validate-manifest

name	validate-manifest
description	Validate .claude/manifest.json structure and references. Apply after modifying the manifest to ensure correctness.
user-invocable	false

Validate Manifest

Validates the .claude/manifest.json file for structure, required fields, and dependency references.

When to Apply

Use this skill after modifying the manifest:

• Adding a new skill, agent, or command
• Updating dependencies (depends_on_skills, depends_on_agents)
• Changing categories

Validation Script

Run the validation script:

uv run .claude/scripts/validate_manifest.py

Exit codes:

• 0 - Manifest is valid
• 1 - Validation errors found (printed to stderr)

What Gets Validated

Check	Description
JSON syntax	File must be valid JSON
Required fields	Each entry type has required fields (see below)
Categories	Skill categories must exist in categories object
Dependencies	All referenced skills/agents must exist
Uniqueness	Names must be unique within each type

Required Fields by Type

Skills

{
  "name": "skill-name",
  "category": "conventions|assessment|templates|utilities",
  "description": "Brief description"
}

Agents

{
  "name": "agent-name",
  "description": "Brief description",
  "depends_on_skills": ["skill-name-1", "skill-name-2"]
}

Commands

{
  "name": "command-name",
  "description": "Brief description"
}

Optional command fields: depends_on_skills, depends_on_agents

Workflow for Manifest Updates

1. Make changes to manifest.json
2. Run validation:

   uv run .claude/scripts/validate_manifest.py
   

3. Fix any errors reported to stderr
4. Repeat until validation passes

Example: Adding a New Skill

{
  "name": "my-new-skill",
  "category": "conventions",
  "description": "What the skill does"
}

Then validate:

uv run .claude/scripts/validate_manifest.py