skill-edit-validation

name	skill-edit-validation
audience	swarm-plugin
description	Content-assertion sweep after editing SKILL.md files. Triggered when a task changes skill or prompt content that tests assert against. Prevents stale-assertion CI failures.

Skill Edit Validation

Trigger

After editing ANY .md file under .opencode/skills/, .claude/skills/, or .agents/skills/ that changes content wording (not just whitespace/formatting).

Protocol

1. Extract changed phrases: Identify old wording vs new wording (e.g., "spec.md does NOT exist" changed to "NO effective spec exists")
2. Targeted sweep: For each OLD phrase, grep test files:

   rg "<old-phrase>" tests/ src/ --type ts -l
   

   Focus on: *-audit*, *-security*, *-spec-gate*, *skill-mirror*, *soft-spec*, *prompt*, *workflow*
3. For each match: Read the assertion context (surrounding 10 lines). Verify:
   • Does the assertion still hold against the new content?
   • Is it checking a substring containing the old phrase?
   • Is it checking for the ABSENCE of a word the new wording introduces? (e.g., not.toContain('skip') catches "this check is skipped")
4. Prefer the semantic registry: If the assertion is checking skill behavior rather than an exact contract string, move it behind tests/helpers/skill-content-registry.ts (or add a concept there) and assert the named concept from the test.
5. Update stale assertions in the same changeset. Do NOT defer to CI.
6. Preserve behavioral intent: When updating, preserve what the assertion TESTS (e.g., "the plan skill has a spec-absent branch"), not just the string match.

Constraint

Do NOT rubber-stamp brittle assertions. If an assertion tests implementation detail rather than behavioral intent, flag it for refactoring to a semantic check.

Root cause

Skill-content tests should assert named semantic concepts where possible. The registry in tests/helpers/skill-content-registry.ts is the preferred safety net for recurring skill wording checks; use the manual grep sweep for exact contract strings and any tests not yet migrated.