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; Review Java exception taxonomy and propagation. Part of Plinth Toolkit

Quality

—

Does it follow best practices?

Impact

—

No eval scenarios have been run

Securityby

Passed

No known issues

Quality

Content

70%

Reviews the quality of instructions and guidance provided to agents. Good implementation is clear, handles edge cases, and produces reliable results.

A well-structured, clearly sequenced skill body with good progressive disclosure to a single real reference file and strong compile/verify checkpoints. Its weakness is that the SKILL.md itself carries no executable exception-handling examples and repeats its capability list across two sections.

Suggestions

Collapse the duplicated 'What is covered' and 'When to use this skill' lists into one concise set of triggers to reduce redundancy.

Include one or two tiny inline good/bad code snippets (e.g. specific catch vs try-with-resources) so the SKILL.md is actionable before consulting the reference.

Dimension	Reasoning	Score
Conciseness	The body is mostly lean, but the 15-item 'What is covered' list duplicates concepts already implied by the skill name and restated again in 'When to use this skill', so it is somewhat padded and could be tightened.	2 / 3
Actionability	Concrete commands are given (./mvnw compile, mvn clean verify) and the reference path is specific, but the actual exception-handling guidance is deferred entirely to the reference file with no inline code or concrete pattern, leaving the SKILL.md itself non-executable.	2 / 3
Workflow Clarity	The 4-step workflow is clearly sequenced with explicit compile-before / verify-after checkpoints and a fail-fast stop instruction, matching the anchor for clear sequence with validation steps.	3 / 3
Progressive Disclosure	SKILL.md is a concise overview that points one level deep to references/126-java-exception-handling.md (a real, verified file), with the link clearly signaled in both Workflow and Reference sections, fitting the well-organized one-level-deep anchor.	3 / 3
	Total	10 / 12 Passed

Description

85%

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 dense, capability-rich description that explicitly answers what the skill does and when it triggers, with a clear Java exception-handling niche. The main weakness is that trigger terms are framed as enumerated tasks rather than the most natural user phrasings, and the sentence is extremely long.

Suggestions

Reword the 'This should trigger for requests such as' list toward natural user phrasings (e.g. 'Use when the user asks why an exception was thrown, how to clean up resources safely, or how to handle InterruptedException').

Split the very long single sentence into a concise capability summary followed by the trigger clause to avoid verbosity penalization.

Keep the third-person voice intact but trim redundant qualifiers like 'best practices — including' to tighten the opening.

Dimension	Reasoning	Score
Specificity	Lists many concrete actions (try-with-resources, exception chaining, fail-fast validation, InterruptedException handling, addSuppressed, timeout enforcement) rather than vague language, matching the 'lists multiple specific concrete actions' anchor.	3 / 3
Completeness	Both 'what' (detailed capability list) and 'when' ('This should trigger for requests such as...') are explicitly stated, satisfying the anchor requiring explicit triggers for both facets.	3 / 3
Trigger Term Quality	Trigger phrases like 'Exception handling', 'Use try-with-resources', 'Create exception chaining' are plausible but read as task labels more than natural keywords a user would say, and common phrasings (e.g. 'why did my code throw', 'catch block') are absent.	2 / 3
Distinctiveness Conflict Risk	The Java exception-handling niche is narrow with concrete triggers, making it unlikely to fire for unrelated skills; it fits the 'clear niche with distinct triggers' anchor.	3 / 3
	Total	11 / 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/plinth
Commit: aaee915

Reviewed: 1 day ago

Table of Contents

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