lit-review

From the files and frontmatter at commit bfa0a6e. This is how much a skill can do, not whether it is risky.

• Reaches the network

  It sends or fetches data over the internet, for example with curl, an HTTP library or a package install.

• Pre-approves tools

  Its allowed-tools field lists tools the agent may use without asking you first, in agents that honour it.

  SKILL.md:5 (opens in a new tab)

Pattern check: 1 item to review · commit bfa0a6e · 3 Nov 2026

• R34 · HighBroad tools pre-approved in allowed-tools

  SKILL.md:5 (opens in a new tab)

  allowed-tools: ["Read", "Grep", "Glob", "Write", "WebSearch", "WebFetch", "Agent"]

We checked every text file in this skill, at commit bfa0a6e on 3 Nov 2026, against 45 published patterns such as download-and-run commands, hidden text and credential access. We don't run the skill, we don't read the web pages it points to, and we can't judge everything its instructions might lead an agent to do. In published tests, pattern checks like this one missed most malicious skills. Read the skill before you install it — especially anything it asks you to download or run.

How the check worksReport an incorrect finding

Each agent reads SKILL.md a little differently. We check the file against each one's published rules; we don't run the skill in any agent.

• Agent Skills specPasses with warnings

  The open format from agentskills.io, held to the strictest version of each rule among the agents we check.

  • Warning

    The frontmatter uses [ ] or { } values. Most agents accept them, but the spec's validator (skills-ref) rejects the file. F4

    Fix: Write lists as "- item" lines and maps as indented key: value lines, without anchors or tags.

  • Warning

    Fields outside the spec: argument-hint (read by Claude Code and VS Code). Uploads to the Claude apps and API, and the spec's validator, reject the file; most agents ignore these fields. O1

    Fix: Delete them for a portable skill, or keep them if you only target the agents that read them.

  • Warning

    allowed-tools is a list; the spec defines a space-separated string. gh skill publish rejects a list, though Claude Code accepts one. O5

    Fix: Write it on one line: allowed-tools: Read Grep Glob Write WebSearch WebFetch Agent

  • Note

    There is no license field, so readers can't tell whether they may reuse the skill. O2

    Fix: Add license: with an SPDX name such as MIT or Apache-2.0, or the name of a bundled licence file.

• Claude CodePasses
• Claude apps & API uploadFails

  Uploading to claude.ai or the Claude API, or packaging with Anthropic's script, accepts only the six spec fields and stops on anything else.

  • Error

    Upload and packaging fail on fields outside the spec: argument-hint. O1

    Fix: Delete them, and keep your own data under metadata as text values.

  • Note

    The description is 372 characters. The claude.ai Help Center says 200 at most, though Anthropic's API docs and validator allow 1,024. D4

    Fix: If the claude.ai upload refuses it, trim the description to 200 characters.

  • Note

    allowed-tools is a list; the spec defines a space-separated string. O5

    Fix: Write it on one line: allowed-tools: Read Grep Glob Write WebSearch WebFetch Agent

• OpenAI (Codex & API)Passes with warnings

  Codex finds SKILL.md by its exact name and needs a description; OpenAI's Skills API checks the frontmatter against the spec and caps uploads.

  • Warning

    Fields outside the spec: argument-hint. Codex ignores them; OpenAI doesn't say whether its upload accepts them. O1

    Fix: Delete them, or move your own data under metadata as text values.

  • Note

    allowed-tools is a list; the spec defines a space-separated string. O5

    Fix: Write it on one line: allowed-tools: Read Grep Glob Write WebSearch WebFetch Agent

• VS Code & CopilotPasses

  VS Code reads skills one folder below .github/skills, .claude/skills or .agents/skills and falls back to the folder name when the name is missing or differs; GitHub's Copilot docs require the exact name SKILL.md.

  • Note

    allowed-tools is a list; the spec defines a space-separated string. O5

    Fix: Write it on one line: allowed-tools: Read Grep Glob Write WebSearch WebFetch Agent

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