dependency-upgrade
Manage major dependency version upgrades with compatibility analysis, staged rollout, and comprehensive testing. Use when upgrading framework versions, updating major dependencies, or managing breaking changes in libraries.
68
54%
Does it follow best practices?
Impact
91%
1.05xAverage score across 3 eval scenarios
Advisory
Suggest reviewing before use
Optimize this skill with Tessl
npx tessl skill review --optimize ./plugins/framework-migration/skills/dependency-upgrade/SKILL.mdQuality
Discovery
82%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 solid description that clearly communicates both what the skill does and when to use it, with good trigger term coverage for dependency upgrade scenarios. Its main weakness is that the capability descriptions are somewhat high-level (e.g., 'compatibility analysis', 'staged rollout') rather than listing concrete specific actions, and it could potentially overlap with more general dependency management or testing skills.
Suggestions
Add more concrete specific actions like 'analyze changelogs for breaking API changes', 'generate migration plans', 'update lock files' to improve specificity.
Differentiate more clearly from general dependency management by specifying what makes this skill unique to *major* version upgrades, e.g., mentioning semver major bumps, deprecation handling, or codemods.
| Dimension | Reasoning | Score |
|---|---|---|
Specificity | Names the domain (dependency upgrades) and some actions (compatibility analysis, staged rollout, comprehensive testing), but these are somewhat high-level rather than listing multiple concrete specific actions like 'update package.json', 'run migration scripts', 'check API breaking changes'. | 2 / 3 |
Completeness | Clearly answers both 'what' (manage major dependency version upgrades with compatibility analysis, staged rollout, and comprehensive testing) and 'when' (explicit 'Use when' clause covering upgrading framework versions, updating major dependencies, or managing breaking changes). | 3 / 3 |
Trigger Term Quality | Includes strong natural trigger terms users would say: 'dependency version upgrades', 'upgrading framework versions', 'updating major dependencies', 'breaking changes', 'libraries'. These cover common variations of how users would describe this task. | 3 / 3 |
Distinctiveness Conflict Risk | Reasonably specific to major version upgrades, but could overlap with general dependency management skills, package management skills, or CI/CD testing skills. The focus on 'major' upgrades and 'breaking changes' helps distinguish it somewhat, but 'comprehensive testing' is broad enough to conflict. | 2 / 3 |
Total | 10 / 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 overly broad and verbose, attempting to cover dependency upgrades, testing strategies, CI automation configs, and rollback plans all in one monolithic file. It explains many concepts Claude already knows (semver, what npm audit does, basic test patterns) while leaving the genuinely useful parts (compatibility checking, migration scripts) as incomplete stubs. The content would benefit significantly from aggressive trimming, splitting into focused reference files, and completing the placeholder implementations.
Suggestions
Remove the semver review section and basic npm/yarn command explanations — Claude already knows these. Focus only on project-specific or non-obvious guidance.
Split into focused files: keep SKILL.md as a concise overview with links to COMPATIBILITY.md, TESTING.md, AUTOMATION.md, and ROLLBACK.md.
Complete stub implementations: the checkCompatibility function, the peer dependency test, and the compatibility matrix should have working logic or be removed entirely.
Add explicit validation gates between incremental upgrade steps (e.g., 'STOP and investigate if any test fails before proceeding to the next package upgrade').
| Dimension | Reasoning | Score |
|---|---|---|
Conciseness | Heavily verbose with content Claude already knows (semver explanation, what npm outdated does, basic testing patterns). The compatibility matrix stub, generic integration/E2E test examples, and visual regression snapshots are boilerplate that don't add unique value. The skill could be cut by 60%+ without losing actionable guidance. | 1 / 3 |
Actionability | Contains real executable commands and code snippets (npm install, jscodeshift, Renovate/Dependabot configs), but many examples are incomplete stubs (checkCompatibility function body is empty, peer dependency test says '// Run npm ls and check for warnings'). The compatibility matrix is a static data structure with no real logic. The migration script uses naive regex replacements that could break code. | 2 / 3 |
Workflow Clarity | The staged upgrade strategy (Phase 1-3) provides a reasonable sequence, and the rollback plan includes a test-then-commit-or-revert flow. However, validation checkpoints are weak — Phase 3's tests are stubs, there's no explicit 'stop if tests fail' gate between Phase 2 steps, and the rollback script mixes bash and JavaScript comments incorrectly. Missing feedback loops between incremental upgrade steps caps this at 2. | 2 / 3 |
Progressive Disclosure | This is a monolithic wall of text at ~250 lines with no references to external files. Content like the full Renovate/Dependabot configs, the compatibility matrix, and the detailed testing strategy sections could easily be split into separate reference files. Everything is inline with no navigation aids or summary overview. | 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.
- Repository
- wshobson/agents
- Commit
91fe43e
- Reviewed
Table of Contents
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