dependency-management
Manage third-party libraries, runtimes, and SaaS dependencies. Use this skill when setting an update cadence, responding to security advisories, dealing with deprecated dependencies, evaluating new dependencies, auditing what's installed, or unblocking a dependency upgrade. Triggers on dependency, package update, security patch, lockfile, deprecated, breaking change, supply chain, dependency audit, npm audit, dependabot, renovate. Also triggers when a build breaks after an update or when an advisory is published for a used package.
72
88%
Does it follow best practices?
Impact
—
No eval scenarios have been run
Advisory
Suggest reviewing before use
Quality
Discovery
100%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 is a strong skill description that clearly defines its scope around dependency management, lists concrete actions, and provides extensive trigger terms covering both keyword-based and situational triggers. It uses proper third-person voice throughout and follows the 'Use this skill when...' pattern effectively. The description is comprehensive without being unnecessarily verbose.
| Dimension | Reasoning | Score |
|---|---|---|
Specificity | Lists multiple specific concrete actions: setting update cadence, responding to security advisories, dealing with deprecated dependencies, evaluating new dependencies, auditing installations, and unblocking dependency upgrades. | 3 / 3 |
Completeness | Clearly answers both 'what' (manage third-party libraries, runtimes, and SaaS dependencies with specific actions listed) and 'when' (explicit 'Use this skill when...' clause plus a detailed 'Triggers on' list with natural keywords and situational triggers). | 3 / 3 |
Trigger Term Quality | Excellent coverage of natural terms users would say: 'dependency', 'package update', 'security patch', 'lockfile', 'deprecated', 'breaking change', 'supply chain', 'npm audit', 'dependabot', 'renovate'. Also includes situational triggers like build breaks after updates and published advisories. | 3 / 3 |
Distinctiveness Conflict Risk | Occupies a clear niche around dependency management with highly specific triggers like 'lockfile', 'dependabot', 'renovate', 'npm audit', and 'supply chain' that are unlikely to conflict with other skills. The situational triggers further narrow the scope. | 3 / 3 |
Total | 12 / 12 Passed |
Implementation
77%Reviews the quality of instructions and guidance provided to agents. Good implementation is clear, handles edge cases, and produces reliable results.
This is a comprehensive, well-structured dependency management skill with strong actionability and clear workflow sequencing. Its main weakness is verbosity—several sections include explanatory commentary and truisms that Claude doesn't need, and the monolithic structure could benefit from splitting detailed reference material into separate files. The referenced bundle file (upgrade-checklist.md) is missing, which slightly undermines the progressive disclosure.
Suggestions
Trim editorial commentary and truisms (e.g., 'Free packages aren't free', 'A dependency abandoned a year ago is a liability') to improve token efficiency.
Move the failure patterns and risk dimensions sections into separate reference files to reduce the main skill's length and improve progressive disclosure.
Provide the referenced upgrade-checklist.md bundle file, or remove the reference if it doesn't exist.
| Dimension | Reasoning | Score |
|---|---|---|
Conciseness | The skill is reasonably well-organized but verbose in places. The 5 risk dimensions section explains concepts Claude already understands (e.g., 'A dependency abandoned a year ago is a liability waiting to surface,' 'Every dependency has a cost. Free packages aren't free.'). The failure patterns section, while useful, is lengthy and some items are obvious. Could be tightened by ~30%. | 2 / 3 |
Actionability | Provides concrete, executable commands for auditing (npm audit, pip-audit, bundle audit, npm ls --all --json), specific checklists for evaluation and removal, a clear prioritization matrix, and specific tool recommendations (Renovate, Dependabot, depcheck). The guidance is specific enough to act on immediately. | 3 / 3 |
Workflow Clarity | The 8-step workflow is clearly sequenced from inventory through automation and periodic audit. Validation checkpoints are explicit (Step 4: test before merging, smoke-test in staging, watch monitoring). The prioritization table provides clear decision criteria. Feedback loops are present (test → investigate → don't merge broken updates). | 3 / 3 |
Progressive Disclosure | References a single external file (references/upgrade-checklist.md) which is appropriate, but the bundle doesn't actually include it. The main file itself is quite long (~300 lines) and sections like the failure patterns, risk dimensions, and dependency categories could potentially be split into reference files. The 'When NOT to use' cross-references to other skills are helpful. | 2 / 3 |
Total | 10 / 12 Passed |
Validation
90%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
- rampstackco/claude-skills
- Commit
8e70d03
- Reviewed
Table of Contents
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