# Spec Self Review

> Quality gate for Research Specs. Checks for placeholders, consistency, scope, ambiguity, context protocol, and quantification. Mandatory before user review.

- Skill: `yogsoth-ai/spec-self-review` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add yogsoth-ai/spec-self-review`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/yogsoth-ai/spec-self-review/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Research & Search
- Author: yogsoth-ai (https://skillmd.com/u/yogsoth-ai)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/yogsoth-ai/spec-self-review

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# Spec Self-Review

You are auditing a Research Spec for quality before presenting it to the user. This review is MANDATORY and cannot be skipped.

## Checklist

Run each check. If any fails, fix the issue inline immediately.

### 1. Placeholder Scan
Search the spec for: "TBD", "TODO", "...", "fill in", "to be determined", or any vague language where specifics are needed.
- Every field must have concrete content
- "Adequate coverage" is NOT acceptable — use numbers

### 2. Internal Consistency
- Do Stage numbers match in backtrack conditions? (e.g., "→ Stage 3" actually exists)
- Do "Expected Input" references point to outputs that prior Stages actually produce?
- Are campaign/strategy names spelled consistently throughout?

### 3. Scope Check
- Is the spec executable in 3-10 sessions?
- If >10 stages, suggest splitting into sub-specs
- If <3 stages, verify this isn't too shallow for the North Star

### 4. Ambiguity Check
- Could any completion criterion be interpreted two different ways?
- Are "Focus Areas" specific enough that two different CCs would focus on the same things?
- If ambiguous, pick one interpretation and make it explicit

### 5. Context Protocol Check
- Does EVERY Stage have: context-init step + at least one context-checkpoint step + campaign-end checkpoint?
- Are topic-slugs in context-init descriptive and unique?

### 6. Quantification Check
- Are ALL completion criteria numeric or objectively verifiable?
- "≥20 papers" is good. "Sufficient papers" is not.
- "≥3 validated gaps with evidence" is good. "Identify gaps" is not.

## Output

If all checks pass: report "Spec self-review: PASS" and proceed.
If any check fails: fix inline, then report what was fixed.