exa-local-dev-loop
Configure Exa local development with hot reload, testing, and mock responses. Use when setting up a development environment, writing tests against Exa, or establishing a fast iteration cycle. Trigger with phrases like "exa dev setup", "exa local development", "exa test setup", "develop with exa", "mock exa".
80
77%
Does it follow best practices?
Impact
—
No eval scenarios have been run
Advisory
Suggest reviewing before use
Optimize this skill with Tessl
npx tessl skill review --optimize ./plugins/saas-packs/exa-pack/skills/exa-local-dev-loop/SKILL.mdQuality
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 well-structured skill description that clearly identifies its niche (Exa local development), provides explicit 'Use when' guidance, and includes specific trigger phrases. The main weakness is that the capability actions could be more concrete—listing specific tasks rather than feature categories would strengthen the specificity dimension.
Suggestions
Expand the capability list with more concrete actions, e.g., 'Configure file watchers for hot reload, create mock API response fixtures, set up test harnesses for Exa endpoints' instead of the more abstract 'hot reload, testing, and mock responses'.
| Dimension | Reasoning | Score |
|---|---|---|
Specificity | Names the domain (Exa local development) and some actions (hot reload, testing, mock responses), but the actions are more like feature keywords than concrete, specific tasks. It doesn't list detailed operations like 'create mock response fixtures' or 'configure hot reload watchers'. | 2 / 3 |
Completeness | Clearly answers both 'what' (configure Exa local development with hot reload, testing, and mock responses) and 'when' (setting up a development environment, writing tests against Exa, establishing a fast iteration cycle), with explicit trigger phrases provided. | 3 / 3 |
Trigger Term Quality | Includes a dedicated trigger phrase list with natural variations users would say: 'exa dev setup', 'exa local development', 'exa test setup', 'develop with exa', 'mock exa'. Also includes terms like 'development environment', 'writing tests', and 'fast iteration cycle' which are natural user phrases. | 3 / 3 |
Distinctiveness Conflict Risk | Highly specific to 'Exa' local development, which is a distinct niche. The trigger terms are all Exa-specific, making it very unlikely to conflict with generic development setup or testing skills. | 3 / 3 |
Total | 11 / 12 Passed |
Implementation
64%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, highly actionable skill with complete, executable code examples covering the full local dev setup workflow for Exa. Its main weaknesses are the lack of validation checkpoints in the workflow (e.g., 'run npm test to verify setup') and the length of inline code that could benefit from being split into referenced files. The content is practical and well-organized but could be more concise.
Suggestions
Add explicit validation checkpoints after key steps, e.g., 'Run `npm test` to verify mocks work' after Step 3 and 'Run `npm run test:integration` to confirm API connectivity' after Step 4.
Consider extracting the full test files (Steps 3 and 4) into bundle files and referencing them from SKILL.md to improve progressive disclosure and reduce inline length.
Remove the Overview section—it restates what the skill title and structure already convey.
| Dimension | Reasoning | Score |
|---|---|---|
Conciseness | The content is mostly efficient but includes some unnecessary verbosity. The mock examples are quite long and could be tightened—the full mock setup for all four methods (search, searchAndContents, findSimilar, getContents) is thorough but bulky. The overview section adds little value. However, most content is actionable code rather than explanation. | 2 / 3 |
Actionability | Excellent actionability throughout. Every step includes fully executable, copy-paste ready code: package.json scripts, complete test files with imports, vitest config, and shell commands for env setup. The code is real TypeScript, not pseudocode, and includes practical details like timeouts and conditional test skipping. | 3 / 3 |
Workflow Clarity | Steps are clearly numbered and sequenced (project structure → package setup → unit tests → integration tests → env config), but there are no validation checkpoints or feedback loops. There's no step like 'run tests to verify setup works' or 'verify mock is applied correctly before proceeding.' The error handling table partially compensates but is reactive rather than integrated into the workflow. | 2 / 3 |
Progressive Disclosure | The content is well-structured with clear sections and a logical flow, but it's quite long for a single SKILL.md with no bundle files. The full mock test file and integration test file could be split into referenced files. The 'Next Steps' reference to 'exa-sdk-patterns' is good but there are no bundle files to support it. For a standalone skill, the inline content is borderline monolithic. | 2 / 3 |
Total | 9 / 12 Passed |
Validation
81%Checks the skill against the spec for correct structure and formatting. All validation checks must pass before discovery and implementation can be scored.
Validation — 9 / 11 Passed
Validation for skill structure
| Criteria | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|
allowed_tools_field | 'allowed-tools' contains unusual tool name(s) | Warning |
frontmatter_unknown_keys | Unknown frontmatter key(s) found; consider removing or moving to metadata | Warning |
Total | 9 / 11 Passed | |
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