writing-skills

Use when creating new skills, editing existing skills, or verifying skills work before deployment

Install with Tessl CLI

npx tessl i github:projectbluefin/dakota --skill writing-skills

What are skills?

1.86x

Quality

62%

Does it follow best practices?

Impact

93%

1.86x

Average score across 3 eval scenarios

Optimize this skill with Tessl

npx tessl skill review --optimize ./.opencode/skills/writing-skills/SKILL.md

SKILL.md

Review

Evals

Discovery

40%

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 description focuses entirely on when to use the skill but completely omits what the skill actually does. While it correctly uses a 'Use when...' clause, the lack of concrete capabilities (e.g., 'generates skill templates', 'validates YAML frontmatter', 'tests skill execution') makes it difficult for Claude to understand the skill's actual functionality and distinguish it from other skills.

Suggestions

Add concrete actions describing what the skill does, e.g., 'Generates skill templates, validates YAML frontmatter, and tests skill execution against sample inputs.'

Include more natural trigger terms users might say: 'SKILL.md', 'skill file', 'skill template', 'markdown skill', 'test my skill'

Specify the domain more clearly to reduce conflict risk, e.g., 'Claude Code skills' or 'agent skills' rather than just 'skills'

Dimension	Reasoning	Score
Specificity	The description uses vague language like 'creating', 'editing', and 'verifying' without specifying concrete actions. It doesn't explain what skills are, what creating/editing involves, or what verification entails.	1 / 3
Completeness	The description provides a 'Use when...' clause addressing when to use it, but the 'what does this do' component is entirely missing. There's no explanation of what capabilities or actions the skill provides.	2 / 3
Trigger Term Quality	Contains some relevant keywords ('skills', 'deployment') but lacks natural variations users might say like 'skill file', 'SKILL.md', 'skill template', or 'test skill'. The term 'skills' is somewhat generic.	2 / 3
Distinctiveness Conflict Risk	The term 'skills' provides some specificity to this domain, but 'creating', 'editing', and 'verifying' are generic actions that could overlap with many other skills. Without more specific triggers, it could conflict with general editing or testing skills.	2 / 3
	Total	7 / 12 Passed

Implementation

85%

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

This is a strong, well-structured skill that successfully applies TDD principles to documentation creation. The workflow is exceptionally clear with explicit validation steps and the actionability is high with concrete examples throughout. The main weakness is verbosity - at ~2500 words with some redundancy, it could be tightened by 20-30% without losing clarity.

Suggestions

Consolidate the rationalization tables - they appear in both 'Bulletproofing Skills' and 'Common Rationalizations' sections with overlapping content

Move the detailed 'Testing All Skill Types' section to a separate reference file since it's heavy reference material (100+ lines) that could be loaded on demand

Trim the 'TDD Mapping for Skills' table - the concept is repeated multiple times throughout; one clear statement of the mapping is sufficient

Dimension	Reasoning	Score
Conciseness	The skill is comprehensive but verbose at ~2500 words. Contains some redundancy (TDD mapping repeated multiple times, rationalization tables appear twice) and explanatory content that could be trimmed. However, most content earns its place given the complexity of the topic.	2 / 3
Actionability	Provides concrete, executable guidance throughout: specific YAML frontmatter examples, directory structures, code blocks for render-graphs.js usage, complete checklists with TodoWrite instructions, and clear good/bad examples for every concept.	3 / 3
Workflow Clarity	Excellent multi-step workflow with explicit RED-GREEN-REFACTOR phases, validation checkpoints ('Run scenarios WITH skill - verify agents now comply'), and a comprehensive deployment checklist. The 'STOP: Before Moving to Next Skill' section explicitly prevents skipping validation.	3 / 3
Progressive Disclosure	Well-structured with clear overview, then detailed sections. References external files appropriately (testing-skills-with-subagents.md, persuasion-principles.md, graphviz-conventions.dot) with explicit markers like 'REQUIRED BACKGROUND' and 'See @file for...' Cross-references are one level deep and clearly signaled.	3 / 3
	Total	11 / 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
skill_md_line_count	SKILL.md is long (656 lines); consider splitting into references/ and linking	Warning

	Total	10 / 11 Passed

Reviewed: 12 days ago

Table of Contents

Discovery Implementation Validation

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.