Conciseness

Individual sections are tight and free of concept over-explanation, but there is real redundancy: a "## Mindset" section appears twice ("Search before you implement, design, or debug" at the top and "Search memory first; do not re-derive what was already decided" near the end), and the "## Never" bullets largely restate the "## Anti-Patterns" entries (e.g. "Never skip search before a non-trivial implementation task" vs. "NEVER re-implement something without searching memory first"). This fits anchor 3 — mostly efficient but could be tightened — rather than anchor 4, because an entire section is duplicated, and not anchor 2, since no space is spent explaining things Claude already knows.

Actionability

Provides the complete command signature `vault-cli search "<query>" [--top-k <n>] [--project <id>]`, its failure behavior ("Exits 1 with 'No results.'"), four copy-paste-ready example invocations, concrete good/bad query-construction contrasts ("auth token expiry" not "how does auth token expiry work?"), and the exact output format. Fully executable guidance covering the common cases — anchor 5; anchor 4 would require minor gaps in the commands or examples, and none are evident.

Workflow Clarity

The single action is unambiguous, and the failure path is an explicit numbered sequence with a feedback loop: "1. Retry with a broader synonym query / 2. If still empty, tell the user… / 3. Never invent…", reinforced by the broaden-and-retry guidance in Query construction. It is a simple non-destructive skill, so the missing-validation cap does not apply, and the explicit retry loop places it at anchor 5 rather than anchor 4 (checkpoints are present, not mostly present).

Progressive Disclosure

Sections are clearly headed, and the single reference — "[Vault Search: Query Tips](references/query-tips.md)" — is a real, one-level-deep, well-signaled file. However, the body runs ~88 lines (past the under-50-line simple-skill exception), and references/query-tips.md substantially duplicates body content ("Search before implementing…" ≈ Mindset/When to use; "Use concrete nouns from the task, not the literal user phrasing" ≈ Query construction; "Treat a miss as signal" ≈ Handling no results), so the split between overview and reference is not clean. This is anchor 4 (good structure, references mostly clear, minor organization gaps) rather than anchor 5, and above anchor 3 because the reference is explicit and not buried.

Specificity

Names the domain and a concrete action — "Search persistent memory for relevant context — including architectural decisions, resolved bugs, and implementation patterns" — but lists only one action with elaborated content types rather than several distinct actions. It sits at anchor 3, below anchor 4 (which expects a list of multiple specific actions) and above anchor 2 (the action is concrete and domain-specific, not generic).

Completeness

Explicitly answers both: what ("Search persistent memory for relevant context — including architectural decisions, resolved bugs, and implementation patterns") and when (an explicit "Use when the user says…" clause with concrete trigger phrases plus embedded situational conditions). This mirrors the anchor-5 example structure; it is above anchor 4 because the 'when' is fully explicit with quoted triggers, not merely present.

Trigger Term Quality

Quotes literal natural user phrases — "do you remember…", "what did we decide about…", "have we solved this before" — alongside situational triggers like "when debugging a recurring issue" and "before re-implementing something that may have been done before". Coverage is comprehensive with phrasing variations, matching the anchor-5 example; anchor 4 would require natural terms to be missing, and none obviously are.

Distinctiveness Conflict Risk

"Search persistent memory" defines a clear niche, and the conversational trigger phrases ("do you remember…", "what did we decide about…") are distinct and unlikely to fire unrelated skills. Matches anchor 5 (clear niche, distinct triggers, minimal conflict risk); it does not fall to anchor 4 because no meaningful overlap with closely related skills is apparent.