Produces a graded audit report and upgraded SKILL.md files by systematically assessing all skills against an A+ quality framework (8 sections, concrete examples, pitfalls, related skills) and patching gaps. Use when: 'audit all the skills', 'upgrade skills to A+ standard', 'after creating 5+ new skills', 'before a major release', 'quarterly skills maintenance'.
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Produces a graded audit report and upgraded SKILL.md files by systematically assessing all skills against an A+ quality framework (8 sections, concrete examples, pitfalls, related skills) and patching gaps. Use when: 'audit all the skills', 'upgrade skills to A+ standard', 'after creating 5+ new skills', 'before a major release', 'quarterly skills maintenance'.
category
system-health
triggers
["audit all the skills","upgrade skills to A+ standard","after creating new skills","before a major release","quarterly skills maintenance"]
tier
1
agents
["primary"]
tool_dependencies
["file_system"]
inputs
[{"name":"skills_directory","type":"string","description":"Path to the skills directory to audit and upgrade","required":true}]
outputs
[{"name":"audit_report","type":"ref","format":"cas-ref","description":"Graded audit report and upgraded SKILL.md files assessed against the A+ quality framework"}]
Skill Audit and Upgrade
Version: 1.0 Created: 2026-02-07 Author: Manus AI Purpose: To provide a systematic, repeatable process for auditing all skills in a repository, identifying gaps, and upgrading incomplete skills to A+ standard.
I. The Philosophy: Ecosystem Health Through Systematic Audits
A skills ecosystem, like any knowledge base, can degrade over time. New skills are created with high standards, but older skills may lack structure, examples, or ecosystem connections. Without regular audits, the quality becomes inconsistent, making the ecosystem harder to use and maintain.
This skill is about proactive maintenance. By systematically auditing all skills against clear quality criteria, we can identify gaps early, prioritize upgrades, and ensure the entire ecosystem remains healthy and production-ready.
The core principle: Maintenance is not just fixing what's broken—it's keeping what works working well.
II. When to Use This Skill
Quarterly maintenance schedule (every 3 months)
After creating 5+ new skills (to check for consistency)
When a skill is reported as confusing or incomplete
Before a major release (to ensure all skills are production-ready)
When onboarding a new contributor (to assess current state)
After a major refactor (e.g., skill renames, terminology changes)
III. The Workflow
This is a 5-step workflow for auditing and upgrading skills.
Step 1: List All Skills and Create Audit Framework
Goal: Establish a systematic approach to auditing skills.
Actions:
List all skills in the repository:
cd /path/to/repository/skills && ls -d */ | sed 's|/||' | sort
Create audit framework document defining:
Quality criteria: Required, recommended, and optional sections
Assessment scale: A+, A, B, C, D (with clear definitions)
Audit process: Step-by-step instructions
Upgrade priority criteria: High, medium, low
Outputs:
List of all skills to audit
skills_audit_framework.md document
Quality Criteria Example:
Required Sections:
Philosophy (I.)
When to Use (II.)
Workflow (III.)
Best Practices (IV.)
Quality Checklist (V.)
Recommended Sections:
Example (VI.)
Common Pitfalls (VII.)
Related Skills (VIII.)
Optional Sections:
Skill Metadata (IX.)
Assessment Scale:
A+: All required + all recommended sections
A: All required sections, missing some recommended
B: Missing 1-2 required sections
C: Missing 3+ required sections
D: Incomplete or unusable
Step 2: Read and Assess Each Skill Against Quality Criteria
Goal: Systematically evaluate each skill's completeness.
Actions:
Check line counts for all skills to identify obviously incomplete ones:
Structure examples as: Problem → Process → Outcome
Make pitfalls specific with before/after examples
Link to complementary skills in the ecosystem
Outputs:
Upgraded skills at A or A+ standard
Version bumps documented
Best Practices:
Use real project examples for credibility
Structure examples consistently
Make pitfalls actionable (not just warnings)
Create ecosystem connections through related skills
Step 5: Commit All Upgrades and Deliver Final Audit Report
Goal: Finalize the work and document the results.
Actions:
Copy audit documents to appropriate directory (e.g., thinking/)
Stage all changes: git add skills/ thinking/
Commit with comprehensive message documenting:
Number of skills upgraded
Changes made (section numbering, examples, pitfalls, etc.)
Grade improvements (e.g., B+ → A+)
Audit results (before/after percentages)
Push to remote: git push origin main
Create final summary document
Outputs:
Committed and pushed changes
Final audit summary document
Updated skills ecosystem
Commit Message Template:
Upgrade X skills to A+ standard and complete skills audit
SKILLS UPGRADED (vX.Y → vX.Z):
1. skill-name-1
- Added [changes]
- Grade: B+ → A+
2. skill-name-2
- Added [changes]
- Grade: A → A+
AUDIT RESULTS:
- A+ Skills: X → Y (Z%)
- A Skills: X → Y (Z%)
- B+ Skills: X → Y (Z%)
[Summary of ecosystem health]
IV. Best Practices
1. Define Clear Quality Criteria Upfront
Why: Makes the audit objective and actionable.
How: Create a framework document before starting the audit.
2. Use Automation for Initial Assessment
Why: Manually reading 10+ skills is time-consuming.
How: Use shell commands (grep, wc) to quickly identify gaps.
3. Focus on Structural Issues First
Why: Structure is easier to fix than content, and has high impact.
How: Prioritize adding section numbering and missing required sections.
4. Use Real Project Examples
Why: Concrete examples make skills immediately actionable.
How: Reference actual project work (e.g., "Dojo Genesis v0.0.31").
5. Create Ecosystem Connections
Why: Skills are not isolated—they're part of an ecosystem.
How: Add Related Skills sections to every skill.
6. Document the Audit Process
Why: Creates a historical record and enables future audits.
How: Create audit framework and audit report documents.
7. Celebrate the Work
Why: Maintenance is often invisible work. Make it visible.
How: Create a comprehensive summary document highlighting improvements.
V. Quality Checklist
Before completing the audit, ensure you can answer "yes" to all of the following questions:
Have you listed all skills in the repository?
Have you created an audit framework with clear quality criteria?
Have you assessed each skill against the quality criteria?
Have you assigned grades (A+, A, B, C, D) to all skills?
Have you identified and prioritized skills needing upgrade?
Have you upgraded all high-priority skills?
Have you committed all changes with comprehensive messages?
Have you created a final audit report documenting the results?
Are all skills now at A or A+ standard (or have a plan to get there)?
VI. Example: Dojo Genesis Skills Audit (February 7, 2026)
The Problem: After creating 5 new skills in one day, we needed to audit the entire skills ecosystem to ensure consistency and completeness.
The Process:
Listed all skills: 11 skills in dojo-genesis/skills directory
Created audit framework: Defined quality criteria and assessment scale
Assessed each skill:
A+ Skills: 4/11 (36%)
A Skills: 5/11 (45%)
B+ Skills: 2/11 (18%)
Identified gaps:
2 skills lacking section numbering (I., II., III.)
2 skills missing Example, Common Pitfalls, Related Skills sections
Upgraded 2 skills:
multi-surface-strategy (v1.0 → v1.1)
product-positioning (v1.0 → v1.1)
Added section numbering, examples, pitfalls, related skills
Committed and documented:
Commit eeca836 pushed to dojo-genesis
Final audit report created
The Outcome:
A+ Skills: 4 → 6 (55%)
A Skills: 5 (45%)
B+ Skills: 2 → 0 (0%)
100% of skills now at A or A+ standard
Time Investment: ~1.5 hours Return: Healthy, production-ready skills ecosystem
Key Insight: Most skills were already functional (A-grade). Only 2 needed structural fixes. Regular audits prevent degradation.
VII. Common Pitfalls to Avoid
Pitfall 1: No Clear Quality Criteria
Problem: Without clear criteria, the audit becomes subjective and inconsistent.
Solution: Create an audit framework document before starting the audit.
Pitfall 2: Trying to Read Every Skill Manually
Problem: Manually reading 10+ skills is time-consuming and error-prone.
Solution: Use shell commands (grep, wc) to quickly identify gaps.
Pitfall 3: Upgrading Everything at Once
Problem: Trying to upgrade all skills to A+ standard is overwhelming.
Solution: Prioritize. Focus on high-priority (blocking) skills first.
Pitfall 4: Skipping the Audit Report
Problem: Without documentation, the audit work is invisible and not repeatable.
Solution: Create audit framework and audit report documents.
Pitfall 5: Not Using Real Examples
Problem: Generic examples don't help users understand how to apply the skill.
Solution: Use concrete examples from real projects (e.g., "Dojo Genesis v0.0.31").
VIII. Related Skills
skill-maintenance - Use this for ongoing maintenance of individual skills
process-extraction - Use this to create new skills from processes
compression-ritual - Use this to preserve learnings before/after audits
strategic-to-tactical-workflow - The complete workflow that these skills support
release-specification - Example of an A+ skill with all recommended sections
IX. Skill Metadata
Token Savings: ~10,000-15,000 tokens per audit (by using systematic process) Quality Impact: Ensures consistent, high-quality skills ecosystem Maintenance: Update when quality criteria evolve or new section types emerge
When to Update This Skill:
After completing 2-3 audits (to incorporate new patterns)
When quality criteria change (e.g., new required sections)
When new assessment scales or tools become available
Recommended Audit Frequency:
Quarterly (every 3 months)
After creating 5+ new skills
Before major releases
Last Updated: 2026-02-07 Maintained By: Manus AI Status: Active
Output
skills_audit_framework.md defining quality criteria and assessment scale for this audit run.
skills_audit_report.md with per-skill grades (A+, A, B, C, D), gaps identified, and prioritized upgrade list with time estimates.
Upgraded SKILL.md files for all high-priority (C/D) and medium-priority (B) skills, committed with comprehensive messages documenting grade improvements.
Examples
Scenario 1: "Audit all skills after a sprint that added 6 new skills" → 6 new skills assessed: 4 graded A (missing Related Skills and Pitfalls), 2 graded B (missing examples and quality checklist). All 6 upgraded to A+. Audit report committed.
Scenario 2: "Are the system-health skills production-ready?" → 17 skills assessed, grades assigned. 3 skills graded C (missing workflow and quality checklist sections). All 3 upgraded with structural fixes, version bumped, and ecosystem connections added.
Edge Cases
If a skill is intentionally minimal (e.g., a stub or pointer), document this in the audit report rather than upgrading it — not all skills need all 8 sections.
If a skill's content is correct but line count exceeds 500, prioritize trimming over adding sections — length is a quality signal, not just a constraint.
Anti-Patterns
Trying to upgrade all skills to A+ in a single pass without grading first — grade before upgrading so effort is directed to the highest-impact gaps.
Using generic examples in upgraded skills ("Example: User asks about X") — examples must reference real project work to be credible and useful.
