Fix Common Issues

VerifiedCaution

Auto-remediates mechanical issues in plugin validation: JSON formatting, missing shebangs, permissions, hook types, frontmatter, settings.json defaults. Asks user approval before any modification.

Sby Skills Guide Bot
DevelopmentIntermediate
7/22/2026
Claude Code
#plugin-maintenance#auto-fix#json-cleanup#hooks#claude-code-plugins

Recommended for

Automated summary

This skill automatically repairs the mechanical problems surfaced during Claude Code plugin validation — malformed JSON, missing shebangs, script permissions, incompatible hook types, missing frontmatter fields and settings.json defaults — while requiring explicit user approval before touching any file.

Strengths

  • Covers a broad set of well-scoped mechanical fixes (JSON trailing commas, shebangs, chmod +x, hook type conversion, frontmatter fields, settings.json agent key)
  • Enforces a hard approval gate: a numbered change list, then a stop until the user confirms, with selective approval by number
  • Verifies each fix after applying it and re-runs the relevant validations to confirm the issue is gone
  • Ends with a detailed report: per-file before/after snippets, unfixable issues, and re-validation results

Limitations

  • Relies on prior validation output; if no validation has run, it only tells the user and suggests running one first
  • Frontmatter fallbacks are placeholders (TODO description, allowed-tools [Read]) that need manual follow-up
  • Converting prompt/agent hooks to type command via echo preserves the prompt only as a comment, so the original hook behavior is not reproduced
When to use it

Use it right after a plugin validation pass, when you want the mechanical findings cleaned up quickly and the judgment calls left alone.

When not to use it

Don't use it as the first step on an unvalidated plugin, or for deeper refactoring and design decisions that go beyond mechanical corrections.

Security analysis

Caution
Quality score86/100

The skill performs direct file modifications (JSON rewriting, shebang prepending, chmod +x, frontmatter edits, hook-type conversion) using Write/Edit/Bash. However, it requires an explicit interactive approval gate before any change, previews every modification, and is scoped to mechanical validation fixes with no network exfiltration, obfuscation, rm -rf, curl|sh, or safety-disabling behavior. The power tools are used for legitimate, documented purposes, so 'caution' rather than 'safe' is appropriate given the destructive-by-design nature.

Findings
  • •Declares and uses Write, Edit, and Bash — powerful file-modification and shell tools
  • •Uses Bash for chmod +x and modification operations that alter files on disk
  • •No undo capability; fixes are destructive-by-design (only mitigated by the approval gate)
  • •Step 7 auto-populates settings.json agent key from first agent directory, a heuristic that could be wrong
How this analysis is made

Examples

Fix after validation
I just ran the plugin validation and it flagged a bunch of issues. Auto-fix the common ones — but show me the list first before changing anything.
Repair hook types
My hooks.json uses prompt-type hooks on non-tool events. Use fix-common-issues to repair the plugin and tell me which entries you'd convert.
Clean up JSON and frontmatter
Fix common problems in this plugin: trailing commas in the JSON files, missing shebangs and exec bits on the .sh scripts, and any SKILL.md files missing frontmatter fields.

name: fix-common-issues author: JM Labs (Javier Montaño) description: > Automatically fixes mechanical issues found during plugin validation, including JSON formatting, missing shebangs, file permissions, hook types, frontmatter gaps, and settings.json defaults. ALWAYS asks for confirmation before modifying any files. Trigger: fix issues, auto-fix, fix common problems, repair plugin. allowed-tools:

  • Read
  • Write
  • Edit
  • Glob
  • Grep
  • Bash

Fix Common Issues

"Automate the mechanical so humans can focus on the meaningful."

Auto-remediates mechanical issues found during plugin validation: JSON syntax, missing shebangs, script permissions, incompatible hook types, missing frontmatter fields, and settings.json defaults. Presents all proposed changes for user approval before modifying any file.


Procedure

  1. Inventory fixable issues -- review findings from previous validation results. If no validation has been run yet, inform the user and suggest running validations first. Categorize issues into fixable (mechanical) vs. non-fixable (requires human judgment). List only mechanical issues for auto-fix.

  2. Detect and plan JSON trailing comma fixes -- scan all .json files for trailing commas (comma before ] or }). Plan: parse the JSON, reformat with standard 2-space indentation, write clean JSON back.

  3. Detect and plan missing shebang fixes -- scan all .sh files for missing #!/bin/bash (or #!/usr/bin/env bash) on line 1. Plan: prepend #!/bin/bash followed by a newline.

  4. Detect and plan non-executable script fixes -- check all .sh files in scripts/ and hooks/ for missing execute permission. Plan: mark for chmod +x.

  5. Detect and plan prompt-to-command hook conversion -- scan hooks/hooks.json for entries using type: "prompt" or type: "agent" on non-ToolUseContext events (any event other than PreToolUse, PostToolUse, PermissionRequest). Plan: convert to type: "command" using echo as the command, preserve the original prompt text as a comment in the command string.

  6. Detect and plan missing frontmatter field fixes -- scan all SKILL.md files for missing required frontmatter fields (name, description, allowed-tools). Plan:

    • Missing name: derive from parent directory name in kebab-case
    • Missing description: add placeholder "TODO: Add description with trigger phrases"
    • Missing allowed-tools: add default [Read]
  7. Detect and plan settings.json agent key fix -- check if settings.json exists but lacks an "agent" key. Plan: find the first agent directory under agents/, set "agent" to that path.

  8. Present all proposed changes for confirmation -- display a numbered list of every planned modification:

    • Change number
    • File to be modified
    • What will change (before/after summary)
    • Category (JSON fix, shebang, permissions, hook type, frontmatter, settings)

    STOP HERE AND WAIT FOR USER APPROVAL. Do not modify any files until the user explicitly confirms. The user may approve all, approve selectively by number, or reject.

  9. Apply approved fixes -- execute only the changes the user approved. For each fix:

    • Read the file before modification
    • Apply the change
    • Verify the result (e.g., JSON parses cleanly, shebang is on line 1)
  10. Re-validate after fixes -- run the relevant validation checks on modified files to confirm the issues are resolved. Report any fixes that did not resolve their target issue.

  11. Generate fix report -- produce a summary listing:

    • Total issues found vs. fixed vs. skipped
    • Per-file change log: file path, change type, before snippet, after snippet
    • Any issues that could not be auto-fixed (require manual intervention)
    • Re-validation results

Quality Criteria

  • [ ] No file is modified without explicit user confirmation -- the approval gate is mandatory.
  • [ ] Every fix is verified after application; a fix that breaks the file is detected and reported.
  • [ ] The before/after display is clear enough for the user to make an informed approval decision.
  • [ ] JSON fixes produce valid, parseable JSON -- verified by attempting to parse after writing.
  • [ ] Original file content is preserved except for the specific fix applied -- no unrelated reformatting.

Assumptions & Limits

  • Destructive by design (with consent). This is the only PQA skill that modifies files, and it does so only after explicit user approval.
  • Cannot fix semantic issues -- only mechanical ones. A vague description, a poorly ordered procedure, or a wrong anti-pattern requires human judgment.
  • Hook type conversion (prompt→command) is lossy -- the original prompt logic cannot be replicated in a shell command. The fix preserves the text as a comment but the behavior changes.
  • Re-validation after fixes runs only the checks relevant to the modified files, not the full audit pipeline.
  • Cannot undo applied fixes. If a fix causes a regression, the user must revert manually (e.g., via git).

Good vs Bad

Bad fix proposal:

Fix 1: Fix hooks.json

Missing: no file path, no before/after, no change type.

Good fix proposal:

Fix 1 [Hook Type] hooks/hooks.json
  Before: { "type": "prompt", "prompt": "Review safety" } on SessionStart
  After:  { "type": "command", "command": "echo 'Review safety'" } on SessionStart
  Reason: type:prompt requires ToolUseContext; SessionStart does not provide it.

Includes: fix number, category, file path, before/after with context, reason for the change.

Anti-Patterns

  1. Silent modification -- applying fixes without showing the user what will change. Every fix must be previewed.
  2. Fix-and-forget -- applying a fix without re-validating. The shebang fix means nothing if the file still has syntax errors.
  3. Destructive formatting -- reformatting an entire JSON file when only a trailing comma needed removal, destroying intentional formatting.
  4. Blind chmod -- making every file executable without checking if it is actually a script. Only .sh files in scripts/ and hooks/ should be modified.
  5. Overwriting custom frontmatter -- replacing existing valid frontmatter fields while adding missing ones. Only add what is missing; never overwrite existing values.

Edge Cases

  1. No fixable issues found -- report "No mechanical issues detected" and skip the approval gate. Do not create an empty fix report.
  2. User rejects all fixes -- acknowledge the rejection, do not apply any changes, and suggest manual fixes with specific guidance for each issue.
  3. File is read-only -- detect permission errors before batching fixes. Exclude read-only files from the proposal and note them as requiring manual permission changes.
  4. Conflicting fixes -- if two fixes target the same file and region (e.g., frontmatter field addition and frontmatter reformatting), merge them into a single coherent change rather than applying sequentially with potential conflicts.

From the file to a first result

The download contains exactly the content displayed on this page. This copy may differ from the latest version in the source repository.

View the source and supporting files

This download contains SKILL.md only. Any scripts, references, templates and dependencies are not included. Get the required files from the source, preserving their directory structure, before continuing.

1. Download the file

Download SKILL.md

From the root of a test project, save the file as .skill-downloads/fix-common-issues-mrwakbdn/SKILL.md, or use the command below. This folder is for inspecting the skill before installation.

Command for macOS/Linux or WSL: requires a POSIX shell and curl. On Windows without WSL, use the download button and create the folder manually.

mkdir -p '.skill-downloads/fix-common-issues-mrwakbdn' && curl --fail --show-error --location 'https://skills-guides.com/api/skills/fix-common-issues-mrwakbdn/download' --output '.skill-downloads/fix-common-issues-mrwakbdn/SKILL.md.part' && mv '.skill-downloads/fix-common-issues-mrwakbdn/SKILL.md.part' '.skill-downloads/fix-common-issues-mrwakbdn/SKILL.md'

2. Check prerequisites

Read SKILL.md before using it. If it references scripts or external services, inspect them and prepare the required access in your test environment.

No recognized prerequisites section in this file. This does not mean it is self-contained: libraries, tools and access requirements may be mentioned elsewhere in the content or source repository.

The platforms on this page are catalog indications. The paths below follow tool documentation; they do not prove this skill has been run in those tools. No minimum tool version is confirmed for this listing.

3. Load the skill

After inspection, copy the complete folder into your project using one of the commands below, then open a new tool session. The command stops if a folder with the same name already exists: compare the files before replacing it.

Claude Code
test -f '.skill-downloads/fix-common-issues-mrwakbdn/SKILL.md' && test -s '.skill-downloads/fix-common-issues-mrwakbdn/SKILL.md' && mkdir -p '.claude/skills' && test ! -e '.claude/skills/fix-common-issues' && cp -R '.skill-downloads/fix-common-issues-mrwakbdn' '.claude/skills/fix-common-issues'

OpenSkills

OpenSkills must already be installed. The local install/read procedure is checked with OpenSkills 1.5.0, which requires Node.js ≥ 20.6.0. Catalog slugs are not resolved automatically.

Official OpenSkills installation
openskills install './.skill-downloads/fix-common-issues-mrwakbdn'

openskills read 'fix-common-issues-mrwakbdn'

Reading should display the installed file content and its base directory. It does not run the skill or install its dependencies.

For an agent that reads AGENTS.md, then sync the index. This command changes AGENTS.md: review the diff before using it.

openskills sync

Manual method or another tool: attach SKILL.md to a conversation, or open it in an agent that can read files. Include any required supporting resources. No universal folder is recognized by every tool.

4. Try a first task

Use a short, synthetic input: an API endpoint, a small document or an interface brief. In a new conversation, attach the file or give the agent its path, then adapt this request:

Read .skill-downloads/fix-common-issues-mrwakbdn/SKILL.md and apply its instructions to this example: [describe a test input]. Identify any missing files, dependencies or access. Produce the result requested by the skill without inventing data or running unreviewed scripts.

Expected result: output matching the skill instructions, or a precise list of missing prerequisites. A read confirmation alone does not validate a first use. If an external resource is unavailable, that path remains untested.

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