binary-analysis-patterns

Comprehensive patterns and techniques for analyzing compiled binaries, understanding assembly code, and reconstructing program logic.

Quality

27%

Does it follow best practices?

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Securityby

Passed

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tessl review fix ./skills/binary-analysis-patterns/SKILL.md

The canonical home for this skill is binary-analysis-patterns in sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills

Quality

Content

22%Scale 1-3

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

This skill is essentially a reference manual for assembly patterns and reverse engineering concepts that Claude largely already knows. It is extremely verbose without adding project-specific or novel knowledge, and its workflow guidance is too abstract to be actionable. The concrete code examples for Ghidra and IDA Pro scripting are the strongest parts, but they're buried in a wall of general-knowledge assembly patterns.

Suggestions

Remove or drastically reduce the assembly reference material (calling conventions, basic patterns, string operations, bit manipulation) — Claude already knows these. Focus on project-specific conventions, tool configurations, or non-obvious patterns.

Replace the vague 7-step 'Analysis Workflow' with concrete, tool-specific commands and explicit validation checkpoints (e.g., 'Run `rabin2 -I binary` to identify architecture, then verify with `file binary`').

Split the monolithic content into separate files (e.g., `ghidra-scripts.md`, `ida-patterns.md`, `arm-patterns.md`) and make SKILL.md a concise overview with clear references.

Make the 'Instructions' section actionable — replace generic bullets like 'Clarify goals, constraints, and required inputs' with specific decision trees or task-oriented guidance.

Dimension	Reasoning	Score
Conciseness	Extremely verbose — much of this is reference material Claude already knows (x86-64 calling conventions, ARM conventions, basic assembly patterns, string operations, bit manipulation). The skill reads like a textbook chapter rather than adding novel, project-specific knowledge. The generic 'Use this skill when' and 'Limitations' sections add boilerplate without value.	1 / 3
Actionability	Contains concrete, executable assembly examples and tool-specific scripts (Ghidra, IDA Pro), which is good. However, much of it is descriptive reference material rather than task-oriented instructions. The 'Instructions' section is vague ('Clarify goals, constraints, and required inputs'), and the analysis workflow in Best Practices is a high-level checklist without concrete commands or verification steps.	2 / 3
Workflow Clarity	The 'Analysis Workflow' section lists 7 high-level steps but provides no concrete commands, tool invocations, or validation checkpoints. There are no feedback loops or error recovery steps. For a complex multi-step domain like binary analysis, the workflow guidance is far too abstract to be useful.	1 / 3
Progressive Disclosure	References `resources/implementation-playbook.md` but no bundle files are provided, so we can't verify it exists. The main file is a monolithic wall of reference content (~300+ lines) that would benefit greatly from being split into separate files (e.g., x86 patterns, ARM patterns, tool scripts, data structures). Some structure exists via headers but content is not appropriately distributed.	2 / 3
	Total	6 / 12 Passed

Description

32%Scale 1-3

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 identifies a clear domain (binary/assembly analysis) but remains at a high level without listing specific concrete actions or including any 'Use when...' guidance. It reads more like a chapter title than a skill selector, lacking the trigger terms and explicit usage conditions needed for reliable skill selection among many options.

Suggestions

Add an explicit 'Use when...' clause, e.g., 'Use when the user asks about reverse engineering, disassembling binaries, analyzing malware, or understanding compiled executables.'

Include natural trigger terms users would say: 'reverse engineering', 'disassembly', 'decompilation', 'ELF', 'PE', 'x86', 'ARM', 'malware analysis', 'Ghidra', 'IDA'.

List more specific concrete actions such as 'disassemble executables, identify function boundaries, analyze control flow, reconstruct data structures, detect obfuscation techniques'.

Dimension	Reasoning	Score
Specificity	Names the domain (reverse engineering/binary analysis) and some actions ('analyzing compiled binaries', 'understanding assembly code', 'reconstructing program logic'), but these are fairly high-level and not concrete specific actions like 'disassemble ELF/PE executables, identify function boundaries, decompile to pseudocode'.	2 / 3
Completeness	Describes what the skill covers at a high level but completely lacks any 'Use when...' clause or explicit trigger guidance, which per the rubric should cap completeness at 2, and since the 'what' is also somewhat vague, this falls to 1.	1 / 3
Trigger Term Quality	Includes some relevant keywords like 'binaries', 'assembly code', and 'program logic', but misses many natural terms users would say such as 'reverse engineering', 'disassembly', 'decompilation', 'malware analysis', 'ELF', 'PE', 'IDA', 'Ghidra', 'x86', 'ARM', '.exe', 'shellcode'.	2 / 3
Distinctiveness Conflict Risk	The domain of binary analysis and assembly code is fairly specific and unlikely to conflict with most other skills, but without explicit trigger terms it could overlap with general programming or security-related skills.	2 / 3
	Total	7 / 12 Passed

Validation

90%

Warnings & errors only

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

Validation — 10 / 11 Passed

Validation for skill structure

Criteria	Description	Result
frontmatter_unknown_keys	Unknown frontmatter key(s) found; consider removing or moving to metadata	Warning

	Total	10 / 11 Passed

Repository: popey/claude-code-skills
Path: skills/binary-analysis-patterns/SKILL.md
Commit: a5a6601

Reviewed: 17 hours ago

Table of Contents

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