Conciseness

The body is dense and instruction-like (routing table, critical rules), but the time-sensitive items — 'Latest Stripe API version: 2026-09-30.endive', the 7-row SDK version table, and 'On API version 2026-03-25.dahlia or later' — sit outside any old-patterns/deprecated section, and the payment_method_types rule carries a padded rationale ('which enables you to configure payment method settings from the Dashboard and dynamically display the most relevant eligible payment methods to each customer to maximize conversion'). Anchor 3 ('mostly efficient but includes some unnecessary explanation or could be tightened') fits better than 4 because these instances recur.

Actionability

Largely executable guidance: 'Install the Stripe CLI (`npm i -g @stripe/cli`) and run the command `stripe sandbox create`', 'Use `stripe whoami --format json` for CLI auth checks', 'pass the parameter `integration_identifier` to `checkout.sessions.create`', and exact key prefixes ('rk_' over 'sk_'). It falls short of 5 because the MCP/sandbox lines ('If `stripe sandbox create` is used, don't use MCP.' / 'first make sure `stripe sandbox claim` is run') are fragmented and leave Claude without a clear action.

Workflow Clarity

A clear routing workflow exists — integration routing table, then 'Read the relevant reference file before answering any integration question or writing code', then critical rules — with a genuine validation checkpoint ('read the tax reference and confirm the user has an active registration' before enabling `automatic_tax`). Not 5 because there is no explicit ordering when multiple domains apply and the webhook rule defers its checkpoint to the reference.

Progressive Disclosure

The ~60-line body is a true overview: a routing table pointing to all six real reference files (payments, connect, billing, tax, treasury, security — verified present and one level deep with no nested references), plus clearly signaled links like 'See security reference' and '[tax reference](references/tax.md)'. Content is appropriately split and navigation is task-indexed, matching the anchor-5 example.

Specificity

'API selection (Checkout Sessions vs PaymentIntents)', 'Connect platform setup (Accounts v2, controller properties)', 'migrating from deprecated Stripe APIs', and 'security best practices (API key management, API key permissions, webhooks, OAuth)' enumerate many concrete capabilities with named APIs and parameters, comprehensively covering the skill's scope — matching the anchor-5 example's breadth rather than the 'minor gaps' of anchor 4.

Completeness

Both parts are explicit: the what ('Guides Stripe integration decisions across development and test environment planning... security best practices (API key management...)') and the when ('Use when planning, building, modifying, testing, or reviewing any Stripe integration, including...'), with concrete trigger phrases — exactly the anchor-5 pattern.

Trigger Term Quality

'Use when planning, building, modifying, testing, or reviewing any Stripe integration, including... accepting payments, building marketplaces, integrating Stripe, processing payments, setting up subscriptions, collecting sales tax, VAT, or GST, creating connected accounts' covers the natural phrases users say, including synonyms (accepting/processing payments; sales tax/VAT/GST). Comprehensive coverage per the anchor-5 definition, so not 4.

Distinctiveness Conflict Risk

'Stripe integration', 'Checkout Sessions', 'PaymentIntents', 'Stripe Tax', and 'connected accounts' pin the description to a single clear niche with distinct triggers; virtually no other skill would fire on these terms, matching anchor 5.