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ui-tests-local-vm

Run PowerToys UITest.Next suites in persistent Hyper-V VMs over PowerShell Direct. Validate full default and constrained suites on Windows 10 and Windows 11, plus applicable ARM64 guests, then automatically hand implementation tasks to ui-tests-pipeline-ci for commit/push and CI validation. Local green is not end-to-end completion. Use for agentic UI-test iteration, reusable standard-user desktops, payload staging, evidence export, VM customization, clean baselines, or hosts without nested virtualization. Keywords: Hyper-V, local VM, virtual machine, PowerShell Direct, Copy-VMFile, VMBus, checkpoint, unattend, autounattend, ISO, Windows 10 LTSC, Windows 11, ARM64, Windows on ARM, UI tests, UITest.Next, winappcli, TRX, CI handoff.

Quality

91%

Does it follow best practices?

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SecuritybySnyk

Low

Low-risk findings worth noting

SKILL.md
Quality
Evals
Security

Quality

Content

81%Weight 40%Scale 1-5

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

The body is an unusually well-engineered operational skill: a complete workflow graph, a gated 16-step checklist with synchronous-attachment rules, copy-paste commands, and well-signaled references that all resolve to real files. Its main weakness is repetition — several non-negotiable rules are restated three to four times across sections — plus a Guest OS policy section that duplicates setup.md detail inline rather than fully deferring to it.

Suggestions

State each non-negotiable rule once (in Non-negotiable rules) and reference it elsewhere: the Win11-unfiltered-suite rule currently appears in the intro, two Guest OS policy bullets, and the rules section; the human-only host setup gate appears in the task list, Quick start, and rules. Cutting the restatements would trim roughly a third of the body.

Move build-number and media-acquisition detail from Guest OS policy (19044/21H2, 1904x.5007+, Fido mechanics, LTSC licensing) into references/setup.md, keeping only the decision-level policy (two guests, two full unfiltered suites, ARM64 rules, -Platform values) inline.

Clarify where New-UiTestVm.ps1 and Reset-LocalVm.ps1 live (scaffolded VM root / templates/vm, not scripts/) when first invoking them in Quick start, so an agent does not hunt for them in the skill's scripts directory.

DimensionReasoningScore

Conciseness

Every fact is project-specific (no tutorial padding), but key rules are repeated nearly verbatim across sections: the Windows 11 unfiltered-suite rule appears in the intro, twice in Guest OS policy, and again in Non-negotiable rules; the human-only host-setup gate appears in the task list, Quick start, and Non-negotiable rules; the Dev Drive/NTFS anecdote is inline and duplicated in troubleshooting.md. The body could be cut by roughly a third with no information loss, which fits 'mostly efficient but could be tightened' rather than the minor-trim anchor.

3 / 5

Actionability

Quick start provides copy-paste-ready pwsh invocations with full parameter sets (Initialize-LocalVmHost -CheckOnly, Initialize-LocalVm, Invoke-LocalVmUiTest with -Filter/-Platform/-SuiteTimeout/-ReuseStagedPayload), the checklist gives executable verification steps ('build to exit code 0', 'verify archive hashes', '-PlanOnly', 'read the .Failed array'), and evidence rules are concrete and testable ('require total > 0 plus executed == total').

5 / 5

Workflow Clarity

The mermaid flowchart plus the numbered 0-15 checklist give a fully sequenced process with explicit validation gates (host preflight stop condition, green-before-constrained ordering, both-OS-green gate before CI handoff) and built-in feedback loops (diagnose first controlling failure, rebuild with -ReuseStagedPayload, widen to full suite, restore checkpoint). This matches the anchor calling for checklists, explicit validation, and error-recovery loops.

5 / 5

Progressive Disclosure

Structure is strong: a 'Required reads' section signals each of the five real one-level-deep reference files with its purpose and a conditional-read rule, deep anchors (setup.md §0, §3) resolve to real headers, and all body-cited scripts exist in scripts/. Held below 5 because the Guest OS policy section inlines media/build-number detail (19044/21H2, 1904x.5007+, Fido mechanics) that substantially duplicates references/setup.md, and New-UiTestVm.ps1 / Reset-LocalVm.ps1 are cited by bare name without indicating they live in the scaffolded VM root (or templates/vm) rather than scripts/.

4 / 5

Total

17

/

20

Passed

Description

100%Weight 40%Scale 1-5

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 a model for a complex, multi-skill workflow: it names concrete capabilities, gives an explicit and specific 'Use for' clause, supplies a dense synonym-rich keyword list, and even encodes the boundary that local green does not complete the task. Every dimension sits cleanly on its top anchor; there is no vague or padded language to penalize.

DimensionReasoningScore

Specificity

Lists multiple concrete, comprehensive actions: "Run PowerToys UITest.Next suites in persistent Hyper-V VMs over PowerShell Direct", "Validate full default and constrained suites on Windows 10 and Windows 11, plus applicable ARM64 guests", and "hand implementation tasks to ui-tests-pipeline-ci for commit/push and CI validation", covering the skill's full action surface including payload staging, evidence export, and clean baselines.

5 / 5

Completeness

Explicitly answers both questions: the opening sentences state what the skill does, and "Use for agentic UI-test iteration, reusable standard-user desktops, payload staging, evidence export, VM customization, clean baselines, or hosts without nested virtualization" provides concrete when-to-use trigger phrases. The 'Local green is not end-to-end completion' clause additionally clarifies scope boundaries.

5 / 5

Trigger Term Quality

Comprehensive natural-term coverage with synonyms and variations: "Hyper-V", "local VM", "virtual machine", "Windows 10 LTSC", "Windows 11", "ARM64", "Windows on Arm", "UI tests", "UITest.Next", "TRX", "checkpoint", "ISO". Not below 4 because no common variant a user would say is missing; not a lower anchor because coverage matches the 'PDF files, PDFs, forms, .pdf' exemplar's breadth.

5 / 5

Distinctiveness Conflict Risk

A clear niche (PowerToys UITest.Next in Hyper-V guests over PowerShell Direct) with distinct triggers, and it explicitly differentiates its sibling skills by naming the ui-tests-pipeline-ci handoff and scoping itself to local execution, so conflict risk with the migration/CI skills or generic skills is minimal.

5 / 5

Total

20

/

20

Passed

Validation

93%

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

Validation — 15 / 16 Passed

Validation for skill structure

CriteriaDescriptionResult

relative_links

Relative link issues: 3 suspicious

Warning

Total

15

/

16

Passed

Repository

microsoft/PowerToys

Path

.github/skills/ui-tests-local-vm/SKILL.md

Reviewed

Table of Contents

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