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skill-tighten

An audit pass for SKILL.md files that strips rationale prose, hardens soft language into imperatives, adds STOP: gates, and removes redundancy.

Dev & CodingIntermediate★ 190⑂ 13AI score 8/10Last updated: Sep 7, 2026

What it does

  • Reads the full SKILL.md plus sibling files (references/*.md, assets/template.md) and audits phrasing only — behavioral gaps are left to skill-review.
  • Scans six checks: T1 cut non-actionable sections (Purpose, Background, Why This Matters), T2 convert soft language (consider, should, try to, where possible) into imperatives, T3 prefix hard rules with **STOP:**, T4 remove redundant restatements, T5 drop non-actionable table columns (Why/Reason/Notes), T6 delete trailing rationale sentences.
  • Each check ships with explicit Pass/Fail tests, so cuts are rule-driven rather than taste-driven.
  • Emits a fixed report format: Lines: before → after, numbered change list tagged by check, and TIGHTENED (N changes) or CLEAN.
  • Guardrails forbid removing checklist items, branching logic, gates, or output format specs.

Who it's for

  • Authors maintaining a library of Claude Code skills who want lower token cost and higher instruction compliance.
  • Teams standardizing house style across an internal skill repository.
  • Users following Lattice conventions (atoms/tier layout) or a similar tiered skill structure.

Examples

  1. "tighten this skill: clean-code" → resolves the path, audits, edits, and prints the change report.
  2. "tighten the atoms tier" → iterates every skill in the tier, applies T1–T6, reports per skill.
  3. Right after drafting a new skill: "reduce the bloat" → deletes the "Why This Matters" section, swaps should for must, and attaches STOP: to prohibition rules.

· · · Install guide · · ·

Try it now, no install

Paste this into Claude to use the skill without installing anything.

Read the instructions in this file and follow them to help me:
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/techygarg/lattice/HEAD/dev-skills/skill-tighten/SKILL.md

What I want: (describe your task here)

If Claude can't open the link, open it yourself and paste the contents instead.

↓ If it works for you, download the ZIP below and install it. Then it runs on its own — no pasting each time.

Install in the Claude app (no terminal)
  1. Download the ZIP with the button below.
  2. In Claude, open Settings → Capabilities and turn on 'Code execution and file creation'. (one time)
  3. Go to Customize → Skills → + → 'Upload a skill' and upload the ZIP.
↓ Download ZIP
Install in Claude Code

Let Claude do it — paste this into Claude Code

Install the skill I found on Claude Skill Mart.
Copy the dev-skills/skill-tighten folder from the GitHub repo techygarg/lattice into my ~/.claude/skills/skill-tighten/.
When it's done, tell me in one line what this skill can do.

Install with a command instead

git clone https://github.com/techygarg/lattice.git /tmp/lattice && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r /tmp/lattice/dev-skills/skill-tighten ~/.claude/skills/

⚠ This is a third-party skill. Check the source repository before installing.

  1. Open a terminal.
  2. Clone the repo: git clone https://github.com/techygarg/lattice.git
  3. Create the skills directory: mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills
  4. Copy the skill in: cp -r lattice/dev-skills/skill-tighten ~/.claude/skills/
  5. For project-only use, copy it into that project's .claude/skills/ instead of your home directory.
  6. Restart Claude Code, then run /skills or ask "tighten this skill" to confirm it triggers.
  7. Note: it rewrites your skill files in place — commit to git or create a branch before running it.
View source on GitHub ↗License: MIT