| name | skill-improver |
| description | Iteratively improve a Claude Code skill using the skill-reviewer agent until it meets quality standards. Use when improving a skill with multiple quality issues, iterating on a new skill until it meets standards, or automated fix-review cycles instead of manual editing. |
| type | skill |
| created | 2026-02-27T00:00:00.000Z |
| domain | ai-ml |
| category | llm-agents |
| risk | unknown |
| source | community |
| tags | ["skill","ai-ml","llm-agents","improver"] |
Skill Improvement Methodology
Iteratively improve a Claude Code skill using the skill-reviewer agent until it meets quality standards.
Prerequisites
Requires the plugin-dev plugin which provides the skill-reviewer agent.
Verify it's enabled: run /plugins — plugin-dev should appear in the list. If missing, install from the Trail of Bits plugin repository.
Core Loop
- Review - Call skill-reviewer on the target skill
- Categorize - Parse issues by severity
- Fix - Address critical and major issues
- Evaluate - Check minor issues for validity before fixing
- Repeat - Continue until quality bar is met
When to Use
- Improving a skill with multiple quality issues
- Iterating on a new skill until it meets standards
- Automated fix-review cycles instead of manual editing
- Consistent quality enforcement across skills
When NOT to Use
- One-time review: Use
/skill-reviewer directly instead
- Quick single fixes: Edit the file directly
- Non-skill files: Only works on SKILL.md files
- Experimental skills: Manual iteration gives more control during exploration
Issue Categorization
Critical Issues (MUST fix immediately)
These block skill loading or cause runtime failures:
- Missing required frontmatter fields (name, description) — Claude cannot index or trigger the skill
- Invalid YAML frontmatter syntax — Parsing fails, skill won't load
- Referenced files that don't exist — Runtime errors when Claude follows links
- Broken file paths — Same as above, leads to tool failures
Major Issues (MUST fix)
These significantly degrade skill effectiveness:
- Weak or vague trigger descriptions — Claude may not recognize when to use the skill
- Wrong writing voice (second person "you" instead of imperative) — Inconsistent with Claude's execution model
- SKILL.md exceeds 500 lines without using references/ — Overloads context, reduces comprehension
- Missing "When to Use" or "When NOT to Use" sections — Required by project quality standards
- Description doesn't specify when to trigger — Skill may never be selected
