Pattern Quality Gate

Validate patterns against portability, structure, self-containment, curation, and workflow integrity standards. Run this skill when creating or modifying any file in core/.claude/ or .claude/ pattern directories.

Request: $ARGUMENTS

STEP 1: Identify Pattern Type and Load Checklist

Determine the pattern type from the file path:

Read the appropriate checklist reference file for the detailed requirements.

STEP 2: Validate Frontmatter and Structure

1. Parse YAML frontmatter — verify all required fields present
2. Check name matches directory/filename (kebab-case)
3. Check version is valid SemVer
4. For skills: verify numbered ## STEP N: sections (workflow type) or organized ## sections (reference type)
5. For agents: verify model, color, ## Core Responsibilities, ## Output Format
6. For rules: verify scope declaration (globs: or # Scope: global)

STEP 3: Check Content Quality

1. Count content lines (excluding frontmatter, headings) — must be >= 30 for skills, >= 5 for rules
2. Check total lines <= 500 (WARN at 500, FAIL at 1000)
3. Scan for placeholder markers (<!-- TODO: -->, <!-- FIXME: -->)
4. Verify ## CRITICAL RULES section exists (skills)
5. Check description starts with verb and includes "when" clause
6. For skills: verify the prerequisites contract — a ## Prerequisites section (or an explicit Prerequisites: none line); when any prerequisite is declared, a ## STEP 0: Preflight step that verifies every declared item (tools, credentials, files, services, AND user inputs/decisions) before STEP 1 and hard-stops with a complete missing-items list. NEW skills FAIL without it; skills predating 2026-07-26 WARN until the hub-wide sweep enrolls them

STEP 4: Validate Portability

Read references/portability-rules.md and check:

1. No hardcoded absolute paths (C:\, /home/, /Users/)
2. No project-specific references (specific class names, module paths)
3. Stack-prefixed patterns only assume their stack's standard tools
4. allowed-tools follows least-privilege per skill type

STEP 5: Verify Cross-References and Registry

1. If pattern references other skills/agents via Skill(), Agent(), or /skill-name — verify targets exist on disk
2. If in core/.claude/ — verify matching entry in registry/patterns.json with matching version
3. If in .claude/ — check config/dual-home-resources.yml FIRST: a classified dual-home resource (synced/shared/divergent) legitimately HAS a registry entry (it tracks the core/ twin); only a genuinely hub-only pattern (unclassified there) must have NO entry in registry/patterns.json
4. Check config/workflow-groups.yml for stale seeds if renaming/deleting

STEP 6: Validate Workflow Integrity

When the pattern change affects workflow connections:

1. Read references/workflow-verification.md for full verification checklist
2. Verify placement: distributable → core/.claude/ + registry; hub-only → .claude/ only
3. Check artifact convention compliance (test-results/{skill-name}.json)
4. Run the validator:

PYTHONPATH=. python scripts/workflow_quality_gate_validate_patterns.py

STEP 7: Regenerate Documentation

After changes pass validation:

# Regenerate workflow docs (picks up new connections)
PYTHONPATH=. python scripts/generate_workflow_docs.py

# Regenerate dashboard (after core/.claude/ changes only)
python scripts/generate_docs.py

STEP 8: Report

Output a structured quality report:

Pattern: <name>
Type: <skill|agent|rule>
Location: <core/.claude/ or .claude/>
Score: <0-100>
Grade: <A-F>

Checks:
  Frontmatter:    PASS/FAIL
  Structure:      PASS/FAIL
  Content:        PASS/FAIL
  Portability:    PASS/FAIL
  Cross-refs:     PASS/FAIL
  Registry sync:  PASS/FAIL

Issues: <list any failures>

CRITICAL RULES

• MUST run this skill when creating or modifying ANY pattern file
• MUST fail a NEW skill lacking the prerequisites contract (## Prerequisites or explicit none + STEP 0 preflight when prerequisites exist) — mid-run prerequisite discovery stalls unattended runs
• MUST NOT commit if the validator script fails
• MUST verify cross-references exist on disk — do not assume from memory
• MUST check registry sync for core/.claude/ patterns
• MUST regenerate docs after changes pass validation
• Patterns in core/.claude/ are for downstream projects only — never use them in this hub repo
• Every pattern must be independently verifiable without relying on other patterns