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terraform-skill

Terraform infrastructure as code best practices

40

Quality

39%

Does it follow best practices?

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Adds up to 20 points to the overall score

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SecuritybySnyk

Passed

No findings from the security scan

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tessl review fix ./skills/terraform-skill/SKILL.md
SKILL.md
Quality
Evals
Security

Quality

Content

57%Scale 1-5

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

This is a comprehensive Terraform skill that covers a wide range of topics with generally good code examples and decision matrices. Its main weaknesses are verbosity (it tries to cover too much in the main file while also referencing external guides that don't exist), and the lack of explicit validation/feedback loops in its workflows. The content would benefit from tighter editing to remove what Claude already knows and ensuring the referenced bundle files actually exist.

Suggestions

Trim sections that restate common Terraform knowledge (standard file naming, basic module structure, generic security advice like 'don't store secrets in variables') — Claude knows these already.

Add explicit validation checkpoints and feedback loops to the CI/CD workflow and testing sections (e.g., 'If plan shows unexpected destroys → review state, fix config, re-plan before proceeding').

Either provide the referenced bundle files (Testing Frameworks, Module Patterns, CI/CD Workflows, etc.) or consolidate the most critical content from those guides into the main file to avoid dead references.

Move detailed inline content like 'Count vs For_Each' and 'Locals for Dependency Management' into the referenced Code Patterns guide to reduce main file length and make the progressive disclosure strategy consistent.

DimensionReasoningScore

Conciseness

The skill is quite long (~400 lines) and includes some content Claude already knows (e.g., basic naming conventions, standard module structure, file naming like main.tf/variables.tf). The tables and examples are generally useful but there's noticeable padding in sections like 'When to Use This Skill' and 'Best Practices Summary' that restate common knowledge. However, it avoids egregious over-explanation of basic concepts.

3 / 5

Actionability

The skill provides concrete, executable HCL code examples throughout (resource ordering, count vs for_each, variable validation, version constraints, try() patterns). The testing decision matrix and CI/CD stages are actionable. Minor gaps exist where guidance is more checklist-style ('Don't store secrets in variables') without showing the concrete alternative implementation, and some sections defer to referenced guides that aren't provided.

4 / 5

Workflow Clarity

The CI/CD section provides a clear 4-stage workflow (Validate → Test → Plan → Apply) and the testing pyramid is well-structured. However, there are no explicit validation checkpoints or feedback loops in the workflows — the CI/CD section says 'with approvals for production' but doesn't detail how. The native test section mentions 'Validate schemas with Terraform MCP' but doesn't show the validation/retry loop. For infrastructure operations that can be destructive, the lack of explicit verification steps is a gap.

3 / 5

Progressive Disclosure

The skill references many external guides (Testing Frameworks, Module Patterns, CI/CD Workflows, Security & Compliance, Quick Reference, Code Patterns) with clear signaling throughout the document. However, no bundle files are provided, meaning all these references point to non-existent files. The main file itself is quite long and inlines substantial content (naming conventions, count vs for_each, locals patterns) that could arguably live in the referenced guides, creating an inconsistent split between what's inline and what's referenced.

3 / 5

Total

13

/

20

Passed

Description

22%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.

This description is far too terse and vague to be effective for skill selection. It names the domain (Terraform/IaC) but provides no concrete actions, no trigger guidance, and no indication of when Claude should select this skill. It would be easily confused with any other Terraform-related skill.

Suggestions

Add concrete actions describing what the skill does, e.g., 'Reviews Terraform configurations for best practices, suggests module structure, validates resource naming conventions, and recommends state management patterns.'

Add an explicit 'Use when...' clause with trigger terms, e.g., 'Use when the user asks about Terraform code review, .tf files, HCL best practices, module organization, or infrastructure as code standards.'

Include natural synonyms and file extensions like '.tf', 'HCL', 'tfvars', 'Terraform modules', 'Terraform plan' to improve trigger term coverage.

DimensionReasoningScore

Specificity

The description is entirely vague with no concrete actions listed. 'Best practices' is abstract and does not describe what the skill actually does (e.g., write modules, lint configurations, plan deployments).

1 / 5

Completeness

The 'what' is extremely vague ('best practices' says nothing concrete) and there is no 'when' clause at all. Both components are missing or inadequate.

1 / 5

Trigger Term Quality

'Terraform' and 'infrastructure as code' are relevant keywords a user might naturally say. However, it lacks synonyms, file extensions (.tf), or related terms like 'HCL', 'tfstate', 'modules', 'providers', 'plan', 'apply'.

3 / 5

Distinctiveness Conflict Risk

'Terraform' provides some domain specificity, but 'best practices' is so broad it could overlap with any Terraform-related skill (writing modules, reviewing configs, deploying infrastructure, etc.).

3 / 5

Total

8

/

20

Passed

Validation

81%

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

Validation9 / 11 Passed

Validation for skill structure

CriteriaDescriptionResult

skill_md_line_count

SKILL.md is long (515 lines); consider splitting into references/ and linking

Warning

frontmatter_unknown_keys

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

Warning

Total

9

/

11

Passed

Repository
administrakt0r/AI-Agents-Safe-Coding-Skills
Reviewed

Table of Contents

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