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iterative-retrieval

Pattern for progressively refining context retrieval to solve the subagent context problem

44

Quality

44%

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SecuritybySnyk

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tessl review fix ./docs/zh-TW/skills/iterative-retrieval/SKILL.md
SKILL.md
Quality
Evals
Security

Quality

Content

60%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 content presents a clear, well-sequenced iterative retrieval workflow with concrete relevance thresholds and a bounded loop, supported by illustrative worked examples. Its main weaknesses are that all code is non-executable pseudocode with undefined helper functions and that everything is inlined in one long file with no progressive disclosure into reference materials.

Suggestions

Replace or supplement the pseudocode with executable guidance, e.g. a ready-to-use agent prompt template or concrete search commands, instead of undefined functions like retrieveFiles() and scoreRelevance().

Move the two worked examples into a separate references file (e.g. references/examples.md) and keep a one-line summary in SKILL.md to reduce inline length.

Add a failure path: what to do when no high-relevance files are found after 3 cycles (e.g. fall back to manual file listing or ask the orchestrator for hints).

DimensionReasoningScore

Conciseness

The body is well-structured and mostly efficient, but the ASCII cycle diagram, the "Problem" framing, and the two multi-cycle worked examples add length that could be tightened. It matches anchor 3 — mostly efficient with some unnecessary explanation — rather than 4, which demands only minor trimming.

3 / 5

Actionability

Every code block is pseudocode: retrieveFiles, scoreRelevance, extractPatterns, mergeContext, hasCriticalGaps, and createInitialQuery are undefined stubs, and relevance scoring is described only as a rubric. This matches anchor 3 ("pseudocode instead of executable code; missing key details") rather than 4, since no example is runnable.

3 / 5

Workflow Clarity

The 4-phase cycle (DISPATCH → EVALUATE → REFINE → LOOP) is clearly sequenced with an explicit stopping condition ("highRelevance.length >= 3 && !hasCriticalGaps") and a hard 3-cycle cap, forming a genuine feedback loop. It falls short of anchor 5 because the checkpoints exist only as non-executable pseudocode and there is no guidance for what to do when retrieval fails or returns nothing.

4 / 5

Progressive Disclosure

The body is well-organized with clear section headers and no nested references (the "相關" links are one level deep), but the ~200 lines are monolithic — the two worked examples and the phase-by-phase code could live in a separate reference file. Anchor 4 ("good structure; most content appropriately placed; minor organization gaps") fits; there are no bundle files to evaluate.

4 / 5

Total

14

/

20

Passed

Description

28%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 names a real niche but reads like an abstract title rather than a capability description. It lacks concrete actions, natural trigger terms, and any "when to use" guidance, which severely limits both discoverability and completeness.

Suggestions

Add a concrete action list, e.g. "Dispatches broad retrieval queries, scores candidate files for relevance, and iteratively refines search terms to gather context for subagents."

Append an explicit trigger clause such as "Use when spawning subagents that need codebase context, or when a subagent lacks knowledge of relevant files, patterns, or project terminology."

Include natural trigger keywords users would actually say (e.g. "subagent context", "what files to send an agent", "context gathering for agents") to improve routing.

DimensionReasoningScore

Specificity

"progressively refining context retrieval" names the domain (context retrieval) but the single stated action is generic, with no concrete mechanics or multiple specific actions listed. It sits at anchor 2, not 3, because no genuinely concrete action is enumerated.

2 / 5

Completeness

It provides a vague "what" ("Pattern for progressively refining context retrieval to solve the subagent context problem") and completely lacks any "when" / "Use when" clause. This is exactly anchor 2: vague what, no when.

2 / 5

Trigger Term Quality

The only keywords are technical jargon ("context retrieval", "subagent context problem") that a user would rarely say naturally; common variations and synonyms are absent. This matches anchor 2 rather than 3, which requires some genuinely relevant natural keywords.

2 / 5

Distinctiveness Conflict Risk

"subagent context problem" carves out a somewhat specific multi-agent niche, but "context retrieval" broadly overlaps with search, exploration, and codebase-retrieval skills. Anchor 3 fits; it is not distinct enough (4) given the broad retrieval framing, nor generic enough for 2.

3 / 5

Total

9

/

20

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.

Validation — 16 / 16 Passed

Validation for skill structure

No warnings or errors.

Repository
affaan-m/ECC
Reviewed

Table of Contents

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