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reference-style-sync

One-click synchronization and standardization of reference formats in literature management tools, intelligently fixing metadata errors.

30

Quality

23%

Does it follow best practices?

Impact

No eval scenarios have been run

SecuritybySnyk

Passed

No known issues

Optimize this skill with Tessl

npx tessl skill review --optimize ./scientific-skills/Academic Writing/reference-style-sync/SKILL.md
SKILL.md
Quality
Evals
Security

Quality

Discovery

32%

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 identifies a niche domain (literature/reference management) but relies on buzzword-heavy language ('one-click', 'intelligently') without specifying concrete tools, file formats, or trigger scenarios. It lacks an explicit 'Use when...' clause, making it difficult for Claude to reliably select this skill from a large pool. The marketing-style phrasing ('one-click', 'intelligently') adds fluff without actionable detail.

Suggestions

Add an explicit 'Use when...' clause with natural trigger terms like 'citations', 'bibliography', 'BibTeX', 'Zotero', 'Mendeley', 'reference list', or '.bib files'.

Replace vague marketing language ('one-click', 'intelligently') with concrete actions such as 'deduplicates references, normalizes citation keys, corrects missing DOIs and author names'.

Specify which literature management tools or formats are supported (e.g., BibTeX, RIS, EndNote XML) to improve distinctiveness and trigger accuracy.

DimensionReasoningScore

Specificity

Names the domain (literature management, reference formats) and some actions (synchronization, standardization, fixing metadata errors), but lacks concrete specifics about what formats, what tools, or what types of metadata errors.

2 / 3

Completeness

Describes what it does (synchronize/standardize references, fix metadata) but completely lacks a 'Use when...' clause or any explicit trigger guidance for when Claude should select this skill. Per rubric guidelines, missing 'Use when' caps completeness at 2, and the 'what' is also somewhat vague, warranting a 1.

1 / 3

Trigger Term Quality

Includes some relevant terms like 'reference formats', 'literature management', and 'metadata', but misses common user terms like 'Zotero', 'Mendeley', 'BibTeX', 'citations', 'bibliography', or '.bib files' that users would naturally say.

2 / 3

Distinctiveness Conflict Risk

The combination of 'literature management' and 'reference formats' narrows the domain somewhat, but 'synchronization and standardization' is generic enough to overlap with other data-cleaning or document-management skills.

2 / 3

Total

7

/

12

Passed

Implementation

14%

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

This skill suffers from severe verbosity and poor organization. It contains useful domain-specific content (repair rules, CLI examples, format support) buried under layers of generic boilerplate (risk assessment, security checklist, lifecycle status, response template, evaluation criteria) that add no value for Claude. The circular cross-references between sections and duplicate workflow descriptions create confusion rather than clarity.

Suggestions

Remove all generic boilerplate sections (Risk Assessment, Security Checklist, Lifecycle Status, Evaluation Criteria, Response Template, Output Requirements, Input Validation) that don't contain reference-sync-specific information — these waste tokens on things Claude already knows.

Consolidate the two competing workflow sections into a single clear workflow with explicit validation: 1) Backup originals, 2) Run with --check-only first, 3) Review quality report, 4) Run with fixes, 5) Verify output entry count matches input.

Eliminate all circular self-references ('See ## Features above') and reorganize so content flows logically: Quick Start → CLI/API Usage → Repair Rules → Supported Formats.

Move detailed repair rules and before/after examples into a separate referenced file (e.g., REPAIR_RULES.md) to keep the main skill lean and focused on the execution workflow.

DimensionReasoningScore

Conciseness

Extremely verbose and repetitive. Multiple sections reference each other circularly ('See ## Features above', 'See ## Prerequisites above', 'See ## Usage above'). Contains boilerplate sections (Risk Assessment, Security Checklist, Lifecycle Status, Evaluation Criteria, Response Template) that add no actionable value. The same description is repeated verbatim in multiple places. Many sections explain things Claude already knows (error handling philosophy, output requirements, input validation concepts).

1 / 3

Actionability

The CLI examples and Python API examples are concrete and mostly executable, and the repair rules with before/after examples are helpful. However, the generic workflow steps (1-5) are vague and non-specific ('Validate that the request matches the documented scope'). The 'Example Usage' section starts with py_compile rather than actual task execution. Much of the actionable content is buried under boilerplate.

2 / 3

Workflow Clarity

There are two competing workflow sections — a generic 5-step workflow and a 4-step 'Example run plan' — neither of which includes validation checkpoints for the actual reference processing task. For a batch operation that modifies bibliographic data, there are no explicit validation steps (e.g., verify output count matches input, spot-check transformed entries). The note to 'backup the original library' is buried in a Notes section rather than being step 1 of the workflow.

1 / 3

Progressive Disclosure

The document is a monolithic wall of text at ~300+ lines with no meaningful separation of content into referenced files. It references 'references/audit-reference.md' but no bundle files are provided. Sections are poorly organized with circular self-references ('See ## Features above') that point to content that appears later in the document. Content that should be in separate files (repair rules, parameter tables, security checklists) is all inline.

1 / 3

Total

5

/

12

Passed

Validation

90%

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

Validation10 / 11 Passed

Validation for skill structure

CriteriaDescriptionResult

frontmatter_unknown_keys

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

Warning

Total

10

/

11

Passed

Repository
aipoch/medical-research-skills
Reviewed

Table of Contents

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