This skill should be used when the user says "scaffold", "arn scaffold", "set up the project", "create project", "initialize project", "bootstrap project", "create the skeleton", "install dependencies", "configure the project", or wants to create a working project skeleton from architecture decisions with installed dependencies, configured build tools, and a UI toolkit ready for development.
56
64%
Does it follow best practices?
Impact
—
No eval scenarios have been run
Passed
No known issues
Optimize this skill with Tessl
npx tessl skill review --optimize ./plugins/arn-spark/skills/arn-spark-scaffold/SKILL.mdQuality
Discovery
82%Based on the skill's description, can an agent find and select it at the right time? Clear, specific descriptions lead to better discovery.
The description excels at providing explicit trigger terms and clearly answering both what and when, making it strong on completeness and trigger term quality. However, the 'what' portion could be more specific by enumerating distinct capabilities as separate actions, and some trigger terms like 'create project' or 'install dependencies' could cause overlap with other skills. The description also uses passive/impersonal voice appropriately.
Suggestions
Break the capability description into more specific enumerated actions, e.g., 'Scaffolds project directory structure, installs and configures dependencies, sets up build tools (e.g., Vite, Webpack), and integrates a UI toolkit.'
Add more distinctive context to reduce conflict risk, such as specifying the types of projects (e.g., frontend, full-stack) or naming specific technologies supported.
| Dimension | Reasoning | Score |
|---|---|---|
Specificity | The description mentions some actions like 'create a working project skeleton from architecture decisions with installed dependencies, configured build tools, and a UI toolkit ready for development,' but these are bundled into one clause rather than listing multiple distinct concrete actions (e.g., install dependencies, configure build tools, set up UI toolkit are mentioned but not as separate enumerated capabilities). | 2 / 3 |
Completeness | The description explicitly answers both 'what' (create a working project skeleton from architecture decisions with installed dependencies, configured build tools, and a UI toolkit) and 'when' (extensive list of trigger phrases prefaced by 'This skill should be used when'). Both are clearly stated. | 3 / 3 |
Trigger Term Quality | Excellent coverage of natural trigger terms: 'scaffold', 'set up the project', 'create project', 'initialize project', 'bootstrap project', 'create the skeleton', 'install dependencies', 'configure the project'. These are terms users would naturally say when wanting to scaffold a project. | 3 / 3 |
Distinctiveness Conflict Risk | While 'scaffold' and 'bootstrap project' are fairly distinctive, terms like 'create project', 'initialize project', and 'install dependencies' could overlap with other project setup or dependency management skills. The mention of 'architecture decisions' and 'UI toolkit' adds some specificity but the scope is still somewhat broad. | 2 / 3 |
Total | 10 / 12 Passed |
Implementation
47%Reviews the quality of instructions and guidance provided to agents. Good implementation is clear, handles edge cases, and produces reliable results.
This is a well-structured conversational workflow skill with excellent step sequencing, validation checkpoints, and error handling. However, it is significantly too verbose — the detailed example dialogue, option lists with pillar annotations, and explanatory prose inflate the token cost substantially. The skill delegates all concrete work to external agents and references templates that aren't bundled, making actionability dependent on unseen files.
Suggestions
Cut verbosity by 40-50%: remove example dialogue templates (Claude can generate appropriate conversational phrasing), trim the CSS/component library option lists to just the pattern ('offer 3-4 options for the chosen framework, noting pillar alignment'), and eliminate explanatory prose like 'These decisions happen now because they affect the scaffold setup'.
Move the detailed UI toolkit options and the Agent Invocation Guide table into a reference file to keep the main SKILL.md focused on the workflow steps.
Include the referenced bundle files (scaffold-checklist.md, scaffold-summary-template.md) or note their absence — without them, Steps 4 and 5 are not fully actionable.
| Dimension | Reasoning | Score |
|---|---|---|
Conciseness | The skill is extremely verbose at ~250+ lines. It over-explains conversational flow, includes lengthy example dialogue templates, and spells out details Claude can infer (e.g., how to present a table, what product pillars imply). Many sections could be cut in half without losing actionable content. | 1 / 3 |
Actionability | The skill provides a clear conversational workflow with specific questions to ask and agent invocations, but lacks executable code or commands. It delegates all actual work to external agents (arn-spark-scaffolder, arn-spark-tech-evaluator) and references templates/checklists that aren't provided, making it dependent on external files for concrete execution. | 2 / 3 |
Workflow Clarity | The 6-step workflow is clearly sequenced with explicit validation (Step 4 checklist verification), error recovery (retry scaffolder up to 3 times), staging behavior for safe file merging, and a comprehensive error handling section. The feedback loop for build failures and the checklist-based verification are well-defined. | 3 / 3 |
Progressive Disclosure | The skill references external files (scaffold-checklist.md, scaffold-summary-template.md, ensure-config.md) which is good progressive disclosure design, but no bundle files are provided to verify they exist. The main body itself is monolithic — the lengthy UI toolkit options, agent invocation guide, and error handling could be split into reference files to keep the main skill leaner. | 2 / 3 |
Total | 8 / 12 Passed |
Validation
90%Checks the skill against the spec for correct structure and formatting. All validation checks must pass before discovery and implementation can be scored.
Validation — 10 / 11 Passed
Validation for skill structure
| Criteria | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|
frontmatter_unknown_keys | Unknown frontmatter key(s) found; consider removing or moving to metadata | Warning |
Total | 10 / 11 Passed | |
b9084b6
Table of Contents
If you maintain this skill, you can claim it as your own. Once claimed, you can manage eval scenarios, bundle related skills, attach documentation or rules, and ensure cross-agent compatibility.