Claude Agent Validation

Claude Agent Validation

Validate and review Claude Code agents against best practices and quality standards. Combines validation (catch errors) and review (suggest improvements) in one pass.

Quick Start

1. Locate the agent file to check
2. Run validation checks (YAML, naming, description, tools, model)
3. Run review checks (prompt quality, clarity, effectiveness)
4. Report findings with specific fixes
5. Optionally apply improvements

Instructions

Step 1: Locate and Read the Agent

# User agents
~/.claude/agents/[agent-name].md

# Project agents
.claude/agents/[agent-name].md

Use Read to examine:

• Complete agent file
• YAML frontmatter
• System prompt content

Step 2: Create Validation Checklist

Use TodoWrite to track validation phases. Expand as you discover issues.

• Locate and read agent file
• Validate YAML frontmatter syntax
• Check naming conventions
• Evaluate description quality
• Review system prompt effectiveness
• Validate tool configuration
• Check model configuration
• { expand: per-issue todos as discovered }
• Generate validation report
• Propose fixes for critical issues

Todo discipline: Mark in_progress as you start each check. Mark completed immediately when done. Add specific issue todos as you find problems (e.g., "Fix missing trigger keywords in description").

Step 2b: Load Related Skills (Optional)

For comprehensive validation, load the authoring skill for reference patterns:

Skill tool: agent-kit:claude-agent-authoring

This provides detailed guidance on frontmatter schema, tool patterns, and description quality. See especially:

• references/frontmatter.md - Field requirements
• references/tools.md - Tool configuration patterns
• references/todowrite.md - TodoWrite usage patterns

Step 3: Run Validation Checks

A. YAML Frontmatter

Required Fields:

• name present and non-empty
• description present and non-empty

Syntax:

• Opens with --- on line 1
• Closes with --- before content
• Uses spaces (not tabs) for indentation
• Special characters quoted if needed

Optional Fields:

• tools (if present) uses comma-separated valid tool names
• model (if present) is sonnet, opus, haiku, or inherit
• color (if present) is a valid color name

B. Naming Conventions

• Uses kebab-case (lowercase-with-hyphens)
• Follows [role]-[specialty] or [specialty] pattern
• Is specific, not generic
• Is concise (1-3 words, max 4)
• Matches filename (without .md extension)

Good: code-reviewer, test-runner, debugger Bad: helper, my-agent, the-best-agent

C. Description Quality

Structure:

• WHAT: Explains what the agent does
• WHEN: States when to invoke it
• TRIGGERS: Includes 3-5 trigger keywords

Quality:

• Specific about agent's purpose
• Notes proactive invocation if applicable ("use PROACTIVELY")
• Clear about scope

Anti-patterns:

• "Helps with code" - Too vague
• No trigger conditions - Unclear when it activates
• Missing keywords - Won't be invoked automatically

D. System Prompt Quality

Structure:

• Has clear role definition
• Describes what happens when invoked
• Provides step-by-step process
• Includes key practices or guidelines
• Specifies output format

Quality:

• Specific and actionable instructions
• Includes concrete examples or checklists
• Sets clear constraints (what NOT to do)
• Appropriate detail level
• Single responsibility focus

Anti-patterns:

• "You are helpful" - Too vague
• No process - Doesn't explain approach
• Missing constraints - No boundaries
• No examples - Abstract without concrete guidance
• Scope creep - Trying to do too many things

E. Tool Configuration

Field syntax:

• Field name is tools: (not allowed-tools: or other variants)
• Comma-separated list of tool names
• Tool names case-sensitive and correctly spelled

Valid tool formats:

# Basic tools
tools: Read, Write, Edit, Bash, Glob, Grep, Skill, Task, TodoWrite

# Pattern restrictions (command family)
tools: Bash(git *), Bash(npm *)

# Pattern restrictions (specific subcommand)
tools: Bash(git status:*), Bash(git diff:*)

# File path patterns
tools: Write(tests/**), Write(src/**/*.ts)

# MCP tools
tools: mcp__server__tool, mcp__github__*

Validation checks:

• All tool names are valid Claude Code tools
• Pattern syntax is correct: Tool(pattern)
• Patterns use valid glob syntax
• Tools appropriate for agent's purpose

Common patterns:

• Read-only: Glob, Grep, Read, Skill, Task, TodoWrite
• Read-only + git: Glob, Grep, Read, Skill, Task, TodoWrite, Bash(git show:*), Bash(git diff:*)
• Full access: (omit field to inherit all)
• Research: Glob, Grep, Read, Skill, Task, TodoWrite, WebSearch, WebFetch

Anti-patterns:

• allowed-tools: — wrong field name
• Missing baseline tools (Skill, Task, TodoWrite)
• Over-restricting without reason

See agent-kit:claude-agent-authoring references/tools.md for detailed patterns.

F. Model Configuration

If model field present:

• Value is valid: sonnet, opus, haiku, or inherit
• Choice appropriate for task complexity

Step 4: Run Review Checks

After validation passes, review for improvements:

Effectiveness

• Is the agent's purpose crystal clear?
• Would it be invoked at the right times?
• Does the prompt guide behavior effectively?

Conciseness

• Is the system prompt focused?
• Could instructions be clearer with fewer words?
• Are there redundant sections?

Clarity

• Are instructions step-by-step and actionable?
• Are examples concrete and helpful?
• Would another person understand the agent's role?

Step 5: Generate Report

# Agent Validation Report: [Agent Name]

## Summary
- **Status**: PASS / FAIL / WARNINGS
- **Location**: [path]
- **Issues**: [count critical] / [count warnings]

## Validation Results

### YAML Frontmatter
[Status and details]

### Naming Conventions
[Status and details]

### Description Quality
[Status and details]

### System Prompt
[Status and details]

### Tool Configuration
[Status and details]

### Model Configuration
[Status and details]

## Critical Issues (must fix)
1. [Issue with specific fix]

## Warnings (should fix)
1. [Issue with specific fix]

## Improvement Suggestions
1. [Suggestion with before/after]

## Strengths
- [What's done well]

Step 6: Provide Specific Fixes

For each issue:

1. Current: What it is now
2. Problem: Why it's an issue
3. Fix: Specific improvement
4. Impact: How it helps

Example Fix: Vague Description

Current:

description: Helps with debugging

Problem: Too vague, no trigger keywords

Fix:

description: Debugging specialist for errors, test failures, and unexpected behavior. Use proactively when encountering any issues.

Impact: Specific purpose, trigger keywords, proactive invocation.

Example Fix: Vague System Prompt

Current:

You are a helpful debugging assistant.

Problem: No process, no specifics

Fix:

You are an expert debugger specializing in root cause analysis.

When invoked:
1. Capture error message and stack trace
2. Identify reproduction steps
3. Isolate the failure location
4. Implement minimal fix
5. Verify solution works

Impact: Clear process, actionable steps.

Step 7: Apply Fixes (Optional)

Ask before making changes:

Found [N] issues:
- [Critical issues]
- [Warnings]
- [Suggestions]

Would you like me to apply these fixes?

If approved, use Edit to make changes.

Status Levels

• PASS: No issues
• WARNINGS: Non-critical issues that should be fixed
• FAIL: Critical issues that must be fixed

Priority Levels

Critical (must fix):

• Invalid YAML syntax
• Missing required fields
• Unclear agent purpose

Important (should fix):

• Vague descriptions
• Poor naming
• Missing process in prompt
• No trigger keywords

Nice-to-have:

• Additional examples
• Better organization
• Enhanced documentation

Troubleshooting

# Find agent files
ls ~/.claude/agents/*.md
ls .claude/agents/*.md

# Search by name
find ~/.claude/agents .claude/agents -name "*.md" 2>/dev/null

# Check for tabs
grep -P "\t" ~/.claude/agents/agent-name.md

# View frontmatter
head -n 20 ~/.claude/agents/agent-name.md

Integration

After creating an agent:

agent-kit:claude-agent-authoring → agent-kit:claude-agent-validation → iterate until passing

Before committing:

agent-kit:claude-agent-validation → fix critical issues → commit

Related Skills

• agent-kit:claude-agent-authoring — Create agents (use before validation)
• agent-kit:claude-skill-authoring — Create skills (different from agents)