Meta Skill Validation
Framework for validating Claude Code skills against best practices. This skill provides checklists and templates used by validation commands.
When to Use This Skill
- •Validating a skill before publishing
- •Running quality checks on existing skills
- •Creating GitHub issues for skill improvements
- •Understanding validation criteria
Quick Navigation
| Resource | Purpose |
|---|---|
| checklists/frontmatter.md | Name, description, required fields |
| checklists/structure.md | Token budget, progressive disclosure |
| checklists/quality.md | Content quality checks |
| checklists/8-pillars.md | 8+1 Pillar coverage for lang/convert skills |
| templates/issue-templates.md | GitHub issue body templates |
Validation Levels
| Level | Scope | Command |
|---|---|---|
| Quick | Naming, frontmatter, SKILL.md exists | just validate-skill <path> |
| Standard | + Token budget, structure, quality | /refine-skill --check-only |
| Deep | + 8 Pillars, meta-skill compliance | /validate-lang-conversion-skill |
Quick Validation
bash
just validate-skill components/skills/my-skill
Checks:
- •Skill name format (hyphen-case, lowercase)
- •SKILL.md exists and has frontmatter
- •Description present and non-empty
Standard Validation
bash
/refine-skill components/skills/my-skill --check-only
Adds:
- •Token budget (< 500 lines)
- •Progressive disclosure patterns
- •Content quality checklist
- •Directory structure
Deep Validation (for lang--dev and convert--* skills)
bash
/validate-lang-conversion-skill convert-python-rust # Or for pillar coverage only: just validate-pillars lang-rust-dev
Adds:
- •8 Pillars coverage scoring
- •Meta-skill table updates
- •Conversion-specific checks
Severity Classification
| Severity | Definition | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | Blocks functionality, must fix before use | Create bug issue |
| Warning | Should fix, impacts quality | Create enhancement issue |
| Suggestion | Nice to have, improves experience | Create docs issue |
Thresholds
| Check | Critical | Warning | Pass |
|---|---|---|---|
| SKILL.md lines | > 800 | 500-800 | < 500 |
| Description length | > 300 chars | vague/missing | < 200, trigger words |
| 8 Pillars score | < 4/8 | 4-5.5/8 | >= 6/8 |
| 9 Pillars score | < 5/9 | 5-6.5/9 | >= 7/9 |
| Type mappings | < 5 | 5-14 | >= 15 |
| Pitfalls listed | 0-2 | 3-4 | >= 5 |
Justfile Integration
This skill documents validation criteria. Automation lives in justfile:
| Recipe | Purpose |
|---|---|
validate-skill <path> | Quick structural validation |
validate-pillars <skill> | 8 pillars coverage check |
validate-all-skills | Batch validation |
validate-all-lang-skills | Batch lang skill validation |
Running Batch Validation
bash
# All skills just validate-all-skills # Lang skills only (with pillar coverage) just validate-all-lang-skills # Single skill with pillars just validate-pillars lang-rust-dev
Workflow Integration
Creating a New Skill
- •Use
/create-skillor manual creation - •Run
just validate-skill <path>- quick check - •Iterate until quick validation passes
- •Run
/refine-skill --check-only- full check - •Address warnings and suggestions
Validating Conversion Skills
- •Create with
/create-lang-conversion-skill - •Run
/validate-lang-conversion-skill- includes pillar coverage - •Review generated issues
- •Address gaps and re-validate
Pre-commit Validation
bash
# Add to pre-commit config
- repo: local
hooks:
- id: validate-skills
name: Validate Skills
entry: just validate-all-skills
language: system
pass_filenames: false
See Also
- •meta-skill-authoring-dev - Creating and authoring skills
- •meta-convert-dev - Structure for conversion skills
- •meta-convert-guide - Content guide for conversion skills