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saga-orchestration

Patterns for managing distributed transactions and long-running business processes.

Quality

57%

Does it follow best practices?

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Adds up to 20 points to the overall score

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SecuritybySnyk

Passed

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tessl review fix ./skills/saga-orchestration/SKILL.md
SKILL.md
Quality
Evals
Security

Quality

Content

53%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's strength is its concrete, largely executable templates and practical best-practice lists, though filler sections and known-concept exposition dilute token efficiency. Its two structural weaknesses are the absence of any explicit validation/sequencing workflow and a broken progressive-disclosure setup: everything is inlined and the one referenced file is missing.

Suggestions

Fix the broken reference: either add `resources/implementation-playbook.md` to the bundle or remove the pointer — a referenced path that fails to resolve defeats progressive disclosure entirely.

Move the bulk of the templates (especially Templates 2-4) into reference files and keep SKILL.md as a lean overview with clearly signaled one-level-deep links, rather than inlining ~400 lines of code.

Delete the filler sections ("Do not use this skill when", the generic "Instructions" bullets) and replace them with an explicit sequenced workflow with validation checkpoints, e.g., choose saga type → define steps with compensations → implement handlers → test compensation paths before the forward path.

DimensionReasoningScore

Conciseness

The core content (four concrete templates, best-practice lists, durable-execution guidance) is efficient, but the "Do not use this skill when" bullets ("The task is unrelated to saga orchestration"), the generic "Instructions" bullets ("Apply relevant best practices and validate outcomes"), and the Saga Types/state exposition of concepts Claude already knows are unnecessary padding. This fits 'Mostly efficient but includes some unnecessary explanation or could be tightened' rather than level 2, since the bulk is concrete code rather than padded prose.

3 / 5

Actionability

Four substantial, mostly executable Python templates cover the common cases: an orchestrator base class, a concrete order-fulfillment saga with service handlers, a choreography variant, and timeouts. Minor gaps keep it below copy-paste-ready level 5: Template 4 uses `timedelta` without importing it and assigns `step.timeout_at`, a field not defined on `SagaStep`, and Template 2 references undefined helpers like `self.reserve` and `InsufficientInventoryError`.

4 / 5

Workflow Clarity

The "Instructions" section lists a rough sequence (clarify goals → apply practices → validate outcomes) but these steps are generic and validation is only mentioned abstractly — no explicit checkpoints or feedback loops anywhere, despite the skill's own emphasis that compensation testing is the most critical part. This matches 'Steps listed but validation gaps; sequence present but checkpoints missing or implicit'.

3 / 5

Progressive Disclosure

Roughly 400 lines of templates are inlined directly in SKILL.md — content that clearly belongs in separate reference files — and the single disclosure reference, `resources/implementation-playbook.md`, does not exist in the bundle (no resources/ directory), so navigation to the promised detailed examples fails entirely. With no real split and a dangling reference, this fits 'Minimal structure; content that clearly belongs in separate files is inlined' better than level 3, whose references at least resolve.

2 / 5

Total

12

/

20

Passed

Description

45%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.

The description correctly names its domain but reads as a category label rather than a capability statement: one generic verb, no concrete actions, no "Use when..." trigger clause, and the defining keyword "saga" is missing. It would benefit most from adding explicit trigger guidance and naming the concrete patterns it provides.

Suggestions

Add a 'Use when...' clause with concrete triggers, e.g., 'Use when implementing sagas, compensating transactions, or rollbacks across microservices, or when coordinating multi-service workflows that must all succeed or all roll back.'

Replace the generic 'managing' with concrete capabilities: 'Implement saga orchestration and choreography, define compensating transactions, and handle partial failures in distributed systems.'

Include the keyword "saga" and natural synonyms (compensating transactions, rollback, microservices, event-driven workflows) so the skill triggers on the terms users actually say.

DimensionReasoningScore

Specificity

The description names its domain ("distributed transactions and long-running business processes") but the only action verb is the generic "managing", with no concrete capabilities such as orchestrating sagas or implementing compensating transactions. This matches the anchor 'Names the domain but actions are minimal or generic'; it is not entirely vague (level 1) and lacks the 1-2 concrete actions needed for level 3.

2 / 5

Completeness

The "what" is clearly stated ("Patterns for managing distributed transactions and long-running business processes") but there is no "Use when..." clause or equivalent explicit trigger guidance, capping completeness at 3 per the judging guidelines. The "when" is only weakly implied by the domain itself, keeping it below level 4.

3 / 5

Trigger Term Quality

"distributed transactions" and "long-running business processes" are phrases a user might naturally say, but the most obvious keyword — "saga" — plus common synonyms like "compensating transactions", "rollback", and "microservices" are absent. This fits 'Some relevant keywords but missing common variations or synonyms' rather than the good coverage of level 4.

3 / 5

Distinctiveness Conflict Risk

The distributed-transaction framing is somewhat specific, but the description could still overlap with related skills such as workflow engines, event sourcing, or message-queue orchestration, matching 'Somewhat specific but could still overlap with similar skills'. It lacks the distinct trigger phrases (e.g., "saga") needed for levels 4-5.

3 / 5

Total

11

/

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

skill_md_line_count

SKILL.md is long (508 lines); consider splitting into references/ and linking

Warning

frontmatter_unknown_keys

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

Warning

Total

14

/

16

Passed

Repository

administrakt0r/AI-Agents-Safe-Coding-Skills

Path

skills/saga-orchestration/SKILL.md

Reviewed

Table of Contents

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