts
python3 scripts/check_skill_graph_drift.py; python3 scripts/check_skill_exit_criteria_drift.py
# Registration counts and budget usage
bash scripts/capabilities-sync-check.sh | tail -3; python3 plugins/abstract/scripts/validate_budget.py | tail -3
# Pre-commit wiring of the blocking table
rg -n "check_skill_graph_drift|check_noqa|validate_budget|check_pinned_versions" .pre-commit-config.yaml
# Mutation exit-code contract
rg -n "exit_code" .github/workflows/mutation-testing.yml
# Gate dimension block flags
python3 -c "import json;print(json.load(open('.claude/quality_gates.json')))"