Conciseness

The 38-line body is lean with zero padding: no concept explanations, no library background. "A decision is a choice with rationale and consequences, not a casual preference" is a scoping disambiguation that earns its tokens by excluding casual preferences. Every line is actionable instruction, matching anchor 5.

Actionability

Concrete, executable guidance throughout: exact config paths ("~/.codex/basic-memory.json", project ".codex/basic-memory.json"), specific keys ("primaryProject", "placementConventions"), a fallback directory ("codex/decisions"), and explicit frontmatter fields ("type: decision", "status", "decided", "project"). Anchor 4 rather than 5 because the actual write mechanism and a concrete note-format example are delegated to the bm-writing skill rather than shown, and the include list (step 4) is a checklist rather than copy-paste-ready content.

Workflow Clarity

Steps 1-5 are clearly sequenced (resolve config, clarify, write, include, confirm) with a scoping guard ("Clarify only if the choice itself is ambiguous") and a confirmation checkpoint ("Confirm with the permalink") plus supersedes handling. This is not a destructive or batch operation, so the workflow cap at 3 does not apply. Anchor 4 rather than 5 because there is no explicit error-recovery or validation loop (e.g., what to do if config resolution finds neither file).

Progressive Disclosure

Per the rubric's scoring notes, a skill under 50 lines with no need for external references can score 5 with well-organized sections alone. The body is well-structured (intro trigger, ## Steps), and the one cross-reference ("Apply the bm-writing skill") is clearly signaled and one level deep. No bundle reference files exist to misroute, and no content that belongs in a separate file is inlined.

Specificity

"Capture a durable engineering decision in Basic Memory with rationale, alternatives, consequences, and affected work" names a concrete domain and enumerates specific captured elements, matching anchor 4 (several specifics, minor gaps). Not 5 because it uses a single verb ("capture") with no workflow actions like update or link; not 3 because the enumerated fields make coverage more than 1-2 generic actions.

Completeness

The "what" is clear and concrete (capture a decision in Basic Memory with rationale, alternatives, consequences, affected work), but "when" is entirely absent. Per the judging guidelines, a missing "Use when..." clause or equivalent explicit trigger guidance caps completeness at 3.

Trigger Term Quality

"decision", "rationale", and "alternatives" are natural keywords, but there is no "Use when..." phrasing and common variations users say are missing ("record this decision", "document the decision", "ADR"). This matches anchor 3 (some relevant keywords, missing common variations or synonyms) rather than 4, where only a few natural terms would be absent.

Distinctiveness Conflict Risk

"durable engineering decision in Basic Memory" carves a clear niche with low conflict risk against generic skills, but the absence of explicit triggers leaves minor overlap risk with sibling Basic Memory skills (e.g., bm-writing or other note-capture skills). Anchor 4 fits; anchor 5's "distinct triggers" is not met without a when-clause.