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graceful-tool-failure

Report tool failures transparently and attempt minimal viable output with disclaimers

55

Quality

61%

Does it follow best practices?

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SecuritybySnyk

Passed

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tessl review fix ./benchmarks/gdpval/skills/graceful-tool-failure/SKILL.md
SKILL.md
Quality
Evals
Security

Quality

Content

72%

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

The content is highly actionable with concrete templates and executable code, and is reasonably well organized for a single-file skill. Its main weaknesses are mild redundancy across reporting templates and the absence of explicit validation checkpoints in the workflow.

Suggestions

Consolidate the repeated reporting templates (Step 1, Code Examples 'Response Template', and Anti-Patterns) into a single canonical template to reduce token redundancy.

Add an explicit validation checkpoint in the workflow (e.g., verify the partial output is internally consistent before presenting it) to strengthen the feedback loop.

Trim generic restating of principles where the templates already demonstrate them.

DimensionReasoningScore

Conciseness

The body is mostly efficient and offers templates/principles Claude would not derive by default, but near-duplicate reporting templates recur across Step 1, the Code Examples, and Anti-Patterns sections, adding redundant tokens.

2 / 3

Actionability

It provides an executable Python fallback function, concrete markdown templates, and explicit correct/incorrect phrasings that are copy-paste ready, matching the 'fully executable, specific examples' anchor.

3 / 3

Workflow Clarity

The four steps are clearly sequenced, but the process lacks explicit validation checkpoints or feedback loops for confirming whether fallback output is acceptable, placing it at the 'sequence present but checkpoints missing' anchor.

2 / 3

Progressive Disclosure

No bundle files exist and none are needed; the single-file skill is organized into well-labeled sections, so per the simple-skill scoring note it qualifies for the top anchor.

3 / 3

Total

10

/

12

Passed

Description

50%

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 clearly states the skill's purpose but omits an explicit trigger clause and leans on slightly jargony phrasing, so it lands at the middle anchor across all dimensions. Adding a 'Use when...' clause with natural user phrasings would lift it.

Suggestions

Add a 'Use when...' clause naming concrete triggers (e.g., 'Use when a core tool has failed repeatedly and blocks task completion').

Replace jargon like 'minimal viable output with disclaimers' with natural phrasings a user would say, such as 'when tools fail' or 'report errors and partial results'.

Expand the action list to be more comprehensive (e.g., explicitly mention documenting attempts and recommending next steps).

DimensionReasoningScore

Specificity

"Report tool failures transparently and attempt minimal viable output with disclaimers" names two concrete actions but is not a comprehensive list of specific actions, matching the 'Names domain and some actions' anchor rather than the multi-action level 3.

2 / 3

Completeness

It states what the skill does but has no "Use when..." trigger clause, so per the judging guidelines completeness is capped at 2 rather than reaching the explicit-trigger level 3.

2 / 3

Trigger Term Quality

Terms like "tool failures" and "disclaimers" are relevant, but "minimal viable output with disclaimers" is jargon-flavored and misses common natural phrasings (e.g., "when tools fail", "report errors") users would actually say.

2 / 3

Distinctiveness Conflict Risk

"Report tool failures transparently" carves a niche but lacks explicit triggers, so it could still overlap with general error-reporting or status-reporting skills, matching the 'somewhat specific but could overlap' anchor.

2 / 3

Total

8

/

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.

Validation16 / 16 Passed

Validation for skill structure

No warnings or errors.

Repository
HKUDS/OpenSpace
Reviewed

Table of Contents

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