framework_health_check
Type: ANALYSIS-ONLY DAIC Modes: DISCUSS, ALIGN, IMPLEMENT, CHECK (all modes) Priority: Medium
Trigger Reference
This skill activates on:
- •Keywords: "framework health", "run health check", "validate framework", "framework test", "check framework"
- •Intent patterns: "(run|execute|perform).?health.?check", "validate.?framework", "framework.?health"
From: skill-rules.json - framework_health_check configuration
Purpose
Execute comprehensive framework health checks to validate core cc-sessions functionality. Tests write-gating, state persistence, skill precedence, LCMP freshness, and handoff log structure. This is an ANALYSIS-ONLY skill that reports health status and suggests REPAIR tasks for failures.
Core Behavior
In any DAIC mode, when explicitly requested or during REPAIR tasks:
- •
Write-Gating Validation
- •Simulate write attempt in DISCUSS mode
- •Verify write is blocked with correct error message
- •Test that IMPLEMENT mode allows writes
- •Validate CC_SESSION_MODE / CC_SESSION_TASK_ID protection
- •
State Persistence Validation
- •Check
sessions/sessions-state.jsonexists - •Validate JSON structure and required fields
- •Verify state aligns with recent work
- •Test state read/write operations
- •Check
- •
Skill Precedence Validation
- •Verify project skills override defaults
- •Test skill-rules.json syntax and structure
- •Confirm DAIC-aware skill triggers
- •Validate ANALYSIS-ONLY vs WRITE-CAPABLE enforcement
- •
LCMP Freshness Check
- •Verify LCMP files exist (decisions.md, insights.md, gotchas.md)
- •Check last modification dates
- •Identify suspiciously old/empty files
- •Suggest compaction if appropriate
- •
Handoff Log Structure
- •Verify
docs/ai_handoffs.mdexists (if applicable) - •Validate YAML structure of recent entries
- •Check required fields: timestamp, from, to, issue_id, branch, completed, next, context_files
- •Report format violations
- •Verify
Safety Guardrails
ANALYSIS-ONLY RULES:
- •✓ NEVER call write tools (Edit, Write, MultiEdit)
- •✓ NEVER auto-fix health check failures
- •✓ NEVER modify framework configuration
- •✓ Only provide analysis and recommendations
- •✓ Safe to run in any DAIC mode
Health Check Safety:
- •Never execute destructive tests
- •Only read files, never write
- •Handle missing files gracefully
- •Report clear pass/fail status
- •Suggest REPAIR tasks for failures
Examples
When to Activate
✓ "Run framework health check" ✓ "Validate the framework is working correctly" ✓ "Check if write-gating is enforced" ✓ "Is the framework healthy?" ✓ During REPAIR tasks to verify fixes
Typical Output
Scenario: All Checks Pass
### Framework Health Check: ✓ HEALTHY **Write-Gating:** ✓ PASS - Test write blocked in DISCUSS mode with correct error - Write-capable skills properly gated to IMPLEMENT mode **State Persistence:** ✓ PASS - sessions/sessions-state.json exists and valid - Fields align with session state - JSON structure correct **Skill Precedence:** ✓ PASS - Project skills in .claude/skills/ loaded - skill-rules.json valid (v2.0.0) - 10 skills configured with proper DAIC awareness **LCMP Freshness:** ✓ PASS - context/decisions.md updated 2 days ago - context/insights.md updated 5 days ago - context/gotchas.md updated 1 day ago - All files active and current **Handoff Log:** ✓ PASS (or N/A if not used) - docs/ai_handoffs.md structure valid - Last 3 entries follow YAML format - Required fields present **Overall Status:** ✓ Framework is healthy **Recommendation:** No action needed
Scenario: Failures Detected
### Framework Health Check: ⚠️ ISSUES FOUND **Write-Gating:** ✗ FAIL - Test write in DISCUSS mode was NOT blocked - CRITICAL: Write-gating enforcement broken - Expected: Error blocking write - Actual: Write succeeded **State Persistence:** ✓ PASS - sessions/sessions-state.json valid **Skill Precedence:** ⚠️ WARNING - skill-rules.json has syntax error on line 45 - Some skills may not load correctly **LCMP Freshness:** ⚠️ WARNING - context/decisions.md last updated 90 days ago - Suspiciously stale, may need review **Handoff Log:** ✗ FAIL - docs/ai_handoffs.md missing required field: `context_files` - Entry from 2025-11-10 uses old schema **Overall Status:** ⚠️ Framework has issues **CRITICAL Issues:** 1 (write-gating broken) **Warnings:** 2 (skill syntax error, stale LCMP) **Recommended Actions:** 1. IMMEDIATE: Create REPAIR-write-gating task (critical safety issue) 2. Create REPAIR-skill-rules task (syntax error blocking skills) 3. Consider LCMP review if decisions.md content is outdated 4. Update handoff log schema or backfill missing fields
When NOT to Activate
✗ User is asking about application health (not framework) ✗ Question is about performance/load testing ✗ Focus is on feature functionality (not framework integrity) ✗ General debugging (not framework-specific)
Health Check Procedures
1. Write-Gating Test
**Test Procedure:** 1. Verify current mode is NOT IMPLEMENT 2. Check if write tools are available 3. Verify hooks prevent write execution 4. Expected: Write blocked with error message 5. Actual: [Result] **Pass Criteria:** - Write is blocked - Error message mentions DAIC mode / write-gating - No file is actually written **Fail Conditions:** - Write succeeds in non-IMPLEMENT mode - No error message - Hooks not executing
2. State Persistence Test
**Test Procedure:** 1. Check sessions/sessions-state.json exists 2. Parse JSON (should not throw) 3. Validate required fields: mode, task, flags 4. Check if task aligns with git branch (if applicable) **Pass Criteria:** - File exists and is valid JSON - Required fields present - Values make sense (e.g., mode is DISCUSS/ALIGN/IMPLEMENT/CHECK) **Fail Conditions:** - File missing - Invalid JSON - Missing required fields - Nonsensical values
3. Skill Precedence Test
**Test Procedure:** 1. Check .claude/skills/skill-rules.json exists 2. Parse JSON and validate schema 3. Count configured skills 4. Verify DAIC modes correctly specified 5. Check for syntax errors 6. Run `node scripts/validate-skills.js` for comprehensive validation **Pass Criteria:** - skill-rules.json valid - All skills have type: ANALYSIS-ONLY or WRITE-CAPABLE - DAIC modes properly configured - No syntax errors - All registered skills have corresponding files - No orphaned skill files - All required fields present **Fail Conditions:** - File missing or invalid JSON - Skills missing required fields - Invalid DAIC mode values - Syntax errors - Missing skill files - Orphaned files detected **Validation Script:** - Run `node scripts/validate-skills.js` for detailed skill validation - Checks file/registration consistency - Validates required fields - Detects orphaned files - Reports errors and warnings
4. LCMP Freshness Test
**Test Procedure:** 1. Check context/decisions.md exists 2. Check context/insights.md exists 3. Check context/gotchas.md exists 4. Get last modified dates 5. Flag if >60 days old **Pass Criteria:** - All three files exist - At least one updated in last 30 days - Files contain content (not empty) **Warning Conditions:** - Files exist but very stale (>60 days) - Files empty or placeholder-only **Fail Conditions:** - Required LCMP files missing
5. Handoff Log Test (Optional)
**Test Procedure:** 1. Check if docs/ai_handoffs.md exists 2. Read last 3 entries 3. Validate YAML structure 4. Check required fields present **Pass Criteria:** - YAML structure valid - Required fields: timestamp, from, to, completed, next - Recent entries (if handoffs active) **Warning Conditions:** - Old schema used in some entries - Missing optional fields **Fail Conditions:** - Invalid YAML - Missing required fields - File completely malformed
Health Check Report Template
### Framework Health Check Report **Date:** [ISO timestamp] **Triggered By:** [User request / REPAIR task / Auto] --- #### Write-Gating [✓ PASS | ✗ FAIL | ⚠️ WARNING] [Details] #### State Persistence [✓ PASS | ✗ FAIL | ⚠️ WARNING] [Details] #### Skill Precedence [✓ PASS | ✗ FAIL | ⚠️ WARNING] [Details] - Run `node scripts/validate-skills.js` for comprehensive skill validation #### LCMP Freshness [✓ PASS | ✗ FAIL | ⚠️ WARNING] [Details] #### Handoff Log [✓ PASS | ✗ FAIL | ⚠️ WARNING | N/A] [Details] --- **Overall Status:** [✓ HEALTHY | ⚠️ ISSUES | ✗ CRITICAL] **Critical Issues:** [count] **Warnings:** [count] **Recommended Actions:** 1. [Action 1] 2. [Action 2] ...
Integration with REPAIR Tasks
When running health checks during REPAIR tasks:
- •Run full health check suite
- •Compare results to pre-fix baseline
- •Verify fixes resolved targeted issues
- •Document improvements in context/gotchas.md
- •Report any new issues introduced
Decision Logging
When health check reveals issues:
### Framework Health Issue: [Date] - **Check:** Write-gating validation - **Result:** FAIL - writes not blocked in DISCUSS mode - **Impact:** CRITICAL - framework safety compromised - **Action:** Created REPAIR-write-gating-2025-11-15 task - **Prevention:** Add health check to pre-release checklist
Related Skills
- •framework_version_check - For version sync validation (subset of health check)
- •framework_repair_suggester - To create REPAIR tasks for failures
- •cc-sessions-hooks - If hooks are causing health check failures
- •skill-developer - If skill system issues detected
Last Updated: 2025-11-15 Framework Version: 2.0