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mps-build-language

Use when authoring or modifying MPS Build Language scripts (`BuildProject` roots) — the declarative DSL that generates Ant `build.xml` to package MPS language plugins, IDEA plugins, plain Java modules, standalone IDE/RCP distributions, module tests, or `run code from solution` tasks. Covers build solution setup, macros, project/external/Java dependencies, MPS module declarations (`BuildMps_Language` / `_Solution` / `_Generator`), groups, layouts, IDEA-plugin declarations, MPS settings, and the workflow language. Trigger terms: `BuildProject`, `BuildMps_*`, `BuildLayout_*`, `jetbrains.mps.build`, `build.mps` solution, `internalBaseDirectory`, `compactBuildScriptFileName`, Ant target generation, `mps_home`, `idea_home`.

Quality

88%

Does it follow best practices?

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SKILL.md
Quality
Evals
Security

Quality

Content

78%Weight 40%Scale 1-5

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

The body itself is a lean, directive-dense overview with an excellent well-signaled reference index and a concrete 10-step workflow — strong on every structural dimension in isolation. The decisive defect is the bundle: all 17 referenced files (skeletons, JSON examples, failure-mode recovery, concept catalog) are missing, which degrades actionability, breaks the error-recovery loop, and leaves progressive disclosure non-functional.

Suggestions

Ship the references/ directory: all 17 files cited in the Reference Index (solution-setup.md, buildproject-skeleton.md, common-failures.md, etc.) are absent from the bundle, breaking the skill's entire detail layer.

As a fallback, inline the minimal `BuildProject` JSON skeleton and the `.msd` dependency snippet into SKILL.md so the critical steps 1–3 remain executable even if reference files fail to load.

Add an inline validate-and-retry checkpoint after Make and after the Ant run (e.g., confirm `build.xml` was written and check `build/artifacts`) instead of delegating all failure recovery to the missing references/common-failures.md.

DimensionReasoningScore

Conciseness

The ~80-line body is dense with non-obvious, high-value directives (e.g., 'The generator writes `build.xml` — it does **not** invoke Ant', 'Declaring a module in `BuildProject.parts` **does not** cause it to be built', the transitive-closure rule for `BuildMps_Group`) and never explains basics Claude already knows. The one definitional sentence ('a declarative DSL (a stack of MPS languages on top of Ant)') is necessary context for an obscure internal JetBrains DSL. Anchor 4 would require 'minor instances of over-explanation that could be trimmed'; the only candidate is the companion-skills loading paragraph, which is functional routing instruction, not padding.

5 / 5

Actionability

The 10-step workflow is highly concrete — specific tool name `mps_mcp_insert_root_node_from_json`, exact properties (`name`, `internalBaseDirectory`, `compactBuildScriptFileName`), the required UUID `422c2909-59d6-41a9-b318-40e6256b250f`, and the runnable command `ant -Dmps_home=/path/to/MPS …` with output location `./build/artifacts`. However, several steps defer the executable detail to reference files that do not exist in the bundle (e.g., step 3's 'the skeleton in `references/buildproject-skeleton.md`', step 1's '.msd content' in `references/solution-setup.md`), so the guidance is not fully copy-paste ready as shipped. That is a gap beyond anchor 5's 'specific examples cover the common cases', but well above anchor 3's pseudocode/incomplete level.

4 / 5

Workflow Clarity

The Common-Path Workflow is a clearly numbered 10-step sequence with real checkpoints embedded (re-run 'Load required information from file' after every `.mpl`/`.msd` change or the chunk generator throws 'class not found'; 'Make the build solution … writes `build.xml`'; artifacts land in `./build/artifacts'), plus critical directives that function as pre-flight validation (group transitive closure, always set `internalBaseDirectory`). It falls short of anchor 5 because the explicit feedback loops (fix-and-retry on failure) are delegated to `references/common-failures.md`, which is absent from the bundle, so the error-recovery loop is a dead pointer rather than an explicit validate→fix→revalidate cycle in the body.

4 / 5

Progressive Disclosure

The body's structure is textbook progressive disclosure — a 'Reference Index' with one-level-deep, well-signaled 'Open X when Y' entries for 17 files, plus routed sections for other task families — which would rate 5 on design alone. But the bundle contains no `references/`, `scripts/`, or `assets/` directories at all: every one of the 17 referenced files is absent, so the entire detail layer the skill is organized around does not exist and navigation is broken. That is a larger failure than anchor 4's 'minor organization gaps', while the in-body structure and clear signaling keep it above anchor 2's 'minimal structure' and anchor 3's inline-clutter profile — a 3 reflecting that the disclosure structure is present and clearly signaled but non-functional as shipped.

3 / 5

Total

16

/

20

Passed

Description

96%Weight 40%Scale 1-5

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

An exemplary description for a niche DSL: explicit what-and-when framing, comprehensive concrete capability enumeration, and a deliberate trigger-term list covering FQNs, wildcards, and property names. The only weakness is territorial overlap with sibling MPS skills on the standalone-distribution and Ant-generation claims.

DimensionReasoningScore

Specificity

The description lists multiple concrete capabilities: 'authoring or modifying MPS Build Language scripts', 'generates Ant `build.xml` to package MPS language plugins, IDEA plugins, plain Java modules, standalone IDE/RCP distributions, module tests, or `run code from solution` tasks', and enumerates covered subtopics (macros, dependencies, layouts, groups, MPS settings, workflow language). Coverage is comprehensive with no vague filler. Anchor 4 would require 'minor gaps in coverage', but the enumeration spans every major facet of the DSL.

5 / 5

Completeness

It opens with an explicit 'when' clause ('Use when authoring or modifying MPS Build Language scripts (`BuildProject` roots)') and clearly states the 'what' ('the declarative DSL that generates Ant `build.xml` to package...'), matching the anchor-5 example pattern of what + when with concrete trigger phrases. The 'when' is explicit, not weakly implied, so it exceeds the anchor-4 example.

5 / 5

Trigger Term Quality

The explicit 'Trigger terms:' list gives comprehensive natural terms users of this domain would actually say: `BuildProject`, `BuildMps_*`, `BuildLayout_*`, `jetbrains.mps.build`, `build.mps` solution, `internalBaseDirectory`, `compactBuildScriptFileName`, `mps_home`, `idea_home`. It includes wildcards, namespace FQNs, and property names — the full synonym surface for this niche. Not level 4 ('a few natural terms missing') because no plausible trigger for this domain is absent.

5 / 5

Distinctiveness Conflict Risk

The niche is clear and most triggers (`BuildProject`, `BuildMps_*`, `internalBaseDirectory`) are unique to this DSL, but the description claims 'standalone IDE/RCP distributions' and 'Ant target generation', `mps_home` territory that overlaps the sibling `mps-distribution-build` skill (per the body's own Related Skills section). That is real but minor overlap with a closely related skill — exactly the anchor-4 condition ('mostly distinct; minor overlap risk with closely related skills') rather than anchor 5's 'minimal conflict risk'.

4 / 5

Total

19

/

20

Passed

Validation

87%

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

Validation — 14 / 16 Passed

Validation for skill structure

CriteriaDescriptionResult

frontmatter_unknown_keys

Unknown frontmatter key(s) found; consider removing or moving to metadata

Warning

referenced_paths_exist

Referenced path issues: 28 missing

Warning

Total

14

/

16

Passed

Repository

JetBrains/MPS

Path

.agents/skills/mps-build-language/SKILL.md

Reviewed

Table of Contents

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