validate-skills_skill

Overview

This skill validates individual skill directories against the agentskills.io specification and Claude Code best practices. It runs a checklist of structural, naming, and content rules and produces a clear pass/fail report for each skill. Use the /validate-skills command to run validation across the skills collection.

How this skill works

The validator locates each skill folder and reads the skill document and manifest to inspect fields like name, description, and optional metadata. It applies spec rules (name format, directory match, description length, optional fields) and best-practice checks (tone, length, link format, redundancy). Results are emitted as a human-readable report listing pass/fail items per skill.

When to use it

• Before publishing or sharing new or updated skills
• During CI to catch spec or style regressions
• When auditing a collection for consistency and quality
• Prior to submitting skills to a registry or marketplace
• When onboarding contributors to enforce standards

Best practices

• Enforce name: 1–64 chars, lowercase alphanumeric and hyphens, no leading/trailing/consecutive hyphens
• Keep descriptions concise and in third person; explain what the skill does and when to use it
• Limit documentation body length and avoid repeating the short description
• Use one-level references only and format links as markdown text
• Validate optional fields (license, metadata, compatibility) when present

Example use cases

• Run validation in CI to fail builds when a skill breaks the spec
• Audit all skills before a public release to ensure uniform quality
• Train contributors by pointing to exact checklist items for fixes
• Automate pre-merge checks so maintainers get consistent reports
• Generate a remediation list for each skill with explicit pass/fail details