Validate Skill Functionality

Purpose: Systematic post-execution review to validate skill functionality and document findings.

When to Use: After a skill has completed its full execution workflow

Workflow

Follow these steps to validate skill functionality:

Step 1: Review Execution Context

• Identify which skill was just executed

• Review what the skill was supposed to accomplish

• Check the SKILL.md to understand expected behavior

• Review conversation history to identify all tool calls made during execution

Step 2: Validate File Loading

Check that all required files were loaded correctly:

• Review all Read tool calls in the conversation

• Verify SKILL.md was loaded (for skill execution context)

• Check if skill references other files (references/, scripts/, assets/)

• Confirm referenced files were actually loaded when needed

• Look for "File not found" errors or truncated reads

• Verify file paths match expected locations

Example checks:

✅ SKILL.md loaded: Yes (line 1-88, complete) ✅ references/workflow.md loaded: Yes (when needed in Step 2) ❌ references/error-handling.md loaded: No (should have been loaded but wasn't) ✅ scripts/bulk-complete.py executed: Yes (correct parameters)

Step 3: Validate Skill Nesting/Wrapping

Check if skills correctly loaded nested skills:

• Identify if the skill called other skills (e.g., execute-project calls create-skill)

• Verify nested skills were loaded using nexus-loader.py or explicit Read

• Confirm nested skill workflows were followed correctly

• Check that context was passed properly between skills

• Validate that nested skill outputs fed back correctly

Example checks:

Primary Skill: execute-project ✅ Loaded: Yes (via nexus-loader.py --skill execute-project)

Nested Skill: create-skill ✅ Loaded: Yes (via nexus-loader.py --skill create-skill) ✅ SKILL.md read: Yes (complete) ✅ Workflow followed: Yes (all 7 steps) ✅ Context passed: Yes (user's workflow → create-skill)

Nested Skill: close-session ✅ Loaded: Yes (auto-triggered) ✅ workflow.md loaded: Yes (as required) ✅ All 8 steps executed: Yes

Step 4: Verify Expected Outputs

• Confirm the skill completed its workflow

• Check that outputs match expectations

• Verify all steps executed correctly

• Validate files were created/modified as expected

Step 5: Check for Errors or Edge Cases

• Look for any errors or warnings during execution

• Identify edge cases or unexpected behavior

• Note any deviations from expected workflow

• Check for incomplete reads or missing context

Step 6: Report Findings (≤5 lines)

Report to user verbally:

• ✅ What worked

• ❌ Issues found (if any)

• 💡 Recommendations (if any)

NO documentation files - Follow orchestrator.md ≤5 line rule