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boris

Claude Code workflow tips from Boris Cherny (creator of Claude Code) and the Claude Code team. Use when: setting up Claude Code, optimizing workflows, running parallel sessions, configuring CLAUDE.md, using skills/commands, subagents, hooks, MCP integrations, or learning best practices. Covers: git worktrees, plan mode, verification, permissions, Slack MCP, BigQuery, prompting tips, plugins, custom agents, sandboxing, keybindings, status lines, output styles, customization, /simplify for code quality, /batch for parallel code migrations, /loop for scheduled tasks, code review agents, /btw for mid-task questions, /effort max reasoning, remote control sessions, voice mode, setup scripts, session naming, /color, PostCompact hook, auto mode, /schedule cloud jobs, iMessage plugin, auto-memory, and auto-dream, mobile app, session teleporting, Cowork Dispatch, Chrome extension, Desktop app, /branch forking, --bare SDK startup, --add-dir multi-repo, --agent custom agents, /voice input.

Quality

73%

Does it follow best practices?

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SecuritybySnyk

Low

Low-risk findings worth noting

Fix and improve this skill with Tessl

tessl review fix ./.claude/skills/boris/SKILL.md
SKILL.md
Quality
Evals
Security

Quality

Content

46%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 delivers many concrete, executable commands and benefits from numbered sections and a Quick Reference table, but it is a monolithic 900-line catalog with duplicated tips, provenance/date metadata, and no progressive disclosure or reference files. As a context-window consumer it reads as a reference dump rather than a lean, navigable skill.

Suggestions

Split the 60 sections into one-level-deep reference files by theme (e.g., parallelism/worktrees, hooks & permissions, scheduled tasks, voice/mobile) and keep SKILL.md as a concise overview with clearly signaled links, replacing 'All tips are contained in this file'.

Merge the duplicated tips (/btw 33/54, /batch 30/56, /loop 31/48, verification 14/51) and move the 'Parts' thread provenance, per-tip source URLs, and date/version stamps into a separate SOURCES.md so they don't consume context on every load.

Add a short 'How to use this skill' section giving a sequence for matching a user's question to the relevant tips (e.g., identify topic -> check Quick Reference -> present the tip with its command), which would also give the update-check procedure a defined place in the flow.

DimensionReasoningScore

Conciseness

The ~900-line body includes clear padding: a 10-line provenance 'Parts' listing with per-thread dates, per-tip source URLs, and four near-duplicate tip pairs (/btw in sections 33 and 54, /batch in 30 and 56, /loop in 31 and 48, verification in 14 and 51), plus time-sensitive dates and versions (v2.1.74+, Jan 2 2026) with no 'old patterns' framing. Not 1 because individual tips are tight and free of basic-concept explanation; not 3 because the duplicated sections, provenance metadata, and date-stamped content are pervasive rather than occasional.

2 / 5

Actionability

Most tips give concrete, executable guidance: `git worktree add .claude/worktrees/my-worktree origin/main`, `claude --worktree my_worktree --tmux`, full PostToolUse hook JSON, `claude -p "summarize this codebase" --output-format=stream-json --verbose --bare`. Not 5 because a meaningful minority of tips are advisory with no concrete form ("Write detailed specs", "Challenge Claude", "Use Claude for Learning"), leaving gaps in executable coverage.

4 / 5

Workflow Clarity

The content is a 60-section topic catalog rather than a sequenced workflow; there is no instruction on how to select or apply tips to a user's situation, and the only internal procedure (the UPDATE CHECK version-compare block) is a single unvalidated fetch-and-compare step. Not 2 because individual tips do present coherent sequences (plan mode -> refine -> auto-accept -> 1-shot) and the Quick Reference table maps topics to actions; not 4 because no overarching workflow or checkpoints structure the skill's own operation.

3 / 5

Progressive Disclosure

Everything is inlined in one ~900-line file with zero reference files ("All tips are contained in this file — do not fetch from the website"), far past the 50-line threshold where inline-only structure could score 5. Not 1 because the 60 numbered sections and Quick Reference table provide real navigation structure; not 3 because there are no references at all and content that clearly belongs in separate files (e.g., topic-grouped tip collections, the Parts provenance) is fully inlined.

2 / 5

Total

11

/

20

Passed

Description

91%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.

A strong description with an explicit 'Use when' clause and exhaustive, natural trigger coverage including exact slash commands and CLI flags. Main weaknesses are a generic 'tips' framing for the what, and broad setup/best-practices triggers that create some overlap risk with general Claude Code help skills.

DimensionReasoningScore

Specificity

The description lists many concrete covered topics ("git worktrees, plan mode, verification, permissions, Slack MCP, BigQuery... /simplify for code quality, /batch for parallel code migrations"), but the actual action is generic — it "covers" topics and offers "workflow tips" rather than performing concrete operations. Not 5 because the what is a topic catalog rather than specific actions, and the 'Covers:' clause substantially duplicates 'Use when:' content, padding length without adding capability detail; not 3 because coverage is far more comprehensive than 1-2 concrete actions.

4 / 5

Completeness

Explicitly answers both: what ("Claude Code workflow tips from Boris Cherny (creator of Claude Code) and the Claude Code team. Covers: git worktrees, plan mode...") and when ("Use when: setting up Claude Code, optimizing workflows, running parallel sessions..."). Not 4 because the 'when' clause is fully explicit with many concrete trigger phrases, matching the anchor-5 example structure; the 'what' is explicit via the Covers list.

5 / 5

Trigger Term Quality

Comprehensive natural trigger terms users would actually say: "setting up Claude Code", "configuring CLAUDE.md", "subagents, hooks, MCP integrations", plus exact command/flag names (/simplify, /batch, /loop, /btw, /effort max, --bare, --add-dir, --agent, /voice). Not 4 because there are no meaningful natural terms missing — the list includes both feature names and exact slash commands and flags.

5 / 5

Distinctiveness Conflict Risk

The specific slash commands and flags (/batch, --bare, --agent, Cowork Dispatch) form a clear niche distinct from most skills, but broad trigger phrases like "setting up Claude Code", "optimizing workflows", and "learning best practices" overlap with any generic Claude Code help/docs skill. Not 5 due to that overlap risk on the general-use triggers; not 3 because the majority of triggers are narrowly feature-specific.

4 / 5

Total

18

/

20

Passed

Validation

87%

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

Validation — 14 / 16 Passed

Validation for skill structure

CriteriaDescriptionResult

skill_md_line_count

SKILL.md is long (909 lines); consider splitting into references/ and linking

Warning

frontmatter_unknown_keys

Unknown frontmatter key(s) found; consider removing or moving to metadata

Warning

Total

14

/

16

Passed

Repository

phatblat/dotfiles

Path

.claude/skills/boris/SKILL.md

Reviewed

Table of Contents

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