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bm-status

Report the Basic Memory for Codex configuration, reachability, hook expectations, recent Codex checkpoints, and active tasks.

64

Quality

75%

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SecuritybySnyk

Passed

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tessl review fix ./plugins/codex/skills/bm-status/SKILL.md
SKILL.md
Quality
Evals
Security

Quality

Content

88%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 is an exemplar of lean, high-density skill writing: concrete commands with fallback chains, explicit guardrails against wrong conclusions, a fixed presentation template, and strong section organization. The only real weaknesses are the unspecified query mechanism in step 5 and reliance on an unbundled relative README path for the WSL troubleshooting workaround.

DimensionReasoningScore

Conciseness

The body is lean and directive throughout — 'Gather a concise diagnostic. Do not over-investigate.' sets the tone, and every line carries an instruction, command, path, or template field with zero explanation of concepts Claude already knows. It matches the 'every token earns its place' anchor and is clearly above the minor-over-explanation level 4.

5 / 5

Actionability

Concrete executable commands are given for most steps (`basic-memory --version`, fallback `bm --version`, `uvx --prerelease=allow basic-memory --version`, `basic-memory hook status --harness codex --project-dir <repo-root>`, `~/.codex/basic-memory.json`) plus a copy-paste-ready presentation template. It falls short of fully executable because step 5 says 'query recent `type=codex_session`' without specifying the actual query command/syntax, and the `../../README.md` pointer references a file outside the skill bundle that cannot be verified from the skill itself.

4 / 5

Workflow Clarity

The Gather steps are a clear numbered 1-5 sequence with explicit fallback and validation checkpoints: 'Keep going if no launcher resolves', 'if it disagrees with the manually read config, show the mismatch', 'never run an unscoped coding-session query when the repository is missing', and 'only report Desktop hook execution as verified when startup context and a post-compaction checkpoint note were observed'. This is a read-only diagnostic skill with error-handling branches and a rigid output checklist, matching the top anchor rather than the minor-validation-gaps level 4.

5 / 5

Progressive Disclosure

The body has good structure (Gather / Present sections, an exact output template) and its one reference is clearly signaled at a single level ('consult `../../README.md` under "Troubleshooting Desktop hooks on WSL"'), while the bundle (only `assets/icon.svg`, no references/ or scripts/) appropriately keeps everything inline for a ~95-line skill. It is not a 5 because the README pointer resolves outside the skill bundle and the WSL troubleshooting detail it defers to is not available as a bundled reference — a minor organization gap rather than the clean one-level-deep ideal.

4 / 5

Total

18

/

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.

The description communicates a concrete, well-scoped 'what' for a clearly distinct niche tool, but it entirely lacks a 'when to use' clause and leans on jargon ('reachability', 'hook expectations') rather than phrases a user would naturally say when they need this skill. Adding an explicit 'Use when...' trigger sentence with natural user phrasing would move it from adequate to strong.

Suggestions

Add an explicit trigger clause, e.g. 'Use when the user asks for a Basic Memory status report, wants to check whether Basic Memory or its Codex hooks are working, or asks about recent checkpoints or active tasks.'

Replace jargon terms with natural phrasing: 'reachability' → 'whether the basic-memory CLI is installed and working'; 'hook expectations' → 'hook health'.

Include common user synonyms/variations such as 'bm status', 'Basic Memory for Codex', and 'hooks' so natural-language matching is broader.

DimensionReasoningScore

Specificity

The description lists several distinct reporting targets — 'configuration, reachability, hook expectations, recent Codex checkpoints, and active tasks' — which matches the anchor for several specific actions with minor gaps. It is not a 5 because 'reachability' and 'hook expectations' are semi-abstract rather than fully concrete actions, and not a 3 because it goes well beyond 1-2 concrete actions.

4 / 5

Completeness

The 'what' is clearly stated (report configuration, reachability, hook expectations, checkpoints, tasks), but there is no 'Use when...' clause or equivalent explicit trigger guidance anywhere in the description. Per the judging guidelines, a missing 'when' clause caps completeness at 3; it is above 2 because the 'what' is concrete and unambiguous.

3 / 5

Trigger Term Quality

It includes some relevant keywords users would naturally say ('Basic Memory', 'Codex', 'checkpoints', 'active tasks'), but 'reachability' and 'hook expectations' are developer jargon rather than natural user phrasing, and common variations or synonyms a user might type (e.g. 'is basic memory working', 'bm status', 'hooks not running') are absent. This fits the 'some relevant keywords but missing common variations' anchor, not the good-coverage anchor above it.

3 / 5

Distinctiveness Conflict Risk

'Basic Memory for Codex' names a specific tool and harness, giving the skill a clear niche with triggers ('basic memory', 'Codex hooks', 'checkpoints') that are unlikely to fire for unrelated skills. It fits the clear-niche/minimal-conflict anchor better than the 'mostly distinct with minor overlap' anchor below it, since the tool name alone disambiguates.

5 / 5

Total

15

/

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
basicmachines-co/basic-memory
Reviewed

Table of Contents

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