windows-builder

Build Windows images with Packer using WinRM communicator and PowerShell provisioners. Use when creating Windows AMIs, Azure images, or VMware templates.

Quality

73%

Does it follow best practices?

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Securityby

Passed

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tessl review fix ./plugins/packer/skills/windows-builder/SKILL.md

Quality

Content

65%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.

A mostly executable, well-sectioned reference with strong concrete examples for AWS and Azure Windows builds. Its main weaknesses are the lack of a sequenced build workflow with validation checkpoints for costly/destructive image operations and an inlined script masquerading as a bundle file.

Suggestions

Add an explicit numbered build workflow (source/communicator setup -> provision -> Windows Updates/reboot -> cleanup -> validate image) with a verification checkpoint before declaring success, since failed builds can leave costly resources running.

Move the inlined WinRM setup script into an actual `scripts/setup-winrm.ps1` bundle file and reference it, instead of embedding PowerShell with `<powershell>` wrapper tags that belong in EC2 user_data, not a .ps1 file.

Tighten remaining prose (e.g., "Windows requires WinRM for Packer communication") and confirm the cleanup section ends with a verification step that the build resources were torn down.

Dimension	Reasoning	Score
Conciseness	The body is mostly executable code with a brief, useful cost/cleanup note and assumes Claude's competence; only minor lines like "Windows requires WinRM for Packer communication" could be trimmed, placing it above the midpoint but short of fully lean.	4 / 5
Actionability	Concrete, copy-paste-ready HCL and PowerShell cover AWS, Azure, software install, updates, and cleanup across common cases; the `<powershell>`/`</powershell>` wrapper placed inside a `.ps1` file (it belongs in EC2 user_data) is a small correctness gap keeping it just below fully executable.	4 / 5
Workflow Clarity	Content is organized topically rather than as a sequenced build workflow, and these costly image builds that can leave resources running have no explicit validation/verification checkpoint, so per the destructive-operation guideline workflow clarity is capped at 3.	3 / 5
Progressive Disclosure	Sections are clearly headed and external doc links are well signaled, but the referenced `scripts/setup-winrm.ps1` is inlined into the body instead of existing as a real bundle file (no references/scripts/assets directories are present), so content that should be separate is inline.	3 / 5
	Total	14 / 20 Passed

Description

82%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.

A concise, well-targeted description that clearly answers both what the skill does and when to use it, with concrete platform triggers and low conflict risk. The only soft spot is specificity, since it frames one building action rather than enumerating several distinct capabilities.

Dimension	Reasoning	Score
Specificity	"Build Windows images with Packer using WinRM communicator and PowerShell provisioners" names the domain and the tooling but describes a single core action (build) rather than a list of distinct actions, matching the anchor that names domain plus 1-2 concrete actions without comprehensive coverage.	3 / 5
Completeness	It explicitly states the "what" (build Windows images with Packer via WinRM and PowerShell provisioners) and an explicit "Use when creating Windows AMIs, Azure images, or VMware templates" trigger clause with concrete phrases, matching the top anchor.	5 / 5
Trigger Term Quality	"Windows AMIs, Azure images, or VMware templates" plus "Packer" and "WinRM" are natural terms users would say, giving good coverage; a few synonyms or extension-like variants are missing, so it sits above the midpoint but short of comprehensive.	4 / 5
Distinctiveness Conflict Risk	The Packer + Windows + WinRM niche with platform-specific triggers (AMIs, Azure images, VMware templates) is clearly distinct from other skills with minimal overlap risk.	5 / 5
	Total	17 / 20 Passed

Validation

87%

Warnings & errors only

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

Validation — 14 / 16 Passed

Validation for skill structure

Criteria	Description	Result
metadata_version	'metadata.version' is missing	Warning
referenced_paths_exist	Referenced path issues: 2 missing	Warning

	Total	14 / 16 Passed

Repository: hashicorp/agent-skills
Path: plugins/packer/skills/windows-builder/SKILL.md
Commit: 3268468

Reviewed: 4 days ago

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