Audit Report: example-skill

Skill Path: plugins/meta/claude-dev-sandbox/skills/example-skill/SKILL.md Status: ❌ Fail (58% compliance - Template/Placeholder) Compliance: 58% Last Audit: 2025-11-05 Auditor: claude-skill-auditor Files Reviewed: SKILL.md (67 lines)

Category Breakdown

• [~] 1. YAML Frontmatter - ⚠️ (Valid format but description is placeholder text)
• 2. File Structure - ✓ (67 lines, follows conventions)
• 3. Description Quality - ❌ (Too vague, doesn't state WHAT or WHEN)
• 4. Naming Convention - ✓ (Lowercase with hyphens, clear it's an example)
• [~] 5. Content Quality - ⚠️ (Concise but all placeholder/template text)
• 6. Progressive Disclosure - N/A
• 7. File Paths - ✓ (No paths, follows conventions)
• [~] 8. Workflows & Patterns - ⚠️ (Has structure but no real content)
• 9. Code & Scripts - N/A
• 10. MCP Tool References - N/A
• 11. Examples Quality - ❌ (Abstract placeholders, not concrete)
• 12. Anti-Patterns - ✓ (None present)
• 13. Testing Coverage - N/A
• 14. Overall Compliance - 58%

Critical Issues (Must Fix)

Total: 1 critical issue

1. Description is too vague and doesn't state WHAT or WHEN

• Location: SKILL.md:3 (YAML frontmatter description field)
• Current: "Example skill demonstrating proper structure - replace with your skill's purpose"
• Required: Description must clearly state WHAT the skill does and WHEN Claude should use it
• Fix: Replace with concrete description
• Example: "Validates and transforms data pipelines for ETL workflows. Use when processing CSV/JSON data, cleaning datasets, or building data transformation pipelines."
• Reference: agent-skills-best-practices.md - Description Quality section

Warnings (Should Fix)

Total: 4 warnings

1. "When to use" section is incomplete placeholder text

• Location: SKILL.md:13
• Current: "When to use: Describe when Claude should invoke this skill"
• Recommended: Provide specific, concrete triggers for when Claude should invoke this skill
• Impact: Without clear triggers, Claude won't know when to autonomously activate this skill
• Reference: agent-skills-best-practices.md - Clear trigger conditions

2. Examples are abstract rather than concrete

• Location: SKILL.md:56-67 (Examples section)
• Current: Uses placeholder variables (X, Y, Z, A, B, C, D) rather than realistic examples
• Recommended: Replace with concrete, realistic examples showing actual inputs and outputs
• Impact: Abstract examples don't demonstrate value or help Claude understand application
• Reference: agent-skills-best-practices.md - Examples should be concrete and practical

3. Content is too generic and template-like

• Location: SKILL.md (entire file)
• Current: Filled with placeholder text without domain-specific knowledge
• Recommended: Replace all placeholder content with actual skill-specific guidance
• Impact: A template-only skill provides no value - needs actual expertise
• Reference: skills.md - What a skill IS (expertise) vs IS NOT (empty templates)

4. Key Principles section is empty placeholders

• Location: SKILL.md:49-53
• Current: "Principle 1: Explanation of first principle" etc.
• Recommended: Provide actual, actionable principles specific to the domain
• Impact: Empty principles don't guide Claude's decision-making
• Reference: agent-skills-best-practices.md - Content must be valuable

Suggestions (Consider Improving)

Total: 3 suggestions

1. Add progressive disclosure with supporting files

• Enhancement: For complex skills, split content into supporting files (patterns/, reference/, examples/)
• Example: Create examples/real-world-cases.md with detailed case studies
• Benefit: Allows deeper expertise while keeping SKILL.md concise

2. Add a Quick Start or Common Workflow section

• Enhancement: Simple, copy-paste checklist for most common use case

• Example:

  markdownCopy

  ## Quick Start Checklist
  - [ ] Verify input data format
  - [ ] Run validation checks
  - [ ] Transform data
  - [ ] Validate output
  - [ ] Generate report
  

• Benefit: Helps Claude execute quickly

3. Add error handling guidance

• Enhancement: Explicit guidance on handling common errors
• Example: "Common Issues and Resolutions" section
• Benefit: Improves reliability

Actionable Items

1. ❌ Replace frontmatter description with concrete, specific description (CRITICAL)
2. ⚠️ Replace "When to use" placeholder with specific triggers
3. ⚠️ Replace abstract examples with concrete ones showing real data
4. ⚠️ Fill in all placeholder content throughout the skill
5. ⚠️ Add real principles in Key Principles section
6. 💡 Consider adding supporting files if skill complexity warrants it
7. 💡 Consider adding Quick Start checklist
8. 💡 Consider adding error handling guidance

Positive Observations

• ✅ Proper YAML frontmatter - Correctly formatted with delimiters
• ✅ Good naming convention - Lowercase, hyphens, no reserved words
• ✅ Well under line limit - 67 lines, excellent
• ✅ Correct third person voice - Used appropriately
• ✅ No problematic patterns - No XML tags, Windows paths, or time-sensitive info
• ✅ Logical structure - Clear sections and organization
• ✅ Clean markdown - Readable, consistent formatting
• ✅ Good table usage - Quick Reference section uses tables well
• ✅ No anti-patterns - Clean, straightforward structure

Notes for Skill Author

This skill appears to be a template or example meant for demonstration purposes. The structure is correct, but the content needs to be completely replaced with actual domain expertise for a real skill.

To make this production-ready:

1. Choose a specific domain/task this skill will handle
2. Write a clear, specific description with key trigger terms
3. Document the actual workflow/process for that domain
4. Provide concrete, realistic examples
5. Add domain-specific principles and best practices
6. Include common pitfalls and error handling guidance

The current template provides a good structural foundation - the YAML is valid, the organization is sound, and the formatting is clean. The work needed is entirely about replacing placeholder content with valuable domain expertise.

Compliance Summary

Official Requirements: 7/9 requirements met (78%) Best Practices: 5/12 practices followed (42%) Overall Compliance: 58%

Critical Blockers: 1 (vague description prevents skill discovery) Status: Template/placeholder skill - not production-ready until content is added

Next Steps

This is clearly a template skill for the sandbox environment.

If this is meant to remain as a template/example:

• Consider renaming to skill-template to be more explicit
• Add comments/notes explaining what to replace
• Maybe add annotations showing good vs bad examples

If this is meant to be a real skill:

1. Replace all placeholder content with actual domain expertise
2. Write concrete description and triggers
3. Add real examples and workflows
4. Re-audit after content is added to verify 90%+ compliance