CtrlK
BlogDocsLog inGet started
Tessl Logo

improving-prompts

Use when optimizing CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md, custom commands, or skill files — diagnose the concrete failure first, then apply current documented Anthropic best practices (explicit instructions, context/motivation, examples, output and verbosity control, thinking/effort, CLAUDE.md size and skill-description rules) instead of inventing improvements. Triggers when a prompt isn't followed, a skill won't activate, CLAUDE.md is too long or ignored, or migrating prompts to current Claude models.

72

Quality

88%

Does it follow best practices?

Impact

No eval scenarios have been run

SecuritybySnyk

Passed

No known issues

SKILL.md
Quality
Evals
Security

Quality

Content

77%

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, highly actionable skill that clearly defines a diagnostic-first workflow for prompt improvement. Its main strength is the concrete process with explicit gates preventing premature changes, and the issue-to-fix mapping table. Its main weakness is moderate verbosity — the 'Core Problem' section and the inlined best practices in Step 2 add length that could be trimmed or offloaded to the referenced file.

Suggestions

Move the detailed best practices content in Step 2 entirely to the referenced `references/anthropic-best-practices.md` file, keeping only a brief summary or the most critical 2-3 points inline to reduce token usage.

Consider condensing or removing the 'Core Problem' section — Claude doesn't need to be told what agents do wrong in general; the 'Stop If You Catch Yourself' table already covers this more actionably.

DimensionReasoningScore

Conciseness

The skill is mostly efficient but includes some unnecessary content. The 'Core Problem' section explains failure modes Claude should already understand, and the 'Stop If You Catch Yourself' table, while useful, is verbose. The quick reference table at the end is lean and valuable, but the middle sections could be tightened.

2 / 3

Actionability

The skill provides highly concrete, actionable guidance: a clear required process with specific steps, a diagnostic table mapping issues to fixes, explicit examples of what counts vs. doesn't count as a concrete issue, and before/after framing for proposed changes. The instructions are specific enough to be directly followed.

3 / 3

Workflow Clarity

The four-step process is clearly sequenced with explicit gates (Step 1 requires concrete issues before proceeding, Step 4 requires rationale for each change). The 'Stop If You Catch Yourself' table serves as a validation checkpoint. The workflow has a clear feedback loop: if no concrete issue is identified, stop and ask.

3 / 3

Progressive Disclosure

The skill references `references/anthropic-best-practices.md` for the full reference, which is good progressive disclosure. However, no bundle files are provided, so this reference is unverifiable. Additionally, Step 2 inlines a substantial amount of the best practices content that could arguably live entirely in the referenced file, making the main skill longer than necessary.

2 / 3

Total

10

/

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.

This is a strong, well-crafted skill description that clearly defines a distinct niche (optimizing Claude's own configuration and prompt files), lists specific concrete actions and best-practice areas, and provides explicit trigger conditions. The description uses appropriate third-person voice and includes natural keywords that users would actually use when encountering these problems. Minor verbosity could be trimmed, but the detail serves the purpose of disambiguation.

DimensionReasoningScore

Specificity

Lists multiple specific concrete actions: diagnosing failures, applying Anthropic best practices (with enumerated areas like explicit instructions, context/motivation, examples, output/verbosity control, thinking/effort, CLAUDE.md size and skill-description rules), optimizing specific file types (CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md, custom commands, skill files).

3 / 3

Completeness

Clearly answers both 'what' (diagnose failures and apply Anthropic best practices for prompt engineering artifacts) and 'when' (explicit 'Triggers when' clause covering prompt not followed, skill won't activate, CLAUDE.md too long/ignored, migrating prompts). The 'Use when' clause at the start and 'Triggers when' at the end provide comprehensive guidance.

3 / 3

Trigger Term Quality

Excellent coverage of natural trigger terms users would say: 'CLAUDE.md', 'AGENTS.md', 'custom commands', 'skill files', 'prompt isn't followed', 'skill won't activate', 'CLAUDE.md is too long or ignored', 'migrating prompts'. These are highly natural phrases a user would use when encountering these specific problems.

3 / 3

Distinctiveness Conflict Risk

Highly distinctive niche — meta-level prompt engineering for Claude's own configuration files (CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md, skill files). This is unlikely to conflict with other skills since it specifically targets the optimization of Claude's own instruction infrastructure rather than general coding or document tasks.

3 / 3

Total

12

/

12

Passed

Validation

100%

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

Validation11 / 11 Passed

Validation for skill structure

No warnings or errors.

Repository
joshuadavidthomas/agent-skills
Reviewed

Table of Contents

Is this your skill?

If you maintain this skill, you can claim it as your own. Once claimed, you can manage eval scenarios, bundle related skills, attach documentation or rules, and ensure cross-agent compatibility.