| name | ln-613-code-comments-auditor |
| description | Checks inline code documentation quality: WHY-not-WHAT, density, forbidden content, docstrings quality, actuality, legacy cleanup. Use when auditing comments and docstrings. |
| allowed-tools | Read, Grep, Glob, Bash, mcp__hex-line__outline, mcp__hex-line__read_file |
| license | MIT |
| model | claude-sonnet-4-6 |
Paths: File paths (references/, ../ln-*) are relative to this skill directory.
Inline Code Documentation Auditor (L3 Worker)
Type: L3 Worker
Specialized worker auditing inline code documentation quality: comments, docstrings, and language-specific documentation blocks.
Purpose & Scope
- Audit inline code documentation for quality and compliance across 6 categories
- Universal for any tech stack (auto-detect comment syntax)
- Return structured findings to coordinator with severity, location, recommendations
- Calculate compliance score (X/10) for Inline Code Documentation category
- Scope is limited to comments/docstrings/JSDoc/XML docs
- Out of scope: code design quality, naming quality, test quality, architecture quality, or feature correctness except where comments contradict code
Inputs
MANDATORY READ: Load references/audit_worker_core_contract.md and references/mcp_tool_preferences.md.
Receives contextStore with: tech_stack, project_root, output_dir.
Workflow
- Parse Context: Extract tech stack, project root, output_dir from contextStore
- Scan: Find all source files (use
tech_stack for detection)
Hex-line primary path: Use outline(file_path) and discovery-first read_file() for code files before analyzing comments. Use edit_ready=true, verbosity="full" only if the audit turns into a follow-up edit. Do not use hex-graph here - comment quality is a code-reading problem, not a semantic graph problem.
- Extract: Parse inline comments + docstrings/JSDoc
- Audit: Run 6 category checks (see Audit Categories below)
- Collect Findings: Record each violation with severity, location (file:line), effort estimate (S/M/L), recommendation
- Calculate Score: Count violations by severity, calculate compliance score (X/10)
- Write Report: Build full markdown report per
references/templates/audit_worker_report_template.md, write to {output_dir}/ln-613--global.md in single Write call
- Return Summary: Return minimal summary to coordinator (see Output Format)
Audit Categories
| # | Category | What to Check |
|---|
| 1 | WHY not WHAT | Comments explain rationale, not obvious code behavior; no restating code |
| 2 | Density (15-20%) | Comment-to-code ratio within range; not over/under-commented |
| 3 | No Forbidden Content | No dates/authors; no historical notes; no code examples in comments |
| 4 | Docstrings Quality | Match function signatures; parameters documented; return types accurate |
| 5 | Actuality | Comments match code behavior; no stale references; examples runnable |
| 6 | Legacy Cleanup | No TODO without context; no commented-out code; no unsupported notes |
Scoring Algorithm
MANDATORY READ: Load references/audit_scoring.md.
Output Format
MANDATORY READ: Load references/templates/audit_worker_report_template.md.
Write JSON summary per references/audit_summary_contract.md. In managed mode the caller passes both runId and summaryArtifactPath; in standalone mode the worker generates its own run-scoped artifact path per shared contract.
Write report to {output_dir}/ln-613--global.md with category: "Inline Code Documentation" and checks: why_not_what, density, forbidden_content, docstrings_quality, actuality, legacy_cleanup.
Return summary per references/audit_summary_contract.md.
When summaryArtifactPath is absent, write the standalone runtime summary under .hex-skills/runtime-artifacts/runs/{run_id}/evaluation-worker/{worker}--{identifier}.json and optionally echo the same summary in structured output.
Report written: .hex-skills/runtime-artifacts/runs/{run_id}/audit-report/ln-613--global.md
Score: X.X/10 | Issues: N (C:N H:N M:N L:N)
Severity mapping:
| Issue Type | Severity |
|---|
| Author names, dates in comments | CRITICAL |
| Commented-out code blocks | HIGH |
| Stale/outdated comments | HIGH |
| Obvious WHAT comments | MEDIUM |
| Density deviation >5% | MEDIUM |
| Minor density deviation | LOW |
Critical Rules
Apply the already-loaded references/audit_worker_core_contract.md.
- Do not auto-fix: Report violations only; coordinator aggregates for user
- Fix code, not rules: NEVER modify rules files (*_rules.md, *_standards.md) to make violations pass
- Code is truth: When comment contradicts code, flag the documentation for update; do not turn this into a general code-quality review
- WHY > WHAT: Comments explaining obvious behavior should be removed
- Universal: Works with any language; detect comment syntax automatically
- Location precision: Always include
file:line for programmatic navigation
Definition of Done
Apply the already-loaded references/audit_worker_core_contract.md.
Reference Files
Version: 4.0.0
Last Updated: 2026-03-01
