126-java-exception-handling

Use when you need to apply Java exception handling best practices — including using specific exception types, managing resources with try-with-resources, securing exception messages, preserving error context via exception chaining, validating inputs early with fail-fast principles, handling thread interruption correctly, documenting exceptions with @throws, enforcing logging policy, translating exceptions at API boundaries, managing retries and idempotency, enforcing timeouts, attaching suppressed exceptions, and propagating failures in async/reactive code. This should trigger for requests such as Exception handling; Use try-with-resources in Java code; Create exception chaining in Java code; Apply fail-fast validation in Java code. Part of cursor-rules-java project

Quality

—

Does it follow best practices?

Impact

—

No eval scenarios have been run

Securityby

Passed

No known issues

Quality

Content

85%

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 well-structured overview with strong workflow clarity and clean progressive disclosure to a single reference file. Its main weakness is actionability: the concrete good/bad code examples live only in the reference, so the body itself stops at directing rather than demonstrating.

Suggestions

Add one or two short inline good/bad code snippets (e.g. try-with-resources or a specific-exception example) so the body demonstrates the key patterns rather than only naming them.

Tighten the 15-item 'What is covered' bullet list into a shorter grouping or move the long enumeration into the reference, keeping the body focused on the most common patterns.

Make the workflow's step 3 ('Apply exception-handling improvements') reference the specific example sections in the reference (e.g. 'see Example 2 for try-with-resources') to improve navigation.

Dimension	Reasoning	Score
Conciseness	The body is lean: a concrete coverage bullet list, terse constraints, and short workflow steps, with no explanation of basic concepts Claude already knows; every token earns its place.	3 / 3
Actionability	Concrete commands are present ('./mvnw compile', 'mvn clean verify') and the reference path is named, but the actual executable good/bad code patterns are deferred to the reference rather than given inline, leaving the body's guidance partially incomplete.	2 / 3
Workflow Clarity	A clear 4-step sequence with explicit validation checkpoints (compile before, stop immediately on failure, verify after) and a feedback loop for error recovery, which is appropriate for code-modifying changes.	3 / 3
Progressive Disclosure	The SKILL.md is a clear overview pointing to a single, real, well-organized one-level-deep reference (references/126-java-exception-handling.md, with a TOC and 20 numbered examples), with the link clearly signaled.	3 / 3
	Total	11 / 12 Passed

Description

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.

The description is comprehensive, specific, and includes explicit 'Use when' trigger guidance alongside a concrete list of capabilities. It is somewhat long but every clause names a concrete action rather than padding.

Dimension	Reasoning	Score
Specificity	Lists many concrete actions (try-with-resources, exception chaining, fail-fast validation, suppressed exceptions, async/reactive propagation) rather than vague language, matching the 'lists multiple specific concrete actions' anchor.	3 / 3
Completeness	Explicitly answers both 'what' (the enumerated best-practice capabilities) and 'when' ('Use when you need to apply Java exception handling best practices' plus 'This should trigger for requests such as...').	3 / 3
Trigger Term Quality	Includes natural trigger phrases a user would say ('Exception handling; Use try-with-resources in Java code; Create exception chaining in Java code; Apply fail-fast validation in Java code'), giving good coverage rather than only jargon.	3 / 3
Distinctiveness Conflict Risk	Scoped tightly to Java exception handling with distinct, specific triggers, making it unlikely to fire for unrelated skills; matches the 'clear niche with distinct triggers' anchor.	3 / 3
	Total	12 / 12 Passed

Validation

100%

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 — 16 / 16 Passed

Validation for skill structure

No warnings or errors.

Repository: jabrena/cursor-rules-java
Commit: 9885542

Reviewed: 1 day ago

Table of Contents

Discovery Implementation Validation

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