| name | asset-frontmatter-check |
| description | Validate YAML frontmatter of Copilot customisation assets in this lab (SKILL.md, WORKFLOW.md, *.agent.md, *.instructions.md, *.prompt.md). Use when adding, reviewing, or fixing an asset's frontmatter, or when asked to check whether an asset follows repository conventions. |
| metadata | {"skill-author":"Marie-Lynne Block","version":"1.0.0"} |
Asset Frontmatter Check
Check that a customisation asset carries the frontmatter this repository expects, then report or fix deviations.
When to use
- A new asset was added under
skills/, workflows/, agents/, instructions/, or templates/.
- An asset is ignored by VS Code and the frontmatter is the suspect.
- A review asks whether assets follow repository conventions.
Required shapes
Field order matters where shown.
SKILL.md
---
name: (kebab-case name matching the folder)
description: (what it does and when to use it)
metadata:
skill-author: (author name)
version: x.x.x
---
WORKFLOW.md
---
name: (kebab-case name matching the folder)
description: (what it does and when to use it)
metadata:
workflow-author: (author name)
version: x.x.x
---
*.agent.md
---
description: (discovery-friendly description)
metadata:
agent-author: (author name)
version: x.x.x
---
Keep name, tools, and model only when they add clear value.
*.instructions.md
---
description: (description)
applyTo: (glob)
metadata:
instruction-author: (author name)
version: x.x.x
---
metadata is the last field when present.
Procedure
- Identify the asset type from the file name and location.
- Read the frontmatter block only; do not rewrite body content.
- Check, in order:
- Frontmatter opens on line 1 with
--- and closes with ---.
- YAML parses: two-space indentation, quoted strings containing
: or starting with a special character.
- All required fields for the type are present and non-empty.
- Field order matches the shape above.
description states both what the asset does and when to use it.name (skills and workflows) is kebab-case and matches the containing folder name.applyTo (instructions) is a glob that actually matches files in this repo.
- Report findings as a short list: file, issue, suggested fix.
- Apply fixes only to frontmatter, and only when the user asked for fixes.
Notes
- The
_blank suffix under templates/ is a lab-only convention; template files are exempt from the name-matches-folder check.
- Do not invent authors or versions. Use
[TODO] when a value is genuinely unknown.
