| name | architecture-health |
| description | Diagnose cognitive architecture health — connection integrity, memory balance, link density, and drift detection |
| tier | standard |
| applyTo | **/*health*,**/*cognitive*,**/*drift*,**/*architecture* |
| currency | "2026-04-22T00:00:00.000Z" |
Architecture Health Skill
Diagnose, don't describe. Every metric has a threshold. Every finding has a fix.
Health Dimensions
| Dimension | What It Measures | Healthy | Warning | Critical |
|---|
| Connection Integrity | % of links targeting existing files | 100% | 95-99% | <95% |
| Connection Density | Avg connections per skill | 3-6 | 1-2 | 0 |
| Bidirectional Coverage | % of connections with reciprocal entries | >80% | 50-80% | <50% |
| Memory Balance | Ratio of procedural:episodic:declarative | ~1:1:4 | Skewed 3:1 | Missing category |
| Schema Compliance | Skills with valid frontmatter | 100% | 95-99% | <95% |
| Inheritance Consistency | Frontmatter inheritance matches catalog | 100% | Any mismatch | — |
| Staleness | Skills with outdated content | <5% | 5-15% | >15% |
Diagnostic Patterns
Connection Integrity Check
Scan skill frontmatter applyTo patterns → verify referenced patterns have matching files.
Common breakage causes: File renames, folder restructuring, consolidation merges.
Fix pattern: Check consolidation mappings in dream-state-automation.instructions.md for old→new file paths. If not mapped, add the mapping and re-run dream.
Connection Density Analysis
orphan = skill with 0 connections (isolated node)
hub = skill with 8+ connections (potential bottleneck)
leaf = skill with 1 connection (normal for specialized skills)
Healthy network: Most skills are leaves (1-3) with a few hubs (meditation, self-actualization, memory-activation). Orphans indicate missing integration.
Memory Balance Assessment
| Memory Type | File Pattern | Ideal % | Purpose |
|---|
| Declarative | SKILL.md, copilot-instructions.md | ~60% | Domain knowledge |
| Procedural | .instructions.md | ~25% | Auto-loaded procedures |
| Episodic | .prompt.md | ~15% | Interactive workflows |
Imbalance signals:
- Too many skills, few instructions → knows what but not how
- Too many instructions, few skills → follows steps but can't reason why
- Too few prompts → users can't invoke capabilities interactively
Drift Detection
| Drift Type | Signal | Resolution |
|---|
| Version drift | package.json version ≠ copilot-instructions.md version | Sync via release-preflight |
| Terminology drift | Old terms ("DK files") in active files | Grep + replace |
| Count drift | Hardcoded numbers stale by next session | Replace with references |
| Inheritance drift | Catalog says "master-only" but frontmatter says "inheritable" | Trust frontmatter |
| Runtime loading drift | Skill/instruction exists on disk but doesn't load in agent | Use /troubleshoot to analyze JSONL debug logs — reveals name mismatches, invalid frontmatter, or silent loader skips |
Health Report Template
## Architecture Health Report — [date]
### Summary: [HEALTHY | ATTENTION REQUIRED | CRITICAL]
| Dimension | Score | Status |
| --------- | ----- | ------ |
| Connection Integrity | X/Y valid (Z%) | ✅/⚠️/🔴 |
| Connection Density | avg N.N | ✅/⚠️/🔴 |
| Memory Balance | P:E:D = X:Y:Z | ✅/⚠️/🔴 |
| Schema Compliance | X/Y valid | ✅/⚠️/🔴 |
### Issues Found
1. [Issue] → [Fix]
Relationship to Other Systems
| System | Role |
|---|
| Dream (muscle: brain-qa.cjs) | Automated structural checks — the "X-ray" |
| Architecture Health (this) | Interpretation framework — the "radiologist" |
| Meditation | Consolidation after diagnosis — the "surgery" |
| Self-Actualization | Comprehensive assessment — the "full physical" |
Dream runs the scans. This skill teaches how to read and act on the results.
Triggers
- "health check", "connection health", "architecture health"
- "how's my brain?", "connection status"
- Before meditation (pre-assessment)
- After dream reports with warnings
