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Skill Checklist

Quick validation checklist before adding or reviewing a Claude Code skill. Organized by maturity level.

L1-L2 (minimum for any skill)​

  • Folder name matches name in frontmatter and the slash command
  • description is action-oriented, third-person, under 250 characters, with specific trigger terms
  • Steps are numbered and self-contained
  • Guardrails define what the skill must NOT do
  • Destructive actions have explicit confirmation prompts
  • SKILL.md is under 500 lines — large blocks extracted to subfolders
  • All subfolder links use relative paths
  • SKILL.md reads coherently top to bottom without opening subfolder files
  • Uses common patterns consistently (model guard, AskUserQuestion, quality checks)
  • Has examples/ if the skill produces structured output
  • References standards documents where applicable
  • Contains business-specific references/ (standards, architecture, ADRs)
  • Uses project-specific templates and terminology
  • Output matches team expectations without manual correction
  • Has 3+ eval scenarios in evals/
  • Baseline measurement documented (output without skill)
  • Description trigger-tested (10 should + 10 should-not queries)
  • PHP/Python quality checks triggered after code changes (if applicable)
  • Has learnings.md with dated, atomic entries
  • SKILL.md includes "capture learnings" step
  • Consolidation process defined (trigger at ~80-100 entries)

L7 (for workflow and orchestration skills)​

  • Part of a defined workflow chain with explicit handoff
  • Spawns subagents or is spawned by orchestrator
  • Tested end-to-end as part of the full chain