/devkit.verify-skill

description: Validates a skill against DevKit standards (requirements, template, dependencies). Use when you need to verify a skill before publishing or after modifications.
argument-hint: "[skill-name]"
allowed-tools: Read, Grep, Glob

Verify Skill: $1

Overview

You are a skill validation specialist for the Claude Code Developer Kit. Your task is to perform a comprehensive validation of the skill "$1" against all DevKit standards.

Usage

/devkit.verify-skill $ARGUMENTS

Arguments

| Argument | Description | |--------------|------------------------------------------| | `$ARGUMENTS` | Combined arguments passed to the command |

Execution Instructions

**Agent Selection**: To execute this task, use the following approach:

• Primary: Use `general-purpose` agent with appropriate domain expertise
• Or use specialized agent if available for the specific task type

Validation Process

Execute the following checks in sequence:

1. Skill Existence Check

• Search for the skill directory in the following locations (in this order):
• `.claude/skills/$1/` (project-level)
• `~/.claude/skills/$1/` (user-level)
• `./skills/**/$1/` (any category subfolder under the repo `skills/` directory — recursive search)
• Any other project-local plugin directories that the repository documents for skills (if present)
• Verify that a `SKILL.md` file exists inside the found skill directory
• Important: many development workflows (for example when authoring a Claude plugin or a shared skills repo) keep skills

under top-level `skills/` categories (e.g. `skills/langchain4j/<skill-name>`). This is an acceptable and supported location for the purposes of validation and MUST NOT be treated as a false-positive or as a failure just because `.claude/skills/` or `~/.claude/skills/` do not contain the skill.

• If the skill cannot be found in any of the locations above, report failure (Existence).

2. Requirements Conformance (@.docs/skills.md)

Check that the skill complies with all requirements from the official Skills documentation:

**SKILL.md Frontmatter:**

• `name` field: lowercase letters, numbers, hyphens only (max 64 characters)
• `description` field: present and descriptive (max 1024 characters). Description includes BOTH what the skill does AND

when to use it

• `allowed-tools` field: uses valid tool names only
• `category`: field, valid category
• `tags`: field, relevant, and descriptive (no generic tags like "skill" or "devkit")
• `version` field: uses semantic versioning (e.g., 1.0.0)

**Important:** Other frontmatter fields are not allowed.

**File Structure:**

• `SKILL.md` uses valid YAML frontmatter (opening and closing `---`)
• No YAML syntax errors (tabs, incorrect indentation)
• All referenced files in SKILL.md exist in the skill directory
• File paths use forward slashes (Unix style), not backslashes

**Content Quality:**

• Description is specific with trigger keywords (not vague/generic)
• Skill has a clear "When to Use" or "Instructions" section
• Examples are present and demonstrate the skill
• Examples (examples.md) file exists if multiple examples are provided
• Supporting files (if any) are properly referenced with Markdown links
• References (reference.md) file exists if the skill is complex

3. Template Adherence (@.docs/skill_template.md)

Verify the skill structure matches the template:

**Required Sections:**

• Skill name as H1 heading
• "When to Use This Skill" section with clear use cases
• "Core Concepts" or "Instructions" section
• "Examples" or practical demonstrations
• "Best Practices" or "Summary" section

**Metadata Alignment:**

• Frontmatter includes recommended fields (name, description, category, tags, version)
• Version number is present and follows semantic versioning (if included)
• Tags are relevant and descriptive (if included)
• Category is specified (if included)

**Content Organization:**

• Logical section hierarchy
• Progressive complexity in examples
• Clear cross-references to related content
• Proper code formatting and syntax highlighting

4. Dependency Validation (Context7 or u2m)

**IMPORTANT:** Only perform this check if the skill references specific libraries or frameworks.

For each library/framework mentioned in the skill:

• Identify the library name and version (if specified)
• Use mcp Context7 to check if the library is current
• Verify trust score is adequate (≥ 7.0 for enterprise skills)
• Check if there are newer stable versions available
• Note if documentation indicates breaking changes

If context7 is not accessible, use this bash tool `u2m`.

• Verify with bash tool `u2m -v <link-reference>` to get the latest version and trust score
• Clean every output from `u2m` to extract only relevant data

IF `u2m` fails, note this but do not fail validation Finally, compare the current version with the latest stable version found.

**Skip this check if:**

• The skill is language-agnostic or doesn't reference specific libraries
• The skill only uses built-in language features
• No version numbers are specified

Output Format

Success Case

If ALL checks pass, output:

✅ Validation completed: The skill '$1' complies with all standards.

Details:
- ✅ SKILL.md file present and valid
- ✅ Frontmatter correct (name, description)
- ✅ Structure conforms to the template
- ✅ All referenced files exist
- ✅ [Dependencies validated / No dependencies to validate]

Failure Case

If ANY check fails, output:

❌ Validation failed for the skill '$1'.

Required actions:

* **[Category]:** [Specific description of the issue]
* **[Category]:** [Specific description of the issue]
...

**Categories for errors:**

• **Existence:** Skill or SKILL.md not found
• **Requirements:** YAML frontmatter errors, invalid field values, missing required fields
• **Template:** Missing sections, incorrect structure, poor organization
• **File:** Referenced files n