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mcclowes/language-design

Use when designing language features - covers lexer, parser, AST, and interpreter patterns

77

Quality

97%

Does it follow best practices?

Impact

No eval scenarios have been run

SecuritybySnyk

Passed

No known issues

Overview
Quality
Evals
Security
Files

Quality

Content

92%

Reviews the quality of instructions and guidance provided to agents. Good implementation is clear, handles edge cases, and produces reliable results.

This is a strong skill that provides a clear, actionable pipeline for language implementation with concrete TypeScript code at every stage. The validation checkpoints and project-specific annotations (pipe operator) add practical value. The main weakness is that referenced bundle files don't exist, so the progressive disclosure structure is aspirational rather than functional.

Suggestions

Create the referenced bundle files (references/lexer.md, references/parser.md, references/environment.md, references/error-handling.md, references/builtins.md) to fulfill the progressive disclosure promises made in the skill body.

DimensionReasoningScore

Conciseness

The content is lean and efficient. It assumes Claude understands programming language concepts and jumps straight into patterns with executable code. No unnecessary explanations of what a lexer or parser is—just the implementation patterns.

3 / 3

Actionability

Provides fully executable TypeScript code for each stage of the pipeline: token types, lexer core loop, recursive descent parser with precedence, discriminated union AST types, and tree-walk interpreter. Code is concrete and copy-paste ready with project-specific customizations (pipe operator) clearly marked.

3 / 3

Workflow Clarity

The pipeline is clearly sequenced (Source → Lexer → Tokens → Parser → AST → Interpreter → Result) with explicit validation checkpoints after each stage. The validation section specifies what to check at each stage (inspect token stream, print AST, evaluate simple expressions before full pipeline).

3 / 3

Progressive Disclosure

References to detailed files (references/lexer.md, references/parser.md, etc.) are well-signaled and one level deep, which is good structure. However, no bundle files are provided, so the referenced files don't actually exist, meaning the skill promises depth it cannot deliver. The inline content is well-organized but some sections (like the full parser) could benefit from the referenced files actually being present.

2 / 3

Total

11

/

12

Passed

Description

100%

Based on the skill's description, can an agent find and select it at the right time? Clear, specific descriptions lead to better discovery.

This is an excellent skill description that clearly defines a specific technical niche with concrete capabilities and comprehensive trigger terms. It includes two explicit 'Use when' clauses that cover both high-level scenarios (designing a language) and granular tasks (writing a tokenizer). The description is well-structured, uses third person voice throughout, and would be highly effective for skill selection among a large pool of skills.

DimensionReasoningScore

Specificity

Lists multiple specific concrete actions: 'Generates lexer and parser implementations', 'defines AST node structures using discriminated unions', 'builds tree-walk interpreter/evaluator patterns with scoped environments'. These are highly specific technical capabilities.

3 / 3

Completeness

Clearly answers both 'what' (generates lexer/parser implementations, defines AST structures, builds interpreter patterns) and 'when' with two explicit 'Use when' clauses covering both design/implementation scenarios and specific sub-tasks like building a grammar or writing a tokenizer.

3 / 3

Trigger Term Quality

Excellent coverage of natural terms a user would say: 'programming language', 'compiler', 'interpreter', 'tokenizer', 'DSL', 'domain-specific language', 'grammar', 'syntax tree', 'lexer', 'parser', 'AST'. These cover both formal and casual ways users might describe this need.

3 / 3

Distinctiveness Conflict Risk

Highly distinctive niche — language design, compilers, interpreters, and DSLs are a very specific domain unlikely to conflict with general coding skills. The trigger terms like 'lexer', 'parser', 'AST', 'grammar', 'tokenizer' are uniquely associated with this domain.

3 / 3

Total

12

/

12

Passed

Validation

100%

Checks the skill against the spec for correct structure and formatting. All validation checks must pass before discovery and implementation can be scored.

Validation11 / 11 Passed

Validation for skill structure

No warnings or errors.

Reviewed

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