Conciseness

The body is dense with operational rules and assumes Claude's competence (no concept explanations), but includes avoidable repetition: the exact Plan-mode prompt and options are specified twice ("For all Plan-mode handoffs, use prompt exactly: 'Switch to Plan mode now?'..." and again in section 6), the tool boundary is restated ("Never use Glob, Read, file search..." after the Tool Boundary list), and the "Something else (I will type it)" option label is repeated many times. Not 4 because this redundancy is more than minor; not 2 because there is no padded conceptual explanation.

Actionability

Guidance is fully executable for an instruction-only skill: exact user-facing questions ("What should I call you?"), copy-paste tool calls with exact arguments ("`cursor_dialog` with `{ item: \"rule\", scope: \"user\", action: \"list\" }`"), an exact rule-content template, fixed option lists for every choice point, and a defined Handoff block schema. Common cases (setup, new project, automate, existing project, custom goal) are each covered with specific steps.

Workflow Clarity

The flow is explicitly sequenced (Start → Work Context → Save Memory → Choose Goal → Route → Handoff) with per-route numbered sub-steps, and error-recovery fallbacks are built in: the unavailable-memory fallback ("If `cursor_dialog` is unavailable or rule changes are disabled, say once that memory saving is unavailable..."), the list-before-write check in the memory-save flow, and the SwitchMode-unavailable path. No destructive or batch operations exist that would require a validation cap.

Progressive Disclosure

No bundle files exist (no references/, scripts/, or assets/ directories), and the body is well-organized into clear sections (Hard Rules, Tool Boundary, Choice Questions, Flow, Recommendation Style) with nothing buried. Inline placement is arguably appropriate since the skill forbids file reads/searches during the flow, but at ~177 lines with route-specific detail that could be split, it falls short of the well-split overview a 5 represents.

Specificity

The description lists several concrete actions — "learns basic preferences, picks a first goal, and routes the user to the right next action" — grounded in a named domain ("a focused Cursor onboarding flow"). It falls short of 5 because coverage is not comprehensive (no mention of the memory save, handoff, or Plan-mode routing) but exceeds 3 since three specific actions are named rather than 1-2 generic ones.

Completeness

Both what ("learns basic preferences, picks a first goal, and routes the user to the right next action") and when/how ("Use /onboard for...") are present, with the explicit slash-command invocation serving as equivalent explicit trigger guidance. Not 5 because no concrete situational trigger phrases are given (e.g., when a new user wants guidance); not 3 because the trigger is explicitly stated rather than merely implied.

Trigger Term Quality

Relevant keywords are present — "/onboard", "onboarding flow", "Cursor", "preferences", "first goal" — but common natural variations a user might say are missing ("get started", "set up Cursor", "first run", "welcome"). Not 4 because the keyword set is narrow for the domain; not 2 because the terms present are natural rather than generic filler.

Distinctiveness Conflict Risk

It carves out a clear niche — "a focused Cursor onboarding flow" bound to the explicit "/onboard" invocation — with minimal overlap risk against general setup or preference skills. The command binding makes accidental triggering for the wrong skill very unlikely.