Validate Skill

validate-skill

Validate that a skill conforms to bioconductor standards. Uses generic validators (markdownlint, yamllint) for basic checks, then adds bioconductor-specific validation for platform-agnostic compliance and repository conventions.

Usage

Invoke this skill to validate a skill file:

• "Validate this skill"
• "Check if skills/[skill-name]/SKILL.md meets standards"

Prerequisites

• Target skill file exists at skills/{skill-name}/SKILL.md
• Optional: markdownlint and yamllint installed

Note — CI/CD integration: The deterministic subset of these checks (frontmatter completeness, directory-name matching, name uniqueness, SKILLS.md sync, broken links, version bump) runs automatically via GitHub Actions on every PR that modifies a SKILL.md file. Use this skill for interactive local validation before opening a PR and for the full subjective review (agent neutrality, verbosity, SSOT compliance) that the static script cannot evaluate.

Process

1. Locate Target Skill: Determine the skill to validate from the user's prompt or current directory.
2. Run Generic Validation (Optional): If available, run markdownlint on the file, and validate the YAML frontmatter syntax (e.g., by extracting the frontmatter and running yamllint -d relaxed on it).
3. Validate Repository Standards: Check the file against the requirements in AGENTS.md and SKILL_STANDARD.md.
   • Ensure the YAML frontmatter contains required fields and no prohibited fields (platforms, triggers).
   • Check that the structure matches the standard format.
   • Verify agent neutrality (no tool references or platform commands in instructions).
   • Confirm it describes a workflow, not just code snippets.
   • Ensure it does not duplicate content from SSOT documents.
4. Generate Validation Report: Produce a summary of passed and failed checks, categorized by CRITICAL, WARNING, and INFO.
5. Suggest Next Steps: Offer to help fix any identified issues.

Output Format

Generate a validation report in markdown format:

# Skill Validation Report: [skill-name]

**Status**: ✅ PASS | ❌ FAIL ([N] issues)

## Generic Validation
**markdownlint**: ✅ PASS | ⚠️ [N] warnings
**YAML frontmatter**: ✅ PASS | ❌ FAIL

## Bioconductor-Specific Validation
### CRITICAL Issues (Must Fix)
❌ **[Issue title]** ([location])
   - Issue: [What violates standards]
   - Fix: [How to fix it]
   - Reference: [AGENTS.md or SKILL_STANDARD.md section]

### WARNING Issues (Should Fix)
⚠️ **[Issue title]** ([location])

### INFO Issues (Optional Improvements)
ℹ️ **[Issue title]** ([location])

Examples

Example: Validating a Skill

User: "Check if the analyze-r-package skill meets standards" Agent:

1. Locates skills/analyze-r-package/SKILL.md
2. Runs generic and repository-specific validations
3. Reports results, identifying any CRITICAL or WARNING issues.

See also: SKILL_STANDARD.md, AGENTS.md