setting-up-local-cluster
Downloads and starts a local CockroachDB cluster for development using the official binary. Use when a developer needs a local CockroachDB instance, when no cluster is available, or when setting up a new development environment.
86
83%
Does it follow best practices?
Impact
Pending
No eval scenarios have been run
Advisory
Suggest reviewing before use
Quality
Discovery
89%Based on the skill's description, can an agent find and select it at the right time? Clear, specific descriptions lead to better discovery.
This is a solid skill description that clearly identifies its niche (local CockroachDB cluster setup) and provides explicit trigger guidance via a 'Use when' clause with multiple scenarios. The main weakness is that the capability description could be more detailed with additional specific actions beyond 'downloads and starts'.
Suggestions
Consider listing additional specific actions such as 'configures ports, manages node processes, verifies cluster health' to improve specificity.
| Dimension | Reasoning | Score |
|---|---|---|
Specificity | Names the domain (CockroachDB) and two actions (downloads and starts), but doesn't list additional specific capabilities like configuration options, multi-node setup, or cleanup/teardown. | 2 / 3 |
Completeness | Clearly answers both 'what' (downloads and starts a local CockroachDB cluster using the official binary) and 'when' (explicit 'Use when' clause covering three scenarios: needing a local instance, no cluster available, or setting up a new dev environment). | 3 / 3 |
Trigger Term Quality | Includes strong natural trigger terms: 'CockroachDB', 'local cluster', 'development', 'development environment', 'binary'. These are terms a developer would naturally use when needing this skill. | 3 / 3 |
Distinctiveness Conflict Risk | Highly distinctive — CockroachDB is a specific database product, and the description focuses on local cluster setup using the official binary, making it very unlikely to conflict with other skills. | 3 / 3 |
Total | 11 / 12 Passed |
Implementation
77%Reviews the quality of instructions and guidance provided to agents. Good implementation is clear, handles edge cases, and produces reliable results.
This is a solid, actionable skill with fully executable commands covering the complete CockroachDB local setup lifecycle. Its main weakness is verbosity — several sections (capability comparison table, air-gapped environments, 'when to use' list) add bulk without proportional value. The workflow is well-sequenced with proper verification steps.
Suggestions
Remove or significantly trim the 'What a 3-Node Cluster Enables' comparison table and the 'When to Use This Skill' section — these explain things Claude can infer.
Move the 'Air-Gapped / Restricted Environments' and 'MCP Toolbox environment variables' sections into a separate reference file to keep the main skill lean.
| Dimension | Reasoning | Score |
|---|---|---|
Conciseness | The skill is mostly efficient but includes some unnecessary content: the 'When to Use This Skill' section repeats the description, the 'What a 3-Node Cluster Enables' comparison table is verbose, the explanation of why 3 nodes is recommended could be trimmed, and the 'Air-Gapped' section adds marginal value. The safety considerations section also explains things Claude would know. | 2 / 3 |
Actionability | Fully executable commands throughout — download, install, start (both 3-node and single-node), verify, connect, stop, and destroy. All commands are copy-paste ready with specific ports, paths, and flags. Connection strings and environment variables are concrete and complete. | 3 / 3 |
Workflow Clarity | Clear sequential steps (detect/download → start → verify) with explicit validation in Step 3 that checks SQL connectivity, node membership, and replication status. The workflow covers the full lifecycle including stopping and data cleanup. The verification step serves as a proper checkpoint before proceeding. | 3 / 3 |
Progressive Disclosure | The content is well-structured with clear headers and sections, but it's a long monolithic document (~150 lines of content) with no bundle files to offload detail into. The comparison table, air-gapped section, and extensive references could be split into separate files. For a standalone skill with no bundle, the inline content is heavier than ideal. | 2 / 3 |
Total | 10 / 12 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 — 11 / 11 Passed
Validation for skill structure
No warnings or errors.
- Repository
- cockroachlabs/cockroachdb-skills
- Commit
84bc1e4
- Reviewed
Table of Contents
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