cloudformation
AWS CloudFormation infrastructure as code for stack management. Use when writing templates, deploying stacks, managing drift, troubleshooting deployments, or organizing infrastructure with nested stacks.
Install with Tessl CLI
npx tessl i github:itsmostafa/aws-agent-skills --skill cloudformationOverall
score
88%
Does it follow best practices?
If you maintain this skill, you can automatically optimize it using the tessl CLI to improve its score:
npx tessl skill review --optimize ./path/to/skillValidation for skill structure
Discovery
100%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 well-crafted skill description that follows best practices. It uses third person voice, clearly states the domain (AWS CloudFormation), lists specific capabilities, and includes an explicit 'Use when...' clause with natural trigger terms. The description is concise yet comprehensive enough to distinguish it from other infrastructure or AWS-related skills.
| Dimension | Reasoning | Score |
|---|---|---|
Specificity | Lists multiple specific concrete actions: 'writing templates, deploying stacks, managing drift, troubleshooting deployments, organizing infrastructure with nested stacks' - these are distinct, actionable capabilities. | 3 / 3 |
Completeness | Clearly answers both what ('AWS CloudFormation infrastructure as code for stack management') and when ('Use when writing templates, deploying stacks, managing drift, troubleshooting deployments, or organizing infrastructure with nested stacks'). | 3 / 3 |
Trigger Term Quality | Includes natural keywords users would say: 'CloudFormation', 'templates', 'stacks', 'drift', 'deployments', 'nested stacks', 'infrastructure as code' - good coverage of domain-specific terms users would naturally use. | 3 / 3 |
Distinctiveness Conflict Risk | Highly specific to AWS CloudFormation with distinct triggers like 'CloudFormation', 'stacks', 'drift', 'nested stacks' - unlikely to conflict with other infrastructure tools like Terraform or general AWS skills. | 3 / 3 |
Total | 12 / 12 Passed |
Implementation
79%Reviews the quality of instructions and guidance provided to agents. Good implementation is clear, handles edge cases, and produces reliable results.
This is a well-structured, actionable CloudFormation skill with excellent code examples that are immediately usable. The content is appropriately concise and assumes Claude's competence. Main weaknesses are the lack of explicit validation workflows (e.g., validate-template before create-stack) and the monolithic structure that could benefit from splitting detailed resource patterns into separate files.
Suggestions
Add explicit validation step to deployment workflow: run `aws cloudformation validate-template` before create-stack, with guidance on interpreting validation errors
Consider splitting detailed resource patterns (Lambda, VPC, DynamoDB) into a separate PATTERNS.md file, keeping SKILL.md as a concise overview with the basic template structure
Add a feedback loop to the change set workflow: describe-change-set -> review -> if unexpected changes, investigate before execute
| Dimension | Reasoning | Score |
|---|---|---|
Conciseness | The content is lean and efficient, providing direct code examples and commands without explaining basic concepts Claude already knows. No unnecessary padding or verbose explanations of what CloudFormation is or how AWS works. | 3 / 3 |
Actionability | Fully executable YAML templates and bash commands throughout. All examples are copy-paste ready with complete, working code for common patterns like Lambda functions, VPCs, and DynamoDB tables. | 3 / 3 |
Workflow Clarity | Steps are listed for stack operations and change sets, but lacks explicit validation checkpoints. The troubleshooting section helps with error recovery, but the deployment workflow doesn't include a validate-before-deploy step or explicit feedback loops for catching template errors early. | 2 / 3 |
Progressive Disclosure | Good internal organization with table of contents and clear sections, but the document is quite long (~300 lines) with detailed resource examples that could be split into separate reference files. External references are only to AWS docs, not to modular skill files. | 2 / 3 |
Total | 10 / 12 Passed |
Validation
75%Checks the skill against the spec for correct structure and formatting. All validation checks must pass before discovery and implementation can be scored.
Validation — 12 / 16 Passed
Validation for skill structure
| Criteria | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|
metadata_version | 'metadata' field is not a dictionary | Warning |
license_field | 'license' field is missing | Warning |
frontmatter_unknown_keys | Unknown frontmatter key(s) found; consider removing or moving to metadata | Warning |
body_steps | No step-by-step structure detected (no ordered list); consider adding a simple workflow | Warning |
Total | 12 / 16 Passed | |
- Reviewed
Table of Contents
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