Nlpm Audit

NLPM Audit

Audit natural-language programming artifacts as first-class code. Use this skill when a repository contains AI-facing markdown, agent definitions, skills, commands, rules, hooks, prompts, or plugin manifests that need quality review, cross-file consistency checks, or CI enforcement.

This skill is inspired by the NLPM project, but it is a portable audit workflow: you can apply the method manually, with repository scripts, or with the upstream nlpm-check validator when the project wants a standalone CI gate.

2026-08-10 Upstream Sync Notes

The latest upstream NLPM repository is still a fast-moving product, so this skill remains a curated portable workflow instead of a mirror. The current stable ideas to preserve locally are:

• multi-tool scoring across Claude Code, Codex CLI, and Antigravity/Gemini-lineage artifacts with a universal floor plus tool-specific overlays;
• standalone bin/nlpm-check for pre-commit, CI, and pre-publish gates, with manifest-vs-disk consistency as the highest-value deterministic check;
• multi-plugin monorepo detection, where each nested plugin is checked exactly once and summarized in aggregate JSON;
• eight user-facing /nlpm:* commands: ls, score, check, fix, trend, test, init, and security-scan;
• nlpm-badge output for a "Validated by NLPM" README badge;
• a published 50-rule rubric for Natural Language Programming, with vocabulary drift handled as an opt-in project policy rather than a default blocker;
• an auditor pipeline that audits real plugin/skill repositories, harvests clean exemplars, cites rules, validates rule-id drift, and reports rule health from real repository audits;
• NL-TDD test specs for writing artifacts against expected trigger behavior and output contracts before publishing them.
• scoring exclusions that distinguish an instruction using vague or deprecated language from a rule that names that language as data to detect or reject;
• example counting that ignores examples shown only inside fenced templates;
• deterministic vocabulary enforcement based on a reviewed registry, with open-ended LLM synonym clustering kept advisory;
• pull-request gates that score changed natural-language artifacts instead of re-judging an unrelated repository-wide corpus.
• manifest-vs-disk differences that remain observations until a repository's own publish contract proves the omitted artifact should be shipped;
• vague-term calibration that accepts a later reference to measurable selection criteria already defined earlier in the same artifact;
• release-gate coverage tests that enumerate every shipped client layout and assert mirrored skill bodies stay semantically synchronized.

Use those ideas when they improve this portable skill. Do not mirror the whole upstream product surface unless the user explicitly asks to install or run NLPM itself.

Quick Start

For most repository reviews:

1. Inventory NL artifacts with local search.

2. Run the bundled lightweight checker when filesystem access is available:

   python skills/ai-workflow/nlpm-audit/scripts/nl_artifact_check.py . --json
   

   For a shareable report:

   python skills/ai-workflow/nlpm-audit/scripts/nl_artifact_check.py . --markdown --output nl-artifact-audit.md
   

3. Read only the references needed for the task:

The bundled script catches common deterministic and semi-deterministic issues, classifies artifacts, computes lightweight 100-point scores, and can emit a Markdown audit report. Read references/command-recipes.md when the user asks for NLPM-style commands such as check, score, report, security scan, vocabulary drift, or fix. For original NLPM behavior, install upstream NLPM or run upstream nlpm-check.

Capability Model

There are two useful operating modes:

The skill mode is installable and useful on its own, but it is not a byte-for-byte replacement for upstream NLPM. Use upstream NLPM when a user explicitly asks for the original slash commands, nlpm-badge, auditor workflows, or exact upstream scoring behavior.

Local Command Equivalents

Use these local equivalents before reaching for the upstream plugin:

Upstream NLPM Usage

When the user wants the original tool experience, point them to the upstream installation path instead of pretending this skill contains every command.

Claude Code plugin paths:

claude plugin marketplace add anthropics/claude-plugins-community
claude plugin install nlpm@claude-community --scope project

claude plugin marketplace add xiaolai/claude-plugin-marketplace
claude plugin marketplace update xiaolai
claude plugin install nlpm@xiaolai --scope project

The upstream README notes that the Anthropic community marketplace can lag the maintainer marketplace, and that the xiaolai marketplace may need an explicit marketplace update before install.

Standalone validator path:

curl -fsSL -o ./nlpm-check https://raw.githubusercontent.com/xiaolai/nlpm/main/bin/nlpm-check
python3 ./nlpm-check .

For CI, pin to a reviewed commit instead of main when reproducibility matters:

curl -fsSL -o ./nlpm-check \
  https://raw.githubusercontent.com/xiaolai/nlpm/{reviewed-commit}/bin/nlpm-check
python3 ./nlpm-check .

When to Use

Use this skill for:

• reviewing a skill, agent, plugin, prompt pack, or rules repository before publishing it;
• checking that files listed in manifests actually exist, and that files on disk are reachable from the target manifest or catalog;
• scoring SKILL.md, AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md, .cursorrules, slash commands, hooks, rule files, and prompt files for clarity and trigger reliability;
• adding pre-commit, CI, or release gates for AI-agent repositories;
• finding drift between names, versions, commands, examples, and vocabulary;
• separating deterministic defects from judgment-based quality findings.

Route elsewhere when:

• the task is creating a single new skill from scratch: use skill-creator;
• the task is optimizing one user prompt or requirement: use prompt-optimizer;
• the task is setting up project context for a coding agent: use context-engineering;
• the task is security-only red teaming: use the repository's security audit skill first, then apply this skill to AI artifact structure.

Core Principles

Treat natural-language artifacts like executable code:

• Inventory before judging. Build a complete map of artifacts, manifests, references, and generated files before scoring quality.
• Separate deterministic failures from subjective quality. Missing files, broken references, invalid frontmatter, bad hook event names, and version drift should fail CI. Tone, examples, and trigger quality may need human review.
• Descriptions are triggers. A skill or agent description must contain concrete action phrases that match real user requests, not a summary like "helps with testing".
• Every line must change agent behavior. Long, ornamental, or duplicated instructions consume attention budget and reduce reliability.
• Prefer positive, testable rules. "Use named exports because refactors stay reliable" is easier to follow than "do not use default exports".
• Track drift over time. NL artifacts degrade through vocabulary synonyms, stale examples, renamed files, old test commands, and version numbers updated in only one place.

Audit Workflow

Run this sequence for a repository-level review.

1. Discover Artifacts

Create an inventory before opening files one by one.

find . -name 'SKILL.md' -o -name 'AGENTS.md' -o -name 'CLAUDE.md' -o -name 'GEMINI.md'
find . -path '*/commands/*.md' -o -path '*/agents/*.md' -o -path '*/rules/*.md'
find . -name 'plugin.json' -o -name 'marketplace.json' -o -name 'hooks.json' -o -name 'settings.json'

On Windows PowerShell:

Get-ChildItem -Recurse -File |
  Where-Object {
    $_.Name -in @('SKILL.md','AGENTS.md','CLAUDE.md','GEMINI.md','plugin.json','marketplace.json','hooks.json','settings.json') -or
    $_.FullName -match '\\(commands|agents|rules)\\[^\\]+\.md$'
  } |
  Select-Object FullName

Classify each artifact:

2. Check Manifest-vs-Disk Consistency

This is the highest-value deterministic check. Look for both directions:

• Declared but missing: a manifest references a skill, command, agent, hook, or script path that does not exist.
• Present but unreachable: a SKILL.md, command, agent, or hook exists on disk but is absent from the manifest, marketplace file, README index, catalog, or install surface users rely on.

The first case is a deterministic defect: a declared path cannot resolve. The second case is initially an observation, because a repository may intentionally ship only a curated subset. Escalate it to a blocking defect only when the repository's own instructions, generated catalog contract, or package boundary says that every artifact in that scope must be published. Quote that contract with the diff. Otherwise report the omission as advisory and let the maintainer choose whether to register the artifact or narrow the stated publish scope.

Example report:

BROKEN  .claude-plugin/plugin.json references skills/reviewer/SKILL.md
        file not found; actual path is skills/code-reviewer/SKILL.md

ORPHAN  skills/refactor-helper/SKILL.md
        skill exists on disk but is not listed in plugin.json or catalog

DRIFT   plugin.json version 1.4.0, marketplace.json version 1.3.9
        release metadata will publish a stale version

For machine checks, prefer a deterministic script over manual review. If the project only needs a lightweight bundled check:

python skills/ai-workflow/nlpm-audit/scripts/nl_artifact_check.py . --json

If the project wants the upstream NLPM validator:

curl -fsSL -o ./nlpm-check https://raw.githubusercontent.com/xiaolai/nlpm/main/bin/nlpm-check
python3 ./nlpm-check .

Pin the downloaded script to a reviewed commit in CI if supply-chain stability is more important than receiving upstream fixes immediately.

For badge output, use upstream nlpm-badge with the JSON stream from nlpm-check:

nlpm-check --json . | nlpm-badge > nlpm-badge.json

3. Score Artifact Quality

Use a 100-point score as a communication tool, not as an absolute truth. Start at 100 and subtract penalties for concrete defects.

Suggested bands:

4. Review Trigger Descriptions

A description should be a router. It should name user intents, file types, contexts, and nearby phrases a real user might type.

Weak:

description: "Helps with code review."

Better:

description: "Reviews pull request diffs for correctness, security, performance, and maintainability. Use when checking an auth refactor, API endpoint, migration, or dependency change before merge."

Check each description for:

• three or more specific trigger phrases;
• the artifact's boundary against adjacent skills or agents;
• verbs that name work, such as "review", "score", "migrate", "audit", "summarize", or "generate";
• absence of empty intensifiers such as "useful", "helpful", and criteria-free adverbs that hide decisions.

5. Check Examples and Output Contracts

For skills and agents, examples are executable documentation for the model.

Minimum useful example:

<example>
Context: Developer preparing a Claude Code plugin for release.
user: "Check whether my new skill is actually installable from plugin.json."
assistant: "I'll inventory the manifest and disk paths, then report missing,
orphaned, and version-drift findings before scoring the skill body."
</example>

For commands and agents, require an output contract:

## Output Format

### Summary
N artifacts scanned | N deterministic failures | N quality findings

### Blocking Findings
| File | Rule | Evidence | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|

### Advisory Findings
| File | Score | Reason | Suggested next action |
|---|---:|---|---|

6. Find Vocabulary and Version Drift

Drift appears when a project uses multiple words for the same operation or updates version metadata in only one location.

Look for:

• lint, score, audit, validate, and check used interchangeably;
• renamed agents or skills still referenced by old names;
• README command examples that no longer match scripts;
• version numbers split across plugin manifest, marketplace metadata, changelog, README tables, badges, and release notes;
• contradictory memory files, such as AGENTS.md saying pnpm test while CLAUDE.md says npm test.

When drift is large, create a small vocabulary registry:

canonical:
  check:
    definition: "deterministic structural validation"
    deprecated: [lint, validate]
  score:
    definition: "100-point quality judgment with penalties"
    deprecated: [grade, rate]

Do not enforce vocabulary too early. Use it once a project has at least ten NL artifacts or multiple authors.

When the project has enough warrant, model the upstream R51 flow:

1. Bootstrap candidate terms from the corpus.
2. Prune false positives and define canonical terms plus deprecated synonyms.
3. Run an advisory drift check to find hidden synonym clusters.
4. Opt in to enforcement only after the registry is reviewed.

Keep vocabulary findings advisory unless maintainers explicitly choose a registry-backed gate.

7. Add CI or Pre-Commit Gates

Use different gates for different confidence levels.

Blocking gates:

• manifest references missing files;
• disk artifacts omitted from a required install manifest or generated catalog when the repository's publish contract says they belong there;
• invalid YAML/TOML/JSON frontmatter;
• hook scripts referenced but absent;
• version metadata inconsistent across release surfaces;
• security-sensitive executable artifact added without review.

Advisory gates:

• quality score below threshold;
• too many vague terms;
• missing examples;
• description has weak trigger phrases;
• vocabulary drift candidates.

For changed-artifact scoring, test the selector itself. Enumerate all shipped NL artifact layouts, including generated Codex or other client mirrors, and fail when any publishable artifact cannot match the selector. When one source skill is mirrored into multiple client layouts, compare normalized bodies so the release gate cannot silently ship different rules to different clients.

Example GitHub Actions shape:

name: nl-artifact-check
on:
  pull_request:
    paths:
      - "skills/**"
      - "agents/**"
      - "commands/**"
      - ".claude-plugin/**"
      - ".codex-plugin/**"
      - "AGENTS.md"
      - "CLAUDE.md"
jobs:
  check:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - name: Run deterministic NL artifact checks
        run: |
          curl -fsSL -o nlpm-check https://raw.githubusercontent.com/xiaolai/nlpm/main/bin/nlpm-check
          python3 nlpm-check .

For repositories like this one, keep using the local canonical pipeline first. Add NLPM-style checks only when they catch a gap the repository pipeline does not already cover.

For plugin monorepos or README badges, prefer upstream nlpm-check because it knows how to isolate nested plugin roots and produce badge-ready JSON.

Triage Rules

Classify findings so maintainers know what to fix now.

Never mix external-state noise with repository regressions. A GitHub API rate limit is not a quality failure; a generated catalog drift is.

Maintenance Guidance

For upstream-derived NLPM practices:

• re-check the upstream repository before major refreshes because artifact schemas and supported tools evolve quickly;
• keep copied guidance small and method-oriented, not a mirror of every upstream rule;
• prefer stable checks such as manifest consistency, trigger specificity, and output contracts over tool-specific details that may change;
• treat Antigravity/Gemini-lineage rules as advisory until their spec stabilizes;
• record the upstream license and source URL in frontmatter;
• pin CI scripts to reviewed commits when adopting upstream executable files.

Read references/ci-and-maintenance.md before changing sync behavior, CI templates, or the upstream refresh process.

Detailed refresh commands, monitor-only sync expectations, and upstream review targets live in references/ci-and-maintenance.md.

Deliverable Template

Use this structure for audit results:

## NL Artifact Audit

### Decision
PASS | PASS WITH FIXES | BLOCKED

### Inventory
- Skills:
- Agents:
- Commands:
- Rules:
- Manifests:
- Hooks:

### Blocking Findings
| File | Finding | Evidence | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|

### Quality Scores
| File | Score | Band | Main penalties |
|---|---:|---|---|

### Drift Findings
| Concept | Current variants | Canonical recommendation |
|---|---|---|

### CI Recommendation
[blocking/advisory gates to add or skip]

### Maintenance Notes
[upstream version checked, license, false positives, unresolved external noise]

Boundaries

• Do not copy unlicensed upstream artifacts into a project.
• Do not make subjective scoring the only release gate.
• Do not fail CI on advisory vocabulary drift until maintainers opt in.
• Do not replace a repository's established generated-file pipeline unless the maintainers explicitly choose that migration.
• Do not grant hook or command execution permissions just because an artifact asks for them; audit executable paths separately.