How do I install the Dev Assistant skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add aravinds-wick/dev-assistant in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Dev Assistant safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Dev Assistant?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Dev Assistant free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Dev Assistant?

AravindS-Wick (@aravinds-wick) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Dev Assistant by aravinds-wick — Agent Skill

Name: Dev Assistant
Author: AravindS-Wick

Dev Assistant

Manage and execute tasks for dev-assistant. Use when designing system architecture, choosing design patterns, reviewing API contracts, analyzing coupling or over-engineering, or decomposing a complex feature into parallel implementation tasks for any language or stack.

File contents

Senior Dev Assistant

Senior full-stack perspective on architecture, patterns, and engineering decisions.

Quick Start

/dev-assistant                              # Analyze current context
/dev-assistant --feature=architecture       # Architecture review
/dev-assistant --feature=patterns           # Design patterns
/dev-assistant --feature=api-design         # API design review
/dev-assistant --feature=decompose          # Break feature into parallel tasks
/dev-assistant --feature=review             # Code review with senior lens
/dev-assistant --feature=performance        # Performance analysis
/dev-assistant --feature=best-practices     # Language/stack best practices

Features

Feature	What it does	Tokens
`architecture`	Review structure, dependencies, coupling	300-500
`patterns`	Identify/suggest design patterns	200-400
`api-design`	RESTful/GraphQL/RPC consistency check	200-400
`decompose`	Split feature into parallel sub-tasks	200-300
`review`	Senior code review with rationale	300-500
`performance`	O(n) complexity + bottleneck analysis	300-400
`best-practices`	Language-specific modern standards	200-300

What It Does

Architecture Review

Identifies coupling, cohesion violations
Spots circular dependencies
Flags over-engineering vs under-engineering
Recommends layering improvements
Output: Diagram-style description + priority fixes

Design Patterns

Recognizes anti-patterns (God object, spaghetti, shotgun surgery)
Suggests applicable patterns (Factory, Observer, Strategy, etc.)
Shows before/after code snippets
Prioritizes by impact

Decompose (Highest ROI)

/dev-assistant --feature=decompose --task="Add OAuth2 login"

Output:
├─ Task 1: DB schema migration (independent)
├─ Task 2: OAuth provider setup (independent)
├─ Task 3: Token middleware (depends on 1,2)
└─ Task 4: Frontend flow (depends on 3)

Parallel: Tasks 1 and 2 simultaneously = 40% faster

Code Review

Consistency with existing codebase
Security surface check
Edge cases missed
Naming clarity
Test coverage gaps

Scope Flags

/dev-assistant --quick          # Current file only (cheapest)
/dev-assistant --feature=X      # Single feature, changed files
/dev-assistant --full           # Full codebase analysis
/dev-assistant --file=path      # Specific file

Output Format

## Senior Dev Review

### Critical (fix now)
- [issue] at [file:line] — [why it matters]

### High (fix before PR)
- [issue] — [recommendation]

### Suggestions (optional improvements)
- [idea] — [rationale]

### What's working well
- [positive observation]

Memory Updates

After each session, updates:

Architectural decisions made
Patterns adopted/rejected
Tech debt tracked
Key trade-offs documented

Integration

Works best with:
/test-global --checks=jest       # Validate after architecture changes
/pr-check --checks=linting       # Ensure code quality
/orchestrate --phase=feature     # Full feature planning with other roles

Token avg: 200-500 per feature | Scope: Any language/stack

---name: dev-assistantdescription: Manage and execute tasks for dev-assistant. Use when designing system architecture, choosing design patterns, reviewing API contracts, analyzing coupling or over-engineering, or decomposing a complex feature into parallel implementation tasks for any language or stack.---# Senior Dev AssistantSenior full-stack perspective on architecture, patterns, and engineering decisions.## Quick Start```bash/dev-assistant # Analyze current context/dev-assistant --feature=architecture # Architecture review/dev-assistant --feature=patterns # Design patterns/dev-assistant --feature=api-design # API design review/dev-assistant --feature=decompose # Break feature into parallel tasks/dev-assistant --feature=review # Code review with senior lens/dev-assistant --feature=performance # Performance analysis/dev-assistant --feature=best-practices # Language/stack best practices```## Features| Feature | What it does | Tokens ||---------|-------------|--------|| `architecture` | Review structure, dependencies, coupling | 300-500 || `patterns` | Identify/suggest design patterns | 200-400 || `api-design` | RESTful/GraphQL/RPC consistency check | 200-400 || `decompose` | Split feature into parallel sub-tasks | 200-300 || `review` | Senior code review with rationale | 300-500 || `performance` | O(n) complexity + bottleneck analysis | 300-400 || `best-practices` | Language-specific modern standards | 200-300 |## What It Does### Architecture Review- Identifies coupling, cohesion violations- Spots circular dependencies- Flags over-engineering vs under-engineering- Recommends layering improvements- Output: Diagram-style description + priority fixes### Design Patterns- Recognizes anti-patterns (God object, spaghetti, shotgun surgery)- Suggests applicable patterns (Factory, Observer, Strategy, etc.)- Shows before/after code snippets- Prioritizes by impact### Decompose (Highest ROI)```/dev-assistant --feature=decompose --task="Add OAuth2 login"Output:├─ Task 1: DB schema migration (independent)├─ Task 2: OAuth provider setup (independent)├─ Task 3: Token middleware (depends on 1,2)└─ Task 4: Frontend flow (depends on 3)Parallel: Tasks 1 and 2 simultaneously = 40% faster```### Code Review- Consistency with existing codebase- Security surface check- Edge cases missed- Naming clarity- Test coverage gaps## Scope Flags```bash/dev-assistant --quick # Current file only (cheapest)/dev-assistant --feature=X # Single feature, changed files/dev-assistant --full # Full codebase analysis/dev-assistant --file=path # Specific file```## Output Format```## Senior Dev Review### Critical (fix now)- [issue] at [file:line] — [why it matters]### High (fix before PR)- [issue] — [recommendation]### Suggestions (optional improvements)- [idea] — [rationale]### What's working well- [positive observation]```## Memory UpdatesAfter each session, updates:- Architectural decisions made- Patterns adopted/rejected- Tech debt tracked- Key trade-offs documented## Integration```Works best with:/test-global --checks=jest # Validate after architecture changes/pr-check --checks=linting # Ensure code quality/orchestrate --phase=feature # Full feature planning with other roles```---**Token avg:** 200-500 per feature | **Scope:** Any language/stack

Frequently asked questions