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cross-squad-communication

Protocol for sending queries, delegating tasks, and sharing context between independent Squad instances across different repositories

Quality

71%

Does it follow best practices?

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SecuritybySnyk

Low

Low-risk findings worth noting

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tessl review fix ./.squad-templates/skills/cross-squad-communication/SKILL.md
SKILL.md
Quality
Evals
Security

Quality

Content

63%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 body is a highly actionable, well-sequenced set of communication protocols with concrete commands, file formats, and an unusually good liveness/feedback protocol for Pattern 0. Its weaknesses are redundancy (decision guidance and the `--agent squad` rule repeated multiple times) and a monolithic structure where ~400 lines of detail — including unvalidated Patterns 2 and 3 — would be better split into reference files.

Suggestions

Deduplicate the sync-vs-async decision guidance: keep the decision tree and drop the "When to use synchronous vs async" table or the "coordinator decides" numbered list, which repeat the same criteria three times.

Move the Liveness Protocol, Platform Compatibility Matrix, and Validation Status sections into reference files (e.g. references/liveness.md) and summarize each in one line from SKILL.md, applying progressive disclosure to the ~400-line body.

Add concrete verification steps for Patterns 2 and 3 — e.g., how to check that the target squad's Ralph detected the request file/issue and where to poll for the response — mirroring the checkpoint quality already present in Pattern 0.

Define or inline the variables used in snippets (`$proc`, `$repoA_name`, `$repoB_name`) so the examples are fully copy-paste ready.

DimensionReasoningScore

Conciseness

Mostly efficient — the body is dominated by concrete protocols and code rather than explanations of concepts Claude already knows — but there is real padding: the sync-vs-async decision guidance appears three times (decision tree, "When to use synchronous vs async" table, and the "coordinator decides" numbered list), and the `--agent squad` rule is restated in 4+ places. Fits anchor 3 (mostly efficient, could be tightened); not 2 because the redundancy is emphasis on a critical rule plus duplicated decision guidance, not several concept-explanation sections.

3 / 5

Actionability

Extensive copy-paste-ready guidance: concrete PowerShell invocations with exact flags (`copilot -C $targetRepo --agent squad -p ...`), YAML request/response file formats, a `gh issue create` command, and a full liveness-monitoring script. Minor gaps keep it at anchor 4 rather than 5: the liveness snippet references an undefined `$proc`, the appendix uses undefined `$repoA_name`/`$repoB_name`, and Pattern 2's "Your Ralph picks up the response" has no concrete command.

4 / 5

Workflow Clarity

Multi-step processes are clearly sequenced with a pattern-selection decision tree, numbered protocols per pattern, and Pattern 0 includes explicit validation checkpoints and feedback loops (stall thresholds at 60s/120s, recovery actions, retry with `--disable-builtin-mcps`). Anchor 4 rather than 5 because Patterns 2 and 3 lack equivalent verification steps — no way to confirm the target squad's Ralph actually detected and processed the request. The destructive/batch cap does not apply since these are not destructive or batch operations.

4 / 5

Progressive Disclosure

The body is well-sectioned with clear headers (Patterns, Discovery, Compatibility Matrix, Anti-Patterns, Validation Status), but it is a monolithic ~400-line file with no bundle files at all: the liveness protocol, platform compatibility matrix, and validation-status appendix are prime candidates for separate reference files. Matches anchor 3 (some structure, content that should be separate is inline); not 2 because structure and navigation are good, not 4 because nothing is split out despite clear candidates.

3 / 5

Total

14

/

20

Passed

Description

66%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 states a clear, fairly specific capability set for cross-repo Squad communication, but entirely lacks a 'Use when...' trigger clause, which both caps completeness and weakens its trigger-term coverage. It is distinguishable from generic skills though slightly at risk of overlapping its companion discovery skill.

Suggestions

Add an explicit trigger clause, e.g. "Use when a squad agent needs information from another squad-enabled repo, delegating a task across repos, or coordinating PR reviews that span repositories."

Include natural trigger synonyms and variations users would say, such as "cross-repo", "cross-squad", "PR review request", and "dependency analysis", to broaden trigger-term coverage.

Briefly distinguish this skill from its companion discovery skill (e.g. "...after a peer squad has been discovered via the registry") to reduce overlap risk.

DimensionReasoningScore

Specificity

Lists three concrete actions — "sending queries, delegating tasks, and sharing context" — in a named domain, matching the anchor for several specific actions with minor gaps. It is not 5 because the skill body also covers PR review requests and cross-repo dependency analysis, which the description omits; not 3 because more than 1-2 actions are named.

4 / 5

Completeness

The "what" is clear and specific ("Protocol for sending queries, delegating tasks, and sharing context between independent Squad instances across different repositories"), but there is no "Use when..." clause or equivalent explicit trigger guidance. Per the judging guidelines, a missing 'Use when...' clause caps completeness at 3, which is exactly the anchor for a clear 'what' with 'when' missing. Not 4 because no 'when' is stated at all; not 2 because the 'what' is concrete, not vague.

3 / 5

Trigger Term Quality

Good keyword coverage with natural terms users would say ("queries", "delegating tasks", "repositories"), but common variations like "cross-repo", "PR review", or "Squad"-specific phrases a user might naturally use are missing. Fits anchor 4 (good coverage, a few natural terms missing) rather than 5 (comprehensive synonyms/extensions) or 3 (missing common variations would understate the coverage present).

4 / 5

Distinctiveness Conflict Risk

"Squad instances across different repositories" carves out a clear niche distinct from generic skills, but it closely abuts its own companion discovery skill (cross-squad registry), creating minor overlap risk with a closely related skill. Matches anchor 4; not 5 because the companion-skill boundary is not drawn in the description itself.

4 / 5

Total

15

/

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

frontmatter_unknown_keys

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

Warning

Total

15

/

16

Passed

Repository

bradygaster/squad

Path

.squad-templates/skills/cross-squad-communication/SKILL.md

Reviewed

Table of Contents

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