Production error handling for Express APIs — error middleware, async wrappers,
89
86%
Does it follow best practices?
Impact
97%
2.02xAverage score across 4 eval scenarios
Passed
No known issues
Quality
Discovery
89%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 description with excellent trigger terms and completeness. It clearly defines when to apply the skill (any Express backend work) and provides good context about what problems it solves. The main weakness is that it describes problems prevented rather than specific actions taken, which slightly reduces specificity.
Suggestions
Add 2-3 specific concrete actions like 'wraps async route handlers', 'creates centralized error middleware', or 'standardizes error response format' to improve specificity.
| Dimension | Reasoning | Score |
|---|---|---|
Specificity | Names the domain (Express API error handling) and mentions what it prevents (silent async crashes, inconsistent error formats, stack trace leaks, dropped connections), but doesn't list specific concrete actions like 'wrap async handlers', 'create error middleware', or 'implement error response formatter'. | 2 / 3 |
Completeness | Clearly answers both what ('Production error handling patterns') and when ('Apply whenever building, extending, or scaffolding an Express backend -- even if the task only asks for routes or CRUD endpoints'). The explicit trigger guidance is well-defined. | 3 / 3 |
Trigger Term Quality | Includes strong natural keywords users would say: 'Express', 'API', 'routes', 'CRUD endpoints', 'backend', 'error handling', 'scaffolding'. Good coverage of terms developers naturally use when building Express applications. | 3 / 3 |
Distinctiveness Conflict Risk | Highly specific niche: Express-specific error handling patterns. The combination of 'Express', 'error handling', and 'production patterns' creates a distinct trigger profile unlikely to conflict with general Node.js skills or other framework skills. | 3 / 3 |
Total | 11 / 12 Passed |
Implementation
77%Reviews the quality of instructions and guidance provided to agents. Good implementation is clear, handles edge cases, and produces reliable results.
This is a strong, actionable skill with production-ready code examples and clear workflow guidance. The main weakness is verbosity in the motivational section and a monolithic structure that could benefit from splitting advanced patterns into a separate file. The checklist and 'Never' list are excellent additions for validation.
Suggestions
Trim the 'Why This Matters From Day One' section to 2-3 bullet points - Claude understands why error handling matters
Consider moving 'Common Patterns' section to a separate PATTERNS.md file and linking to it, keeping SKILL.md focused on the core 4 patterns
| Dimension | Reasoning | Score |
|---|---|---|
Conciseness | The 'Why This Matters From Day One' section explains concepts Claude likely already understands (async crashes, error formats). The patterns themselves are efficient, but the motivational framing adds ~30 lines that could be trimmed to a brief note. | 2 / 3 |
Actionability | Excellent executable TypeScript code throughout - custom error classes, async handler wrapper, error middleware, graceful shutdown, and multiple real-world patterns (external services, database constraints, validation). All code is copy-paste ready. | 3 / 3 |
Workflow Clarity | Clear sequencing with explicit registration order ('Must be last'), a comprehensive checklist at the end, and the 'Never' list provides validation constraints. The middleware registration order is explicitly documented with comments. | 3 / 3 |
Progressive Disclosure | Content is well-organized with clear sections and headers, but it's a monolithic ~200 line file. The common patterns section could be split into a separate reference file, and the checklist could link to expanded guidance for each item. | 2 / 3 |
Total | 10 / 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 |
|---|---|---|
frontmatter_unknown_keys | Unknown frontmatter key(s) found; consider removing or moving to metadata | Warning |
Total | 10 / 11 Passed | |
Reviewed
Table of Contents