writing-skills

Use when creating new skills, editing existing skills, or verifying skills work before deployment

Install with Tessl CLI

npx tessl i github:aaddrick/claude-desktop-debian --skill writing-skills

What are skills?

1.29x

Quality

58%

Does it follow best practices?

Impact

100%

1.29x

Average score across 3 eval scenarios

Optimize this skill with Tessl

npx tessl skill review --optimize ./.claude/skills/writing-skills/SKILL.md

SKILL.md

Review

Evals

Discovery

40%

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 description focuses entirely on when to use the skill but completely omits what the skill actually does. While it correctly uses a 'Use when...' clause, the lack of concrete capabilities (e.g., 'generates skill templates', 'validates YAML frontmatter', 'tests skill execution') makes it difficult for Claude to understand the skill's actual functionality and distinguish it from other skills.

Suggestions

Add concrete actions describing what the skill does, e.g., 'Generates skill templates, validates YAML frontmatter, and tests skill execution against sample inputs.'

Include more natural trigger terms users might say: 'SKILL.md', 'skill file', 'skill template', 'markdown skill', 'test my skill'

Specify the domain more clearly to reduce conflict risk, e.g., 'Claude Code skills' or 'agent skills' rather than just 'skills'

Dimension	Reasoning	Score
Specificity	The description uses vague language like 'creating', 'editing', and 'verifying' without specifying concrete actions. It doesn't explain what skills are, what creating/editing involves, or what verification entails.	1 / 3
Completeness	The description provides a 'Use when...' clause addressing when to use it, but the 'what does this do' component is entirely missing. There's no explanation of what capabilities or actions the skill provides.	2 / 3
Trigger Term Quality	Contains some relevant keywords ('skills', 'deployment') but lacks natural variations users might say like 'skill file', 'SKILL.md', 'skill template', or 'test skill'. The term 'skills' is somewhat generic.	2 / 3
Distinctiveness Conflict Risk	The term 'skills' provides some specificity to this domain, but 'creating', 'editing', and 'verifying' are generic actions that could overlap with many other skills. Without more specific triggers, it could conflict with general editing or testing skills.	2 / 3
	Total	7 / 12 Passed

Implementation

77%

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, highly actionable skill that successfully applies TDD principles to documentation creation. Its main weakness is verbosity - at ~2500 words it exceeds recommended limits and contains some redundancy. The workflow is exceptionally clear with explicit validation checkpoints, and the concrete examples (good/bad YAML, directory structures, checklists) make it immediately usable.

Suggestions

Reduce word count by 40-50%: consolidate the repeated TDD mapping explanations, move the extensive CSO section to a separate reference file, and trim redundant 'Iron Law' statements

Move the 'Common Rationalizations' and 'Anti-Patterns' tables to a separate reference file, keeping only 2-3 key examples inline

Remove explanatory content Claude already knows (e.g., 'What is a Skill?' section basics, general TDD concepts) and link to test-driven-development skill instead

Dimension	Reasoning	Score
Conciseness	The skill is comprehensive but verbose at ~2500 words. Contains some redundancy (TDD mapping repeated multiple times, Iron Law stated twice) and explanatory content Claude likely knows (what TDD is, basic file organization). Could be tightened significantly while preserving value.	2 / 3
Actionability	Provides highly concrete, executable guidance: specific YAML frontmatter examples, exact directory structures, copy-paste ready code blocks, detailed checklists with TodoWrite instructions, and clear good/bad examples throughout. The checklist alone makes this immediately actionable.	3 / 3
Workflow Clarity	Excellent workflow clarity with explicit RED-GREEN-REFACTOR phases mapped to skill creation, validation checkpoints (baseline testing before writing, re-testing after), and a comprehensive deployment checklist. The 'STOP: Before Moving to Next Skill' section explicitly prevents skipping validation.	3 / 3
Progressive Disclosure	References external files appropriately (testing-skills-with-subagents.md, anthropic-best-practices.md, persuasion-principles.md) but the main document is quite long with content that could be split out (e.g., CSO section, anti-patterns, rationalization tables). The inline flowchart and extensive examples add length.	2 / 3
	Total	10 / 12 Passed

Validation

90%

Warnings & errors only

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
skill_md_line_count	SKILL.md is long (656 lines); consider splitting into references/ and linking	Warning

	Total	10 / 11 Passed

Reviewed: 1 day ago

Table of Contents

Discovery Implementation Validation

Is this your skill?

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.