nodejs-backend-patterns
Build production-ready Node.js backend services with Express/Fastify, implementing middleware patterns, error handling, authentication, database integration, and API design best practices. Use when creating Node.js servers, REST APIs, GraphQL backends, or microservices architectures.
71
64%
Does it follow best practices?
Impact
Pending
No eval scenarios have been run
Passed
No known issues
Optimize this skill with Tessl
npx tessl skill review --optimize ./plugins/javascript-typescript/skills/nodejs-backend-patterns/SKILL.mdQuality
Discovery
92%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 strong skill description that clearly articulates specific capabilities and includes an explicit 'Use when' clause with natural trigger terms. The main weakness is its broad scope, which could cause overlap with more specialized skills covering individual topics like GraphQL, authentication, or database integration. The description uses proper third-person voice and avoids vague language.
| Dimension | Reasoning | Score |
|---|---|---|
Specificity | Lists multiple specific concrete actions: middleware patterns, error handling, authentication, database integration, and API design best practices, along with specific frameworks (Express/Fastify). | 3 / 3 |
Completeness | Clearly answers both 'what' (build Node.js backend services with Express/Fastify, implementing middleware, error handling, auth, DB integration, API design) and 'when' (explicit 'Use when creating Node.js servers, REST APIs, GraphQL backends, or microservices architectures'). | 3 / 3 |
Trigger Term Quality | Includes strong natural keywords users would say: 'Node.js', 'Express', 'Fastify', 'REST APIs', 'GraphQL', 'microservices', 'backend', 'servers', 'middleware', 'authentication'. These cover a wide range of terms a developer would naturally use. | 3 / 3 |
Distinctiveness Conflict Risk | While it specifies Node.js and particular frameworks, the broad scope covering REST APIs, GraphQL, microservices, authentication, and database integration could overlap with skills focused on those individual topics (e.g., a dedicated GraphQL skill, a database integration skill, or an authentication skill). | 2 / 3 |
Total | 11 / 12 Passed |
Implementation
37%Reviews the quality of instructions and guidance provided to agents. Good implementation is clear, handles edge cases, and produces reliable results.
This skill is a comprehensive but overly verbose reference catalog of Node.js backend patterns. While the code examples are high-quality and executable, the content fails to respect token budget by including extensive boilerplate that Claude can readily generate. It lacks any workflow sequencing or validation steps, reading more like documentation than actionable skill guidance.
Suggestions
Drastically reduce inline code to key patterns and decisions Claude wouldn't know by default (e.g., specific project conventions, error format standards), moving full implementations to reference files.
Add a clear workflow sequence for bootstrapping a new backend service: e.g., 1) scaffold structure, 2) configure middleware, 3) verify server starts, 4) add routes, 5) test endpoints.
Remove the 15-item best practices list entirely — these are universally known principles that waste tokens. Replace with project-specific conventions if any exist.
Move the full controller/service/repository code examples to a reference file and keep only a concise structural overview with file paths and one-line descriptions in the main skill.
| Dimension | Reasoning | Score |
|---|---|---|
Conciseness | Extremely verbose at ~500+ lines. The full CRUD controller, service, and repository layers are boilerplate that Claude can generate from a brief description. The 15-item best practices list states obvious advice ('Use HTTPS', 'Write tests'). Much of this content explains patterns Claude already knows well. | 1 / 3 |
Actionability | The code examples are fully executable TypeScript with proper imports, type annotations, and realistic implementations. The middleware patterns, error classes, and layered architecture examples are copy-paste ready and include concrete library usage (helmet, cors, zod, pino, ioredis). | 3 / 3 |
Workflow Clarity | There is no sequenced workflow for building a backend service. The content is a reference catalog of patterns without any step-by-step process, validation checkpoints, or guidance on ordering operations. For a skill involving server setup and database integration, there's no verification step (e.g., testing the server starts, validating DB connections). | 1 / 3 |
Progressive Disclosure | Several sections appropriately reference 'references/advanced-patterns.md' for detailed content (database patterns, auth, caching, API response format), which is good. However, the main file itself is monolithic with hundreds of lines of inline code that could be split into separate reference files, and the 'When to Use' section is unnecessarily long. | 2 / 3 |
Total | 7 / 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 |
|---|---|---|
skill_md_line_count | SKILL.md is long (640 lines); consider splitting into references/ and linking | Warning |
Total | 10 / 11 Passed | |
- Repository
- wshobson/agents
- Commit
91fe43e
- Reviewed
Table of Contents
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