platform-backend
Server-side architecture and security — API design, error handling, validation, logging. Use when building APIs, server logic, or reviewing backend security.
63
Quality
44%
Does it follow best practices?
Impact
99%
1.06xAverage score across 3 eval scenarios
Optimize this skill with Tessl
npx tessl skill review --optimize ./skills/platform/platform-backend/SKILL.mdQuality
Discovery
67%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 provides a solid foundation with clear 'what' and 'when' components, earning full marks for completeness. However, it relies on category names rather than concrete actions, and the trigger terms could be expanded to include more natural user language variations. The scope is broad enough that it may conflict with more specialized API or security skills.
Suggestions
Add more specific concrete actions like 'Design RESTful endpoints', 'Implement authentication flows', 'Configure rate limiting' instead of category labels
Expand trigger terms to include common variations users would say: 'REST API', 'endpoints', 'authentication', 'middleware', 'Express', 'FastAPI', 'backend code'
| Dimension | Reasoning | Score |
|---|---|---|
Specificity | Names the domain (server-side architecture) and lists some actions (API design, error handling, validation, logging), but these are more categories than concrete actions. Lacks specific verbs like 'implement', 'configure', or 'audit'. | 2 / 3 |
Completeness | Clearly answers both what (server-side architecture covering API design, error handling, validation, logging) and when (building APIs, server logic, reviewing backend security) with an explicit 'Use when' clause. | 3 / 3 |
Trigger Term Quality | Includes relevant keywords like 'APIs', 'server logic', 'backend security' that users might say, but missing common variations like 'REST', 'endpoints', 'authentication', 'middleware', or 'Node/Express/Django'. | 2 / 3 |
Distinctiveness Conflict Risk | Reasonably specific to backend/server work, but 'API design' and 'security' could overlap with other skills focused on API documentation, general security, or specific frameworks. The scope is somewhat broad. | 2 / 3 |
Total | 9 / 12 Passed |
Implementation
22%Reviews the quality of instructions and guidance provided to agents. Good implementation is clear, handles edge cases, and produces reliable results.
This skill provides almost no actionable backend guidance - it's mostly meta-instructions about when to use the skill and generic troubleshooting. The two principles stated are too abstract without code examples, and the actual backend patterns (API design, error handling, validation, logging, security) are entirely delegated to an external file without any concrete examples in the main skill.
Suggestions
Add concrete, executable code examples for each claimed capability: API endpoint structure, validation patterns, error handling middleware, and logging setup
Replace the generic 3-step meta-workflow with actual backend development workflows (e.g., 'Designing an API endpoint: 1. Define input schema with Zod/Joi, 2. Implement guard clauses, 3. Add structured logging...')
Include at least one complete, copy-paste-ready example showing error handling and validation for a typical API endpoint
Remove or condense the boilerplate Troubleshooting section which describes generic skill-usage issues rather than backend-specific problems
| Dimension | Reasoning | Score |
|---|---|---|
Conciseness | The content is relatively lean but includes boilerplate sections (Troubleshooting, Examples) that add little value for Claude. The actual backend-specific guidance is minimal - just two principles and a reference to external rules. | 2 / 3 |
Actionability | No concrete code examples, API patterns, validation snippets, or executable guidance. The principles are abstract ('throw early', 'never swallow errors') without showing how. The workflow is generic meta-instructions rather than backend-specific actions. | 1 / 3 |
Workflow Clarity | The 3-step workflow is meta-level guidance about using the skill itself, not actual backend development workflow. No validation checkpoints, error handling patterns, or concrete sequences for API design, security review, or server logic tasks. | 1 / 3 |
Progressive Disclosure | References external rules via [rules/_sections.md] which is appropriate one-level-deep linking. However, the main content is thin and the troubleshooting/examples sections feel like filler rather than well-organized progressive content. | 2 / 3 |
Total | 6 / 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 |
|---|---|---|
metadata_field | 'metadata' should map string keys to string values | Warning |
Total | 10 / 11 Passed | |
- Reviewed
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