Agent skill for release-manager - invoke with $agent-release-manager
40
13%
Does it follow best practices?
Impact
78%
2.51xAverage score across 3 eval scenarios
Advisory
Suggest reviewing before use
Optimize this skill with Tessl
npx tessl skill review --optimize ./.agents/skills/agent-release-manager/SKILL.mdQuality
Discovery
0%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 is critically deficient across all dimensions. It provides no information about what the skill does, when it should be used, or what specific capabilities it offers. It reads more like a label than a description, making it nearly impossible for Claude to correctly select this skill from a pool of available options.
Suggestions
Add specific concrete actions the skill performs, e.g., 'Creates release branches, generates changelogs, bumps version numbers, tags releases, and manages release notes.'
Add an explicit 'Use when...' clause with natural trigger terms, e.g., 'Use when the user asks about creating a release, cutting a new version, generating a changelog, tagging a release, or managing the release process.'
Remove the invocation syntax from the description (or move it to a separate field) and replace with capability-focused language that helps Claude distinguish this skill from other CI/CD or deployment-related skills.
| Dimension | Reasoning | Score |
|---|---|---|
Specificity | The description contains no concrete actions whatsoever. It only says 'Agent skill for release-manager' which is entirely vague about what the skill actually does. | 1 / 3 |
Completeness | Neither 'what does this do' nor 'when should Claude use it' is answered. There is no description of capabilities and no 'Use when...' clause or equivalent trigger guidance. | 1 / 3 |
Trigger Term Quality | The only keyword is 'release-manager' which is somewhat relevant but there are no natural user terms like 'release', 'deploy', 'version bump', 'changelog', 'tag', etc. The invocation syntax '$agent-release-manager' is technical jargon, not a natural trigger. | 1 / 3 |
Distinctiveness Conflict Risk | The description is so vague that it's impossible to distinguish it from any other agent or release-related skill. 'Release-manager' could overlap with deployment, versioning, changelog generation, or CI/CD skills. | 1 / 3 |
Total | 4 / 12 Passed |
Implementation
27%Reviews the quality of instructions and guidance provided to agents. Good implementation is clear, handles edge cases, and produces reliable results.
This skill is excessively verbose and repo-specific, embedding hardcoded version numbers, repository names, and massive PR body templates that should be parameterized or externalized. While it demonstrates the general shape of a release workflow with MCP tools, much of the content is abstract strategy definitions and best-practice lists that Claude already knows, diluting the actionable guidance. The lack of progressive disclosure and missing error-recovery feedback loops significantly reduce its effectiveness.
Suggestions
Extract the PR body template, GitHub Actions YAML, and release strategies into separate referenced files to reduce the main skill to a concise overview with clear navigation links.
Replace hardcoded repo names and version numbers with parameterized placeholders (e.g., `{owner}`, `{repo}`, `{version}`) to make the skill generalizable.
Remove the abstract strategy objects (versionStrategy, validationStages, rollbackPlan) and best practices lists — Claude already knows semantic versioning and testing best practices. Replace with concrete rollback commands and error-handling steps.
Add explicit validation checkpoints with feedback loops: 'If tests fail → diagnose errors → fix → re-run before proceeding to PR creation.'
| Dimension | Reasoning | Score |
|---|---|---|
Conciseness | Extremely verbose at ~250+ lines with massive inline PR body templates, repeated version numbers, hardcoded repo-specific details (ruvnet/ruv-FANN), and conceptual explanations like semantic versioning definitions and strategy objects that Claude already knows. The release strategies section is entirely abstract JSON objects that add no actionable value. | 1 / 3 |
Actionability | Contains concrete code examples with specific MCP tool calls and bash commands, but much of it is pseudocode-like JavaScript that isn't directly executable (e.g., JSON.stringify in MCP call parameters, `Date.now()` in tool arguments). The examples are heavily hardcoded to a specific repo and version (v1.0.72) rather than being generalizable templates. | 2 / 3 |
Workflow Clarity | The batch release workflow shows a sequential pipeline with TodoWrite tracking, but validation checkpoints are weak — tests are run but there's no explicit 'if tests fail, stop and fix' feedback loop. The rollback strategy section is entirely abstract with no concrete commands for actually performing a rollback. | 2 / 3 |
Progressive Disclosure | Monolithic wall of text with everything inline — the massive PR body template, CI/CD YAML, release strategies, best practices, and monitoring metrics are all crammed into a single file with no references to external files. Content like the GitHub Actions workflow, detailed PR templates, and release strategies should be split into separate referenced files. | 1 / 3 |
Total | 6 / 12 Passed |
Validation
100%Checks the skill against the spec for correct structure and formatting. All validation checks must pass before discovery and implementation can be scored.
Validation — 11 / 11 Passed
Validation for skill structure
No warnings or errors.
9d4a9ea
Table of Contents
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