Skillpack Plugin Maintenance

VerifiedSafe

Systematic maintenance of Claude Code plugins including skills, commands, agents, and hooks. Validates behavior not syntax through domain analysis, structure review, and behavioral testing.

Sby Skills Guide Bot
DevelopmentAdvanced
3/4/2026
Claude Code
#claude-code#plugin-maintenance#skill-authoring#behavioral-testing#quality-review

Recommended for

Automated summary

Guides the systematic maintenance and enhancement of existing Claude Code plugins—skills, commands, agents, hooks, and reference sheets—through domain analysis, structural scoring, and behavioral testing.

Strengths

  • Provides a five-stage workflow with explicit decision gates for review, discussion, and execution.
  • Includes a fitness scorecard (critical, major, minor, pass) to prioritize fixes and decide whether to proceed or rebuild.
  • Prioritizes behavioral validation and pressure testing over syntax-only checks.
  • Clarifies which components are in scope and routes new skill creation to a dedicated writing process.

Limitations

  • Does not cover creating a new plugin or a brand-new skill from scratch.
  • Approval and discussion checkpoints can slow down urgent fixes.
  • Assumes Claude Code plugin conventions and may not transfer to other agent frameworks.
When to use it

Use it when refreshing an existing Claude Code plugin, adding or removing components, identifying coverage gaps, or validating whether its skills, commands, agents, and hooks behave correctly.

When not to use it

Do not use it to create a new plugin from scratch or author a brand-new skill; use a design-first or writing-skills workflow instead.

Security analysis

Safe
Quality score88/100

The skill provides structured maintenance guidance for Claude Code plugins. It does not execute commands, access secrets, download payloads, or instruct destructive actions; any tool use is delegated to other referenced skills or user-approved workflows.

No concerns found

How this analysis is made

Examples

Refresh an existing plugin
Refresh my existing Claude Code plugin: inventory its skills, commands, agents, and hooks, score the structure, and propose a prioritized fix plan.
Add components safely
I want to add a new command and agent to my existing Claude Code plugin. Review the current plugin's structure and behavioral quality first, then suggest the changes.
Run behavioral audit
Audit my Claude Code plugin for coverage gaps and behavioral failures in its existing skills before I bump the version.

name: using-skillpack-maintenance description: Use when maintaining, enhancing, or modifying existing Claude Code plugins - handles skills, commands, agents, hooks, and reference sheets through systematic domain analysis, structure review, behavioral testing, and quality improvements

Plugin Maintenance

Systematic maintenance of Claude Code plugins including skills, commands, agents, hooks, and reference sheets.

Core Principle

Maintenance = behavioral validation, not syntactic checking. Test if components guide Claude correctly, not if they parse correctly.

Scope: What This Skill Maintains

| Component | Location | Frontmatter | |-----------|----------|-------------| | Skills | skills/*/SKILL.md | name, description, allowed-tools | | Reference sheets | skills/using-*/*.md | (none - content files) | | Commands | commands/*.md | description, allowed-tools, argument-hint | | Agents | agents/*.md | description, model, tools | | Hooks | hooks/hooks.json | JSON with event matchers |

When to Use

Use for:

  • Enhancing existing plugins (e.g., "refresh yzmir-deep-rl")
  • Adding/removing/modifying components
  • Identifying coverage gaps
  • Validating component quality

Do NOT use for:

  • Creating new plugins from scratch (design first)
  • Creating brand new skills (use superpowers:writing-skills)

Reference Sheet Location

All reference sheets are in this skill's directory:

  • analyzing-pack-domain.md - Domain investigation
  • reviewing-pack-structure.md - Structure review, scorecard
  • testing-skill-quality.md - Behavioral testing methodology
  • implementing-fixes.md - Execution and versioning

When reading analyzing-pack-domain.md, find it at: skills/using-skillpack-maintenance/analyzing-pack-domain.md


Workflow: Review → Discuss → Execute

Stage 1: Investigation

Load: analyzing-pack-domain.md

  1. User scope - Ask about intent, boundaries, target audience
  2. Domain mapping - What should this plugin cover?
  3. Inventory audit - What exists? Skills, commands, agents, hooks?
  4. Gap analysis - What's missing vs. coverage map?

Output: Coverage map, component inventory, gaps identified

Stage 2: Structure Review

Load: reviewing-pack-structure.md

Generate fitness scorecard:

  • Critical - Plugin unusable, consider rebuild
  • Major - Significant gaps or structural issues
  • Minor - Polish and improvements
  • Pass - Structurally sound

Decision gate: Present scorecard → User decides: Proceed / Rebuild / Cancel

Stage 3: Behavioral Testing

Load: testing-skill-quality.md

Test each component with challenging scenarios:

  • Pressure tests - Does it hold under "just do it quickly" pressure?
  • Edge cases - Does it handle corner cases?
  • Real-world complexity - Does it guide correctly in messy situations?

Output: Per-component test results (Pass / Fix needed)

Stage 4: Discussion

Present findings by category:

Gaps requiring new components:

  • Skills needing superpowers:writing-skills (each = separate RED-GREEN-REFACTOR)
  • Commands to create
  • Agents to create

Existing components needing fixes:

  • Skills/commands/agents with behavioral failures
  • Hooks with issues

Get user approval before execution.

Stage 5: Execution

Load: implementing-fixes.md

CRITICAL CHECKPOINT: If gaps were identified → Use superpowers:writing-skills for EACH new skill first. Do NOT create new skills inline. They require behavioral testing.

Execute approved changes:

  1. Structural fixes (remove duplicates, update router)
  2. Content enhancements (fix behavioral failures)
  3. Component creation (commands, agents - NOT skills)
  4. Version bump and commit

Component-Specific Guidance

Skills (SKILL.md)

---
name: skill-name
description: When to use this skill and what it does
allowed-tools: [Read, Grep, Glob]  # optional
---

Key questions:

  • Does description trigger correct activation?
  • Is guidance actionable under pressure?
  • Are there missing anti-patterns?

Commands (commands/*.md)

---
description: What this command does
allowed-tools: [Read, Bash, Glob, Grep]
argument-hint: "[optional_arg]"
---

Key questions:

  • Is the command user-invocable (vs skill which is model-invoked)?
  • Does it have clear entry point?
  • Are tool restrictions appropriate?

Agents (agents/*.md)

---
description: What this agent specializes in
model: sonnet  # or opus, haiku
tools: [Read, Grep, Glob, Bash, Write]
---

Key questions:

  • Clear scope boundaries (what it does / doesn't do)?
  • Appropriate model selection for complexity?
  • Activation examples (positive and negative)?

Hooks (hooks/hooks.json)

{
  "hooks": {
    "PostToolUse": [{
      "matcher": "Write|Edit",
      "hooks": [{"type": "command", "command": "script.sh"}]
    }]
  }
}

Events: PreToolUse, PostToolUse, UserPromptSubmit, Notification, Stop, SubagentStop, SessionStart, SessionEnd, PreCompact

Key questions:

  • Correct event type for the use case?
  • Matcher pattern accurate?
  • Script executable and tested?

Version Bump Rules

| Impact | Bump | Examples | |--------|------|----------| | Low | Patch (x.y.Z) | Typos, formatting, minor clarifications | | Medium | Minor (x.Y.0) | Enhanced guidance, new components, better examples | | High | Major (X.0.0) | Components removed, structural changes, philosophy shifts |

Default for maintenance: Minor bump


Red Flags - Stop and Reconsider

| Thought | Reality | |---------|---------| | "I'll write new skills during execution" | NO. Use superpowers:writing-skills for each gap | | "Syntax looks correct, no need to test" | Parsing ≠ effectiveness. Test behavior. | | "This is a quick fix, skip the process" | Quick untested = broken later | | "The command/agent is simple enough" | Simple things fail in edge cases. Test anyway. |


Quick Reference

Investigation → Scorecard → Testing → Discussion → Execution
     ↓              ↓           ↓           ↓            ↓
  Domain map    Fitness    Behavioral   Present      Apply
  + inventory   rating     validation   + approve    changes

Load briefings at each stage. Test with scenarios. Get approval. Execute.

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/skillpack-plugin-maintenance-mmbizjku/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/skillpack-plugin-maintenance-mmbizjku' && curl --fail --show-error --location 'https://skills-guides.com/api/skills/skillpack-plugin-maintenance-mmbizjku/download' --output '.skill-downloads/skillpack-plugin-maintenance-mmbizjku/SKILL.md.part' && mv '.skill-downloads/skillpack-plugin-maintenance-mmbizjku/SKILL.md.part' '.skill-downloads/skillpack-plugin-maintenance-mmbizjku/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.

Original excerpt: Quick Reference
Investigation → Scorecard → Testing → Discussion → Execution
     ↓              ↓           ↓           ↓            ↓
  Domain map    Fitness    Behavioral   Present      Apply
  + inventory   rating     validation   + approve    changes

Load briefings at each stage. Test with scenarios. Get approval. Execute.

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/skillpack-plugin-maintenance-mmbizjku/SKILL.md' && test -s '.skill-downloads/skillpack-plugin-maintenance-mmbizjku/SKILL.md' && mkdir -p '.claude/skills' && test ! -e '.claude/skills/using-skillpack-maintenance' && cp -R '.skill-downloads/skillpack-plugin-maintenance-mmbizjku' '.claude/skills/using-skillpack-maintenance'

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/skillpack-plugin-maintenance-mmbizjku'

openskills read 'skillpack-plugin-maintenance-mmbizjku'

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/skillpack-plugin-maintenance-mmbizjku/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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