Reference Files

Advanced agent validation guidance:

• model-selection.md - Model choice decision matrix, use cases, and appropriateness criteria
• tool-restrictions.md - Tool permission patterns, security implications, and restriction fit
• focus-area-quality.md - Focus area specificity assessment, quality scoring, and criteria
• approach-methodology.md - Approach completeness, required components, and methodology patterns
• resource-organization.md - Resource directory validation and progressive disclosure
• examples.md - Good vs poor agent comparisons and full audit reports
• report-format.md - Standardized audit report template and structure
• common-issues.md - Frequent problems, fixes, and troubleshooting patterns

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Agent Auditor

Validates agent configurations for model selection, tool restrictions, focus areas, and approach methodology.

Quick Start

Basic audit workflow:

1. Read agent file
2. Check model selection appropriateness
3. Validate tool restrictions
4. Assess focus area quality
5. Review approach methodology
6. Generate audit report

Example usage:

User: "Audit my evaluator skill"
→ Reads skills/evaluator/SKILL.md
→ Validates model (Sonnet), tools, focus areas, approach
→ Generates report with findings and recommendations

Agent Audit Checklist

Critical Issues

Must be fixed for agent to function correctly:

• Valid YAML frontmatter - Proper syntax, required fields present
• name field matches filename - Name consistency
• model field present and valid - Sonnet, Haiku, or Opus only
• At least 3 focus areas - Minimum viable expertise definition
• Tool restrictions present - allowed_tools or allowed-patterns specified
• No security vulnerabilities - Tools don't expose dangerous capabilities

Important Issues

Should be fixed for optimal agent performance:

• Model matches complexity - Haiku for simple, Sonnet default, Opus rare
• 5-15 focus areas - Not too few (vague) or too many (unfocused)
• Focus areas specific - Concrete, not generic statements
• Tools match usage - No missing or excessive permissions
• Approach section complete - Methodology defined, output format specified
• File size reasonable - <500 lines or uses progressive disclosure

Nice-to-Have Improvements

Polish for excellent agent quality:

• Model choice justified - Clear reason for non-default model
• Focus areas have examples - Technology/framework specificity
• Approach has decision frameworks - If/then logic for complex tasks
• Tool restrictions documented - Why specific tools are allowed/restricted
• Resource organization - Uses references/ when needed, proper structure
• Context economy - Concise without sacrificing clarity

Audit Workflow

Step 1: Read Agent File

Identify the agent file to audit:

# Single agent
Read skills/evaluator/SKILL.md

# Find all agents
Glob agents/*.md

Step 2: Validate Model Selection

Check model field:

model: sonnet  # Good - default choice
model: haiku   # Check: Is agent simple enough?
model: opus    # Check: Is complexity justified?

Decision criteria:

• Haiku (haiku): Simple read-only analysis, fast response needed, low cost priority
• Sonnet (sonnet): Default for most agents, balanced cost/capability
• Opus (opus): Complex reasoning required, highest capability needed

Common issues:

• Opus overuse: Using expensive model when Sonnet sufficient
• Haiku underperformance: Too simple for task complexity
• Missing model: No model field specified (defaults to Sonnet)

See model-selection.md for detailed decision matrix.

Step 3: Validate Tool Restrictions

Check allowed_tools or allowed-patterns:

allowed_tools:
  - Read
  - Grep
  - Glob
  - Bash

Validation checklist:

1. Tools specified: Has allowed_tools field (not unrestricted)
2. Tools match usage: All mentioned tools are allowed
3. No missing tools: All needed tools are included
4. No excessive tools: No unnecessary permissions
5. Security implications: No dangerous tool combinations

Common patterns:

• Read-only analyzer: [Read, Grep, Glob, Bash (read commands)]
• Code generator: [Read, Write, Edit, Grep, Glob, Bash]
• Orchestrator: [Task, Skill, Read, AskUserQuestion]

See tool-restrictions.md for security analysis.

Step 4: Assess Focus Area Quality

Target: 5-15 focus areas that are specific, concrete, and comprehensive

Quality criteria:

Specific vs Generic:

• ✗ Generic: "Python programming"
• ✓ Specific: "FastAPI REST APIs with SQLAlchemy ORM"

Concrete vs Vague:

• ✗ Vague: "Best practices"
• ✓ Concrete: "Defensive programming with strict error handling"

Coverage:

• Too few (<5): Expertise unclear or overly narrow
• Sweet spot (5-15): Comprehensive, focused expertise
• Too many (>15): Unfocused, trying to do everything

Example analysis:

## Focus Areas

- Defensive programming with strict error handling ✓
- POSIX compliance and cross-platform portability ✓
- Safe argument parsing and input validation ✓
- Robust file operations and temporary resource management ✓
- Production-grade logging and error reporting ✓

Score: 5/5 areas, all specific and concrete → GOOD

See focus-area-quality.md for scoring methodology.

Step 5: Review Approach Methodology

Check approach section completeness:

Required elements:

• Methodology defined - Step-by-step process
• Decision frameworks - How to handle different scenarios
• Output format - What the agent produces
• Integration with focus - How approach uses expertise

Example complete approach:

## Approach

1. Analyze requirements and constraints
2. Design solution using defensive programming principles
3. Implement with POSIX compliance
4. Add comprehensive error handling
5. Test on multiple platforms
6. Document with inline comments

Output: Production-ready Bash script with full error handling

Incomplete approach (missing steps, no output format):

## Approach

Write good Bash scripts following best practices.

See approach-methodology.md for templates.

Step 6: Validate Resource Organization

Check for progressive disclosure:

Single file agents:

1. Count lines in agent file
2. If <500 lines: No references needed, mark as N/A
3. If >500 lines: Should use references/, flag for refactoring

Directory-based agents:

1. Check for references/ subdirectory
2. Count files in references/
3. Verify all references linked from main file
4. Check for orphaned files
5. Verify flat structure (no nested directories)

Targets:

• Main file: <500 lines (300-400 ideal)
• References: 2-6 focused files in references/ directory
• Navigation: Clear "Reference Files" section with descriptive links
• Structure: Flat (no subdirectories within references/)

Scoring:

• EXCELLENT (9-10): Well-organized with clear navigation
• GOOD (7-8): Reasonable organization, minor issues
• NEEDS IMPROVEMENT (4-6): Size issues or poor organization
• POOR (1-3): >800 lines single file or bad structure
• N/A: Simple agent <300 lines, no references needed

See resource-organization.md for detailed validation criteria.

Step 7: Check Context Economy

File size assessment:

# Count lines
wc -l skills/evaluator/SKILL.md

Targets:

• <300 lines: Excellent - concise and focused
• 300-500 lines: Good - comprehensive without bloat
• 500-800 lines: Consider progressive disclosure
• >800 lines: Should use references/ directory

If oversized:

1. Extract detailed content to references/ files
2. Keep main file focused on core workflow
3. Link to references from main file
4. Maintain one-level-deep structure

Step 8: Generate Audit Report

Compile findings into standardized report format. See report-format.md for the complete template.

Agent-Specific Validation

For detailed validation criteria in each area, see the reference files:

• Model Selection: See model-selection.md for appropriateness criteria, use cases, and red flags
• Tool Restrictions: See tool-restrictions.md for security implications and restriction fit analysis
• Focus Area Quality: See focus-area-quality.md for specificity assessment and scoring methodology
• Approach Completeness: See approach-methodology.md for required components and impact analysis
• Resource Organization: See resource-organization.md for progressive disclosure patterns and validation

Common Issues

For detailed troubleshooting guidance, see common-issues.md.

Common patterns include:

• Opus overuse: Expensive model for simple tasks
• Generic focus areas: Lack of specificity and concrete examples
• Missing tool restrictions: Unrestricted access creates security risks
• Overly restrictive tools: Missing tools the agent needs
• Incomplete approach: Vague methodology without clear steps

Report Format

Use the standardized template in report-format.md for all agent audit reports.

Integration with audit-coordinator

Invocation pattern:

User: "Audit my agent"
→ audit-coordinator invokes audit-agent
→ audit-agent performs specialized validation
→ Results returned to audit-coordinator
→ Consolidated with evaluator findings

Sequence:

1. audit-agent (primary) - Agent-specific validation
2. evaluator (secondary) - General structure validation
3. test-runner (optional) - Functional testing

Report compilation:

• audit-agent findings (model, tools, focus, approach)
• evaluator findings (YAML, markdown, structure)
• Unified report with reconciled priorities

Related Audit Skills

This skill is part of the audit skill family:

• audit-agent (this skill) - Validates agent configurations
• audit-skill - Validates skill configurations
• audit-command - Validates command configurations
• audit-hook - Validates hook configurations
• audit-output-style - Validates output-style configurations
• audit-coordinator - Orchestrates multi-faceted audits

For comprehensive audits, use audit-coordinator which will invoke the appropriate specialists.

Examples

Example 1: Good Agent (evaluator)

Status: PASS

Strengths:

• Model: Sonnet (appropriate for analysis tasks)
• Tools: Read, Grep, Glob, Bash (read-only pattern, secure)
• Focus: 12 specific areas covering evaluation expertise
• Approach: Complete methodology with output format

Score: 9/10 - Excellent agent design

Example 2: Agent Needs Work

Status: NEEDS WORK

Issues:

• Model: Opus (expensive, Sonnet sufficient for task)
• Tools: No allowed_tools (unrestricted access)
• Focus: 3 generic areas ("best practices", "code quality")
• Approach: Missing (no methodology defined)

Critical fixes:

1. Add allowed_tools field
2. Change model to Sonnet
3. Expand focus areas to 5-10 specific items
4. Add complete approach section

Score: 4/10 - Requires significant improvement

See examples.md for complete audit reports.

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For detailed guidance on each validation area, consult the reference files linked at the top of this document.