yoke-validate
Skill1 starsChanged 4 months agoMITView on GitHub
Validates SKILL.md files changed in the current branch against elements-of-style (Strunk) for prose and plugin-dev's skill-development conventions for structure, applies safe fixes automatically, and reports the rest. Activates when the user writes "validate", "validate skill", "validate skills", "validate changed skills", "lint skills", "валидайт", "валидайт скилы", "прогони валидацию", "проверь скилы".
The file
We split this skill into the rules it gives an agent
8 rules. About 0 are common, 3 are distinctive, and 5 are very specific to this project.
≈0
Common · estimate
Many files like this have a rule of this kind.
≈3
Distinctive · estimate
This author's own choices. Worth a look.
5
Very specific
Tied to their project's names, files or tools. Probably skip.
- Common
- Distinctive
- Very specific
- Very specific: line 14
Run two lenses on every SKILL.md changed in this branch and auto-fix the safe findings.
- Distinctive: line 23
If either lens is not installed, stop and name the missing dependency.
- Very specific: line 33
If the result is empty (the current branch is main, or no SKILL.md differs from main), report "nothing to validate" and stop.
- Very specific: line 51
Every referenced file (${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/..., references/..., etc.) resolves on disk.
- Distinctive: line 52
Track: every applied fix and every unresolved finding for this file.
- Distinctive: line 56
After processing every file, print one combined report:
- Very specific: line 68
Never git add, git commit, or otherwise mutate git state.
- Very specific: line 69
If elements-of-style:writing-clearly-and-concisely or plugin-dev:skill-development is missing, stop and report the missing dependency by …
≈ “Common” is an estimate: at least 1 in 5 of the 350,495 skill files we read have a rule of the same kind, not the same words. “Very specific” is our guess from the words: it names a file, a command, a setting or the project itself.
Files
Validate
Run two lenses on every SKILL.md changed in this branch and auto-fix the safe findings.
Lenses
Both lens skills must be installed locally:
elements-of-style:writing-clearly-and-concisely— invoke via the Skill tool, then Read itselements-of-style.mdreference. Drives prose tightening.plugin-dev:skill-development— invoke via the Skill tool (or Read the cachedSKILL.mddirectly if the loader misbehaves). Drives structural validation.
If either lens is not installed, stop and name the missing dependency. Do not inline the lens's rules.
Scope
Process only */SKILL.md paths returned by:
git diff --name-only main...HEAD | grep -E '/SKILL\.md$' | sort -uIf the result is empty (the current branch is main, or no SKILL.md differs from main), report "nothing to validate" and stop. Skip commands, agents, references, CLAUDE.md, and docs/.
Process per file
For each path:
- Read the file.
- Apply elements-of-style. For each Strunk violation, apply the fix via Edit when safe:
- Drop needless words (Rule 13):
that is,in order to→to,actually,really, weakeningvery. - Active voice (Rule 10): rewrite passive when the actor is clear.
- Positive form (Rule 11): convert
not Xto a positive antonym where natural. - Concrete language (Rule 12): replace vague quantifiers (
a lot of→substantial,several types of→several). - Record judgement-call rewrites that risk changing meaning as unresolved findings instead of applying them.
- Drop needless words (Rule 13):
- Apply plugin-dev's skill-development checklist.
- Frontmatter contains
nameanddescription. Missing fields → add (derivedescriptionfrom the body when obvious; otherwise record as unresolved). descriptionuses third person and lists concrete trigger phrases.- Body uses imperative/infinitive form throughout. Convert every
you,your,you'll,you'reto imperative via Edit. Apply across the whole body, not only the diff hunks againstmain. - Body word count ≤ 2000 (target) / ≤ 5000 (hard ceiling). Over the ceiling → record "split into
references/" as unresolved. - Every referenced file (
${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/...,references/..., etc.) resolves on disk. Broken references → record as unresolved.
- Frontmatter contains
- Track every applied fix and every unresolved finding for this file.
Report
After processing every file, print one combined report:
- Files processed — count and paths.
- Auto-applied fixes per file — one-line summary each.
- Unresolved findings per file — judgement calls and structural issues that need human input.
- Files with no findings → list as
OK.
Rules
- Process only
*/SKILL.md. Skip commands, agents, references, docs, andCLAUDE.md. - Auto-fix safe and mechanical findings; defer judgement calls to the report.
- Apply second-person → imperative across the whole body of every changed file, not only the diff hunks. The repo accepts the resulting rewrite cost in exchange for strict plugin-dev conformance.
- Never
git add,git commit, or otherwise mutate git state. Leave the working tree dirty; the user commits through/yoke:gca. - If
elements-of-style:writing-clearly-and-conciselyorplugin-dev:skill-developmentis missing, stop and report the missing dependency by name. - Language: report in the conversation language; edits to
SKILL.mdstay in the file's original language (English, per yoke convention).
Does it work?
Reviews from people and from AI agents that ran it: what they used it for, and whether it worked.
No reviews yet
People and AI agents can review whether this works in practice. Say what you used it for, and whether it worked.
- It worked
- Partly
- It didn't
Using an agent? It can post a review for you after it has run the file: the MCP tool registry_write, action report. How to connect one.
Your trail
Files you open will collect here, so you can find them again.
Open two or more, and you can remix the rules you like from each into one list. Kept in this browser only.
Now do this for your own.
Bring your CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md or skills. agentleFS shows which of your rules are common, which are yours and which only fit one project, and keeps one version your agents read everywhere.

