audit-skills

name	audit-skills
description	SKILL.md audit methodology preloaded by the skill-auditor agent. The main conversation reaches this audit only through that agent.
allowed-tools	Read, Grep, Glob, Bash, Skill

Invoke the instructions:skill-standards skill before proceeding. If that skill is unavailable, report the missing skill and continue with the closest available workflow.

Invoke the instructions:agent-prompt-standards skill before proceeding. If that skill is unavailable, report the missing skill and continue with the closest available workflow.

<dispatch_gate>

This audit runs in the skill-auditor agent's isolated context. When this skill loads in the main conversation rather than inside a dispatched audit agent, STOP — dispatch the skill-auditor agent instead of running this audit here. The separate context keeps the verdict free of the bias the main conversation accumulates while doing the work under audit. An already-dispatched agent that preloaded this skill is in the right context and proceeds.

</dispatch_gate>

A verdict on a SKILL.md against `/skill-standards` and `/agent-prompt-standards`: findings grouped as keep-these-aspects / worth-improving / must-fix, each naming the location, the standard at issue, and the consequence. - NEVER modify files during audit - ONLY analyze and report findings - NEVER report a score; report contextual judgment across the full skill-authoring surface - MUST read all reference documentation before evaluating - ALWAYS provide file:line locations for every finding - NEVER generate fixes unless explicitly requested by the user - NEVER make assumptions about skill intent - flag ambiguities as findings - MUST complete all evaluation areas (YAML, Structure, Content, Anti-patterns) - ALWAYS apply contextual judgment - what matters for a simple skill differs from a complex one

<focus_areas> During audits, prioritize evaluation of:

• YAML compliance (name length, description quality by skill role, argument-hint when arguments are used)
• Command capabilities (argument usage and integration, !-dynamic-context safety, allowed-tools tool-restriction security, @ file references)
• Pure XML structure (required tags, no markdown headings in body, proper nesting)
• Progressive disclosure structure (SKILL.md < 500 lines, references one level deep)
• Conciseness and signal-to-noise ratio (every word earns its place)
• Required XML tags (objective, success_criteria)
• Conditional XML tags (appropriate for complexity level)
• XML structure quality (proper closing tags, semantic naming, no hybrid markdown/XML)
• Constraint strength (MUST/NEVER/ALWAYS vs weak modals)
• Error handling coverage (missing files, malformed input, edge cases)
• Example quality (concrete, realistic, demonstrates key patterns)
• Operational effectiveness (verifiable success criteria, verification gates, failure modes)
• Procedural/operational balance (skill states both how to DO the work and how to KNOW it was done right)

</focus_areas>

<audit_workflow> MANDATORY: Read standards FIRST, before auditing:

1. Read /skill-standards — the canonical standards for skill structure, frontmatter, XML tags, progressive disclosure, skill types, reference patterns, code-fence rules, bash restrictions, validation, and script testing. Then check for spx/local/skills.md at the repository root and read it if it exists.
2. Read /agent-prompt-standards — voice, description style, constraint language, and prose anti-patterns. Already injected above.
3. Read the target skill files (SKILL.md and any references/, workflows/, templates/, scripts/ subdirectories).
4. Read ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/xml-structure-examples.md and ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/operational-effectiveness-examples.md for annotated violation examples. When the target carries command-capability fields — argument-hint/arguments, allowed-tools, !-dynamic context, or @ file references — also read /skill-standards's references/command-capabilities.md for the rules that govern that surface. When the target is an audit-* skill, also read /skill-standards's references/auditor-skeleton.md — the /skill-standards table loaded in step 1 directs you to it; read the file itself explicitly — the canonical auditor structure the auditor_skeleton_violation check verifies against.
5. Handle edge cases:
   • If /skill-standards or /agent-prompt-standards is unreadable, note under "Configuration Issues" and proceed with available content.
   • If YAML frontmatter is malformed, flag as critical issue.
   • If the skill references external files that don't exist, flag as critical issue and recommend fixing broken references.
   • If the skill references a bundled plugin file through repository-local authored or generated plugin paths, legacy plugin-root paths, or an authored Codex-only skill-directory token, flag as a portable file-reference defect.
   • If the skill is under 100 lines, note as "simple skill" in the context line and evaluate accordingly.
6. Evaluate the target skill against the standards loaded in steps 1-2.

Use ACTUAL patterns from /skill-standards, not memory. Never read create-skills/references/ for standards — that directory is workflow content only. </audit_workflow>

<evaluation_areas> Check for:

• name: Lowercase letters, numbers, and hyphens only; max 64 chars; matches directory name
• description: Max 1024 chars, no XML tags; directive style for invoked skills; passive style for reference skills and exact-name protocol or loop-body skills
• user-invocable: false for reference skills loaded by other skills; default user-invocable for agent-preloaded audit skills with a passive description and <dispatch_gate>
• argument-hint: Present when the skill takes arguments ($ARGUMENTS, $ARGUMENTS[N], $N, or a declared $name); omit for self-contained skills

Check for: - **Progressive disclosure**: SKILL.md is overview (<500 lines), detailed content in reference files, references one level deep - **XML structure quality**: - Required tags present (objective, success_criteria) - Conditional tags appropriate for skill type (quick_start for on-demand tools only — omit for foundation/gate/validator/reference skills) - No markdown headings in body (pure XML) - Proper XML nesting and closing tags - Conditional tags appropriate for complexity level - **File naming**: Descriptive, forward slashes, organized by domain Check for: - **Conciseness**: Only context Claude doesn't have. Apply critical test: "Does removing this reduce effectiveness?" - **Clarity**: Direct, specific instructions without analogies or motivational prose - **Specificity**: Matches degrees of freedom to task fragility - **Examples**: Concrete, minimal, directly applicable Check whether the skill provides operational wisdom, not just procedural steps:

Success Criteria Verifiability:

• Are success criteria concrete and testable? (commands to run, thresholds to check)
• Can "did I succeed?" be answered with a boolean, not a judgment call?
• ❌ Bad: "Task complete when migration is done"
• ✅ Good: "Coverage on src/foo.ts must be ≥86%. Run: pnpm test --coverage | grep foo.ts"

Verification Gates:

• Are there explicit "STOP and verify before proceeding" checkpoints?
• Do gates have pass/fail criteria with specific commands?
• ❌ Bad: "Verify coverage matches before removing legacy tests"
• ✅ Good: "GATE 2: Run pnpm test --coverage for both legacy and SPX. If delta >0.5%, STOP."

Failure Modes Documentation:

• Does the skill document what can go wrong in practice?
• Are failures from actual usage, not hypotheticals?
• Does each failure have: what happened, why it failed, how to avoid?
• ❌ Bad: No failure modes section
• ✅ Good: "Failure 1: Agent compared coverage per-story instead of per-file. Why: Multiple stories share one legacy file. Avoid: Always compare at legacy file level."

Example Concreteness:

• Do examples show real outputs with actual values?
• Can the output be compared to the example to verify correctness?
• ❌ Bad: "Coverage should match between legacy and SPX tests"
• ✅ Good: "Legacy: 24 tests, 86.3% on state.ts. SPX: 24 tests, 86.3% on state.ts. ✓ Match"

Procedural vs Operational Balance:

• Procedural = HOW to do steps
• Operational = how to KNOW it was done right
• Skills need both; flag if heavily imbalanced toward procedural

Check the capability surface a SKILL.md carries that a slash command also had, against `/skill-standards` `references/command-capabilities.md` (read it when any of these apply):

Argument usage:

• argument-hint is present when the skill takes arguments.
• $ARGUMENTS preserves the full instruction string. It is valid when the skill accepts free-form natural-language instructions, forwards instructions to another skill, or needs to distinguish empty input from an instructed change.
• $ARGUMENTS[N] / $N are valid for stable positional tokens.
• Every argument declared in arguments is substituted as $name in the body, and every $name the body substitutes is declared — neither orphaned.
• A migration from $ARGUMENTS to arguments preserves behavior only when the named argument's token boundary matches the skill's intent. Flag free-form whole-string skills that use a single named positional argument without proving rest-of-line capture.
• Empty-argument handling is stated when the skill requires an argument or defines a no-argument fallback.
• Authored plugin source skills target Claude Code SKILL.md syntax. Codex-specific rendering belongs to the build step; flag source prose that claims Codex consumes a Claude-only form directly, but do not flag Claude-supported source syntax merely because Codex may need generated adaptation.

Dynamic-context safety (!-backtick blocks inside <context>):

• Loaded state is directly relevant to the skill's task — not injected context the skill never reads
• Each command is filtered to bounded output and never grows monotonically (the block fires on every skill load)

Tool-restriction security (allowed-tools):

• Bash is restricted to the narrowest verb pattern that works (Bash(git add:*), not bare Bash or Bash(git *)) when specific verbs suffice
• Destructive and network tools (Write, Bash, WebFetch) are absent unless the task needs them — a read-only or analysis skill cannot delete, force-push, deploy, or exfiltrate
• An audit-* skill carries Read, Grep, Glob, Bash (plus Skill when composing) and never Write/Edit

File-reference portability:

• Skill-bundled files use ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/... or ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/... in authored source.
• Generated Codex output may contain Codex's skill-directory token; authored source must not.
• Repository-local authored or generated plugin paths and legacy plugin-root paths are defects in skill prose when they identify bundled plugin files.

Check against `/agent-prompt-standards` conventions:

• Voice: Uses imperative mood for instructions, "Claude" for failure modes/tendencies. Never "the agent", "the model", or "you"
• Description style: Directive pattern (ALWAYS + optional NEVER). Language-after-artifact ordering. Matches user speech
• Constraint language: Strong modal verbs (MUST/NEVER/ALWAYS) in constraint blocks. No weak modals ("should", "try to", "consider") in constraints
• Anti-patterns: No banned phrases ("helpful assistant", "helps with", "processes data", "please", "if possible"). No structural anti-patterns (explaining Claude to Claude, motivational prose, empty disclaimers)
• Conciseness: Only information Claude doesn't already have. Concrete over abstract
• Failure modes: Written from actual experience, use "Claude" as subject, structured as what/why/how-to-avoid
• Objective shape: <objective> states the observable output in a definite shape — not an actor ("The skill", "Claude") or a bare activity verb ("Audit", "Evaluate", "Generate"), and not a behavioral claim. It is one sentence (two only when the output has two distinct parts): the output target, not a summary of the skill. Every clause names a property of the output; a clause describing when the skill runs (→ description), how it runs (→ <workflow>), or what it avoids (→ <constraints>) is bloat that must be cut. <success_criteria> proves the output (its sound-making properties), never a re-list of the workflow steps; the two do not duplicate (per /agent-prompt-standards <objective_shape>). For an audit-* skill, check the canonical structure in /skill-standards references/auditor-skeleton.md; code-auditor and test-auditor objectives may use the skeleton's APPROVED/REJECTED field form without a separate finding-category sentence

Flag these issues: - **markdown_headings_in_body**: Using markdown headings (##, ###) in skill body instead of pure XML - **missing_required_tags**: Missing objective or success_criteria - **actor_or_activity_objective**: `` opens with an actor ("The skill…", "Claude…") or a bare activity verb ("Audit…", "Evaluate…", "Generate…") instead of naming the observable output it produces - **objective_criteria_duplication**: `` and `` restate the same content — the objective names the output, success_criteria proves it - **objective_bloat**: `` runs past one sentence (two when the output has two distinct parts) or carries clauses describing when the skill runs, how it runs (steps, gates, orchestration), or what it avoids — content that belongs in `description`/``/``, not the output target - **auditor_skeleton_violation**: an `audit-*` skill deviating from `/skill-standards` `references/auditor-skeleton.md` — `` instead of ``, a non-`` procedure name, a `` block, or an objective outside the skeleton's verdict forms. The prose auditors (`audit-prose`, `audit-internal-docs`) are exempt from the procedure-name and `` checks per the skeleton's `` - **hybrid_xml_markdown**: Mixing XML tags with markdown headings in body - **unclosed_xml_tags**: XML tags not properly closed - **vague_descriptions**: "helps with", "processes data" - **passive_description**: Uses passive "Use when" instead of directive "ALWAYS invoke... NEVER X without this skill" - **too_many_options**: Multiple options without clear default - **deeply_nested_references**: References more than one level deep from SKILL.md - **windows_paths**: Backslash paths instead of forward slashes - **bloat**: Obvious explanations, redundant content - **unverifiable_success_criteria**: Success criteria that can't be tested with a command or boolean check - **no_verification_gates**: Complex multi-step skill without explicit stop-and-check points - **no_failure_modes**: Skill lacks documentation of what went wrong in practice - **abstract_examples**: Examples that show patterns but not concrete values/outputs - **orphaned_references**: Files in `references/` not cited from SKILL.md or any workflow file. Verify with `grep -rn "" /`. Orphans inflate token cost via speculative reads (Claude tends to open siblings of cited references) and indicate either dead content or a missing cross-reference. Flag as critical: either delete the file or add an explicit `` reference from the workflow that needs it. - **heavy_context_block**: `` bash commands that produce verbose or growing output (session lists, full file contents, cache enumerations) without filtering. The `` block fires on every skill load — including false-positive activations from directive descriptions — so heavy commands compound. Flag as recommendation: filter the command (e.g., `--status doing,todo`, `head -N`) or move it to the workflow file that consumes the data. - **orphaned_argument**: an argument declared in `arguments` that the body never substitutes, or a `$name` substituted in the body that `arguments` never declares. Flag as critical — the skill takes input it ignores, or substitutes an undefined name. - **missing_argument_hint**: the skill takes arguments but omits `argument-hint`, so `/` autocomplete gives the user no signal about expected input. Flag as recommendation. - **argument_capture_regression**: a free-form instruction skill replaces `$ARGUMENTS` with a named positional argument or numbered token without proving the replacement captures the same whole input. Flag as critical — the skill can silently drop words from user instructions. - **codex_rendering_assumption**: authored source claims Codex directly consumes Claude-only SKILL.md syntax rather than treating Codex output as a generated rendering concern. Flag as recommendation when wording only confuses authors; flag as critical when it causes a broken generated Codex surface. - **overbroad_allowed_tools**: `allowed-tools` grants bare `Bash`, `Bash(git *)`, or a destructive/network tool the skill's task does not need, re-admitting the destructive or exfiltrating commands a narrower grant would bar. Flag as critical for security-sensitive skills. - **irrelevant_dynamic_context**: a `` `!` block injecting state the skill never reads. Flag as recommendation — it taxes every load without payoff. - **nonportable_bundled_file_reference**: skill prose references a bundled plugin file through repository-local authored or generated plugin paths, legacy plugin-root paths, or an authored Codex-only skill-directory token. Flag as critical: authored source must use `${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/...` or `${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/...` for files bundled with the current skill, or describe the owning workflow/capability when the file belongs elsewhere.

<contextual_judgment> Apply judgment based on skill complexity and purpose:

Simple skills (single task, <100 lines):

• Required tags only is appropriate - don't flag missing conditional tags
• Minimal examples acceptable
• Light validation sufficient
• Operational effectiveness: success criteria should still be verifiable, but gates/failure modes not expected

Complex skills (multi-step, external APIs, security concerns):

• Missing conditional tags (security_checklist, validation, error_handling) is a real issue
• Comprehensive examples expected
• Thorough validation required
• Operational effectiveness is CRITICAL: Must have verifiable success criteria, verification gates, and failure modes
• Flag heavily procedural skills that lack operational content as critical issue

Delegation skills (invoke subagents):

• Success criteria can focus on invocation success
• Pre-validation may be redundant if subagent validates
• Operational effectiveness: subagent skill must have it; delegation skill can be lighter

Migration/transformation skills (change state, move files, update systems):

• Highest operational bar: These skills change things that are hard to undo
• MUST have verification gates before destructive operations
• MUST have failure modes from actual usage
• MUST have concrete examples showing before/after with real values
• Flag missing operational content as critical, not recommendation

Always explain WHY something matters for this specific skill, not just that it violates a rule. </contextual_judgment>

<legacy_skills_guidance> Some skills were created before pure XML structure became the standard. When auditing legacy skills:

• Flag markdown headings as critical issues for SKILL.md
• Include migration guidance in findings: "This skill predates the pure XML standard. Migrate by converting markdown headings to semantic XML tags."
• Provide specific migration examples in the findings
• Don't be more lenient just because it's legacy - the standard applies to all skills
• Suggest incremental migration if the skill is large: SKILL.md first, then references

Migration pattern:

Workflow heading → <workflow>
Success criteria heading → <success_criteria>
Quick start heading → <quick_start> (only if skill is an on-demand tool)

</legacy_skills_guidance>

<reference_file_guidance> Reference files in the references/ directory should also use pure XML structure (no markdown headings in body). However, be proportionate with reference files:

• If reference files use markdown headings, flag as recommendation (not critical) since they're secondary to SKILL.md
• Still recommend migration to pure XML
• Reference files should still be readable and well-structured
• Table of contents in reference files over 100 lines is acceptable

Priority: Fix SKILL.md first, then reference files. </reference_file_guidance>

<xml_structure_examples> Read ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/xml-structure-examples.md for annotated examples of each violation type. </xml_structure_examples>

<operational_effectiveness_examples> Read ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/operational-effectiveness-examples.md for annotated examples of each issue type. </operational_effectiveness_examples>

<verdict_format> Emit a structured verdict consumed by the composing verification workflow. The skill's entire output is the verdict payload. The composing workflow records findings, terminal state, and rendered projection through spx verification run.

The skill's overall is APPROVED iff the must-fix row has no REJECT findings; otherwise it is REJECTED. An audit that cannot complete records a REJECT finding in must-fix and returns REJECTED. Worth-improving and keep-these-aspects observations land as WARNING and INFO findings respectively and do not reject the skill.

{
  "schema_version": 1,
  "skill": "audit-skills",
  "target": "<skill-path>",
  "overall": "APPROVED | REJECTED",
  "rows": [
    {
      "name": "keep-these-aspects",
      "status": "PASS",
      "findings": [
        {
          "id": "f-001",
          "file": "<skill-file>",
          "line": 12,
          "rule": "<strength-name>",
          "severity": "INFO",
          "message": "<what it does> — removing this would <specific consequence>"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "name": "worth-improving",
      "status": "PASS",
      "findings": [
        {
          "id": "f-002",
          "file": "<skill-file>",
          "line": 24,
          "rule": "<issue-name>",
          "severity": "WARNING",
          "message": "Current: <what exists>. Change to: <what it should be>. Benefit: <specific gain>."
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "name": "must-fix",
      "status": "PASS | FAIL",
      "findings": [
        {
          "id": "f-003",
          "file": "<skill-file>",
          "line": 36,
          "rule": "<issue-name>",
          "severity": "REJECT",
          "message": "Current: <what exists>. Fix: <specific action>. Impact if unfixed: <what breaks>."
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "metadata": { "skill_type": "simple | complex | delegation | etc.", "line_count": "<n>" }
}

Note: While this skill uses pure XML structure, it produces JSON output that the verdict toolchain renders as markdown for human readability. </verdict_format>

<failure_modes>

Failure 1: Approved a skill whose objective was still activity-shaped. Claude read an <objective> that opened with a verb ("Audit…", "Generate…") or an actor ("The skill…") and passed it, because the activity reading felt natural. The objective states an output; an activity- or actor-shaped one is a must-fix the actor_or_activity_objective flag exists to catch. Read every objective against /agent-prompt-standards <objective_shape>, not by feel.

Failure 2: Skipped an evaluation area and missed a whole class. Claude judged YAML and structure, formed a verdict, and stopped — leaving prompt craft or anti-patterns unexamined, so a class of violations passed unseen. The verdict is sound only when every evaluation area was judged; a skipped area yields an unsound verdict, not a shorter one. Cover all seven areas before issuing the verdict.

Failure 3: Scored the skill instead of judging it. Claude assigned a number ("8/10 structure") instead of grouping findings as keep / worth-improving / must-fix, turning a verdict into a rating the author cannot act on. Each finding names a location, a standard, and a consequence; a score names none of them. Emit findings, never scores.

</failure_modes>

<success_criteria> The verdict is sound when:

• Every evaluation area was judged with none skipped — YAML frontmatter, structure and progressive disclosure, content quality, operational effectiveness, command capabilities, prompt craft, and anti-patterns (coverage-complete).
• The verdict states an overall APPROVED/REJECTED with findings grouped keep-these-aspects / worth-improving / must-fix.
• Each finding is falsifiable: it names the location (file:line), the standard at issue, and the consequence — every keep names what degrades if removed, every must-fix names the failure it prevents.
• The same SKILL.md yields the same verdict.

</success_criteria>

Before presenting audit findings, verify:

Completeness checks:

• All evaluation areas assessed (including operational effectiveness)
• Findings have file:line locations
• Emitted verdict rows provide a clear summary
• Strengths identified

Accuracy checks:

• All line numbers verified against actual file
• Recommendations match skill complexity level
• Context appropriately considered (simple vs complex skill)
• Operational effectiveness evaluated proportionally (critical for complex/migration skills)

Quality checks:

• Findings are specific and actionable
• Every "Keep" entry names the concrete consequence of removing the strength
• Every "Worth improving" entry names the specific gain, not a generic improvement
• Every "Must fix" entry names what specifically breaks if left unfixed
• No arbitrary rules applied without contextual justification

Operational effectiveness checks (for complex skills):

• Evaluated whether success criteria are verifiable (commands, thresholds)
• Checked for verification gates in multi-step workflows
• Looked for failure modes documentation
• Assessed procedural vs operational balance
• Flagged abstract examples that should be concrete

Only present findings after all checks pass.