skill-perfection

# Skill Perfection

A systematic process for auditing and fixing plugin skills in a single pass.

## Core Principle

**Audit + Fix in One Pass**: When you find an issue, fix it immediately, then continue. This eliminates redundant research and multiple iterations.

## Process Overview

```
[Optional Preflight] → Audit+Fix (single pass) → Verify (spot-check) → Report
```

## Phase 1: Preflight (Optional, Advisory)

A Python-based preflight script is bundled for **Python-heavy skills only**. 

### When to Use Preflight

| Skill Content | Use Preflight? |
|---------------|----------------|
| Mostly Python code blocks | ✅ Yes |
| Mixed Python + other languages | ⚠️ Optional (Python blocks only) |
| Non-Python (JS, Rust, Go, etc.) | ❌ Skip, go to Phase 2 |
| Skill about the preflight script itself | ❌ Skip (conflict of interest) |

### Running Preflight

```bash
uv run python ${SKILL_DIR}/scripts/preflight.py <path-to-skill.md> --no-urls
```

### Interpreting Results

| Result | Action |
|--------|--------|
| `✅ PASSED` | Good signal. Proceed to Phase 2, trust syntax is valid. |
| `❌ FAILED` with clear errors (syntax error at line X) | Fix those specific issues, then proceed to Phase 2. |
| `❌ FAILED` with confusing/many errors | **Ignore preflight entirely.** Proceed to Phase 2, let LLM verify. |
| Script crashes or hangs | **Ignore preflight entirely.** Proceed to Phase 2. |

### Key Rule: Preflight is Advisory

**The preflight script is a helper, not a gatekeeper.** If it produces confusing output, skip it. The LLM-based Phase 2 is always authoritative.

Signs to ignore preflight:
- More than 10 errors on a skill that "looks fine"
- Errors that don't make sense (line numbers don't match)
- Python tracebacks from the script itself
- Timeouts or hanging

**When in doubt, skip preflight and let the LLM verify everything.**

## Phase 2: Audit + Fix (Single Pass) - THE CORE

This is the main phase. Work through the skill file section by section.

### 2.1 Identify the Technology

From the skill's content, identify:
- Primary technology/framework (e.g., LangGraph, React, Axum, Go-kit)
- Version constraints if mentioned
- Official documentation domain

### 2.2 Research Strategy

**Batch similar lookups** to minimize web calls:

```
Example: For a skill with 10 import statements from the same package,
do ONE search that covers them all, not 10 separate searches.
```

**Documentation priority**:
1. Official docs (use `site:` filter)
2. Official GitHub repo (examples, tests, README)
3. Package registry (PyPI, npm, crates.io, pkg.go.dev)
4. Official blog/changelog

### 2.3 For Each Verifiable Item

| Item Type | What to Verify |
|-----------|---------------|
| Import/require statement | Package exists, path is current, not deprecated |
| API call | Signature matches official docs, parameters correct |
| Code example | Would execute, complete imports, correct syntax |
| URL/link | Accessible (WebFetch), points to claimed content |
| Version claim | Current/accurate |
| Best practice claim | Aligned with official recommendations |

### 2.4 Fix-As-You-Go

When you find an issue:

1. **STOP** auditing that section
2. **FIX** the issue immediately (Edit tool)
3. **LOG** the change in memory: `{location, old, new, reason, source_url}`
4. **CONTINUE** auditing

**All severities get fixed in one pass** - don't defer anything.

### 2.5 Syntax Verification (LLM-based)

For code blocks, verify syntax by reading carefully:

**Python**: Check for matching parentheses, correct indentation, valid syntax
**JavaScript/TypeScript**: Check for matching braces, valid syntax, correct imports  
**Rust**: Check for matching braces, semicolons, valid syntax
**Go**: Check for matching braces, correct package structure
**Any language**: Apply your knowledge of that language's syntax rules

If unsure about syntax validity, note it but don't block on it - focus on semantic correctness against official docs.

## Phase 3: Verification (Spot-Check)

After completing Phase 2:

1. **Re-read the modified skill file**
2. **Spot-check 3-5 items you fixed** (not everything)
3. **Verify URLs you added/modified** (WebFetch)

If spot-checks pass → Proceed to Phase 4
If spot-checks fail → Fix those specific items, re-check only those

**Do NOT do a full re-audit.** You already verified everything in Phase 2.

## Phase 4: Generate Report

Create a concise report (<100 lines):

```markdown
# Skill Perfection Report

**Skill**: {skill-name}
**Date**: {date}  
**Version**: {old} → {new}
**Status**: ✅ PERFECTED | ⚠️ NEEDS REVIEW

## Summary
- Items verified: {N}
- Issues found and fixed: {N}

## Changes Made

### High Priority
| Location | Change | Reason | Source |
|----------|--------|--------|--------|
| line 45 | `old` → `new` | why | [docs](url) |

### Medium/Low Priority
| Location | Change | Reason | Source |
|----------|--------|--------|--------|
| line 12 | `old` → `new` | why | [docs](url) |

## Verification
- [x] All imports verified against official docs
- [x] All API signatures match current documentation
- [x] Code examples are complete and correct
- [x] All URLs accessible

## Sources
1. {url}
2. {url}
```

Save to: `{skill-directory}/PERFECTION_REPORT.md`

## Efficiency Guidelines

| Metric | Target |
|--------|--------|
| Web searches | <20 per skill (batch similar items) |
| Iterations | 1 audit+fix pass + 1 spot-check |
| Report length | <100 lines |

## Anti-Patterns

❌ Run preflight on non-Python skills
✅ Skip preflight, let LLM verify

❌ Trust confusing preflight output  
✅ Ignore preflight when output doesn't make sense

❌ Separate audit pass, then separate update pass
✅ Fix issues as you find them

❌ Full re-audit after fixes
✅ Spot-check only changed items

❌ Research same API multiple times  
✅ Batch similar lookups, cache results

## Bundled Scripts

### scripts/preflight.py

**Purpose**: Quick syntax check for Python-heavy skills
**Limitation**: Only useful for Python; advisory only

```bash
# Use for Python skills
u