BF probe_first_research
Probe-first deep research — low-cost snippet reconnaissance before committing to full searches
As a process F 46/100 · Will not run — References files that are not bundled: URL
What is at stake
Medium-severity findings: the skill is probably honest, but read what alarmed the scanner.
Below is the worst case for this category. The finding here is medium: the guard saw a sign, not a proof.
The skill asks for more than the task needs: broad tool access, credential environment variables, binaries. Every extra permission widens the damage from a mistake or a compromise.
Narrow allowed-tools and the variable list to the minimum; replace binaries with readable sources or scripts.
How to improve
- Say in the description WHEN to use the skill ("use when…", example requests): that is the agent's main cue.
- The SKILL.md body is over 5,000 tokens: move reference detail into references/ and load it when needed.
- The text references files that are not there: add them or drop the references.
- Your own cases (evals/evals.json, 4–6 real requests with expected answers): the full check would then run those instead of a model-drafted suite.
- A spec.yaml with trigger phrases and assertions — a behaviour contract for CI; `skilltest init` writes a template.
Guard findings · 1
✓ No critical or high findings
Medium and low: 1
-
medium Broad scope
meta-broad-allowed-toolsSKILL.md:1Broad tool permissions pre-approved: Bashallowed-tools: WebSearch WebFetch Read Write Edit Bash AskUserQuestion
Files scanned: 4. Evidence is masked. Grey chips explain why severity was lowered.
Against the Agent Skills spec
- warning
name-formatname should be kebab-case (lowercase letters, digits, hyphens) - warning
description-no-whendescription does not say WHEN to use the skill (no "use when") - warning
body-longSKILL.md body ≈ 5216 tokens (recommended < 5000); move details to references/ - warning
missing-refreference to a missing file: URL
Process rating: all ten parameters 46/100
- 0Tools and files. 1 referenced file(s) missing: URL
- 0Inputs and preconditions. Does not say what the process needs to start
- 20When it triggers. No condition that starts the skill
- 30Running it twice. 4 mutating operations with no state check
- 40Consistency. Frontmatter name (probe_first_research) differs from the folder (probe-first-research)
- 60Result and completion. Output format stated, no completion criterion
- 70Execution cost. Instruction body is 5216 tokens
- 100Steps. 137 steps
- 100Failures and branches. 28 branches, has a failure section
- 100Progress reporting. Reports progress
- medium Safety rules and hard prohibitions inside a skill: they belong in the system prompt, here they protect nothing
- low 14 top-level sections: this looks like several domains in one skill
Everything here is measured from the skill text rather than judged by a model, so the numbers are checkable. A parameter weighs more when it is a more common reason for the process to stall.
Quality signals
- +5Description has no quoted example phrases that should trigger the skill
- +4Description does not say when NOT to use the skill (false activations)
- +3Description length 94: 120–800 characters recommended
- +2Single-language instructions
- +4Structure: 30 headings
- +3Step-by-step instructions: 137 items
- +3Output format is stated explicitly
- +4Has examples (4 code blocks)
- +1License stated
Quality base 70; lint remarks subtract, signals add up to 100. Result: 52.