CtrlK
BlogDocsLog inGet started
Tessl Logo

iterative-retrieval

Pattern for progressively refining context retrieval to solve the subagent context problem. Use when a subagent lacks the context it needs and retrieval must be refined across passes.

54

Quality

61%

Does it follow best practices?

Run evals on this skill

Adds up to 20 points to the overall score

View guide

SecuritybySnyk

Passed

No findings from the security scan

Fix and improve this skill with Tessl

tessl review fix ./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.

A well-structured pattern document with a genuinely clear 4-phase loop, explicit stop criteria, and illustrative worked examples. Its weaknesses are unexecutable pseudocode built on undefined helpers, and conceptual padding (The Problem section, ASCII diagram) that inflates tokens without adding guidance.

Suggestions

Make the code actionable: either define the helper functions (scoreRelevance, extractPatterns, mergeContext) or replace the JavaScript with concrete tool-based instructions (e.g. a Glob/Grep query recipe with literal search terms) so Claude can execute the pattern directly.

Cut 'The Problem' and 'Standard approaches fail' prose and the ASCII diagram — replace with 2-3 lines stating the core tension, saving ~40 lines of tokens.

Reconcile the relevance thresholds (prose says High = 0.8-1.0 while the loop exits on >= 0.7) so the stop rule is unambiguous, and consider moving the two worked cycle examples into a bundled examples file.

DimensionReasoningScore

Conciseness

The 'The Problem' section ('Subagents are spawned with limited context. They don't know: Which files contain relevant code...') and the 'Standard approaches fail' bullets restate consequences an agent-literate reader can infer, and the 14-line ASCII box diagram carries little information beyond what 'DISPATCH -> EVALUATE -> REFINE -> LOOP, max 3 cycles' already says. This is 'mostly efficient but includes some unnecessary explanation' — more than the minor trimmable instances of anchor 4, well short of the heavily-padded anchor 2.

3 / 5

Actionability

Every code block depends on undefined helpers (retrieveFiles, scoreRelevance, extractPatterns, extractKeywords, mergeContext, hasCriticalGaps, identifyGaps), so nothing is executable — the exact anchor-3 shape of 'pseudocode instead of executable code; missing key details'. It is above anchor 2 because the loop logic, thresholds, and termination criteria are concrete and complete, but below anchor 4 since no code or command runs as written.

3 / 5

Workflow Clarity

The four phases are clearly sequenced with an explicit sufficiency checkpoint ('highRelevance.length >= 3 && !hasCriticalGaps') and a genuine evaluate-refine-retry feedback loop, plus two worked cycle-by-cycle examples. Not anchor 5: there is a minor validation inconsistency — the prose scoring criteria call 0.8-1.0 'High' while the loop exits on relevance >= 0.7, leaving the stop rule ambiguous at the boundary.

4 / 5

Progressive Disclosure

No bundle files exist and the ~210-line body is well-sectioned with clear headers, and nothing is buried; most content is appropriately inline for a pattern skill. Not anchor 5: at this length the two multi-cycle worked examples are candidates for a separate examples file, and the skill exceeds the under-50-lines exception for scoring structure alone.

4 / 5

Total

14

/

20

Passed

Description

62%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.

A solid description with an explicit 'Use when...' clause and a distinct niche, but it is abstract: it names one capability rather than enumerating concrete actions, and lacks the natural trigger variations (multi-agent, RAG, context gathering, token budgeting) users would actually say.

Suggestions

Enumerate 2-3 concrete actions in the 'what' portion (e.g. 'Dispatch broad file searches, score retrieved files for relevance, and refine search criteria over up to 3 cycles').

Add natural trigger synonyms to the 'Use when' clause, such as 'multi-agent workflows', 'RAG-style code search', 'subagent context gathering', or 'context too large / missing context failures'.

State what the skill produces (a refined set of high-relevance files for a subagent) so the outcome is explicit, not just the pattern name.

DimensionReasoningScore

Specificity

The description names the domain ('subagent context problem') and one concrete action ('progressively refining context retrieval'), e.g. 'Pattern for progressively refining context retrieval to solve the subagent context problem'. It stops short of listing several specific actions, so it fits anchor 3 rather than 4, but is more than a bare domain label (anchor 2).

3 / 5

Completeness

It explicitly answers both: what ('Pattern for progressively refining context retrieval to solve the subagent context problem') and when ('Use when a subagent lacks the context it needs and retrieval must be refined across passes'). The 'when' is explicit but abstract rather than concrete user phrases, so anchor 4 instead of 5; it is far above anchor 3 since the 'when' is not merely implied.

4 / 5

Trigger Term Quality

Relevant keywords are present ('subagent', 'context', 'retrieval', 'refined across passes') but common variations a user would naturally say are missing: 'multi-agent', 'RAG', 'search', 'explore', 'token budget'. This matches 'some relevant keywords but missing common variations or synonyms', not the good-coverage anchor 4.

3 / 5

Distinctiveness Conflict Risk

'Subagent context problem' and 'iterative retrieval' carve a fairly distinct niche with clear triggers, with only minor overlap risk against generic RAG/search-optimization skills. This is 'mostly distinct; minor overlap risk' rather than the minimal-conflict anchor 5.

4 / 5

Total

14

/

20

Passed

Validation

93%

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

Validation — 15 / 16 Passed

Validation for skill structure

CriteriaDescriptionResult

metadata_version

'metadata.version' is missing

Warning

Total

15

/

16

Passed

Repository
affaan-m/ECC
Reviewed

Table of Contents

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.