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skill-tighten — SKILL.md Language Auditor

Audits a SKILL.md and fixes the phrasing that makes agents skip instructions: cuts rationale prose, hardens soft language, and adds STOP: gates.

Dev & CodingIntermediate★ 208⑂ 16AI score 8/10Last updated: Oct 24, 2026

What it does

  • Reads the whole SKILL.md plus sibling reference/asset files and shared include files, then audits against six checks:
    • T1 cut sections with zero imperatives ("Purpose", "Why This Matters", "Background")
    • T2 replace soft language (consider, should, try to, where possible) with imperatives
    • T3 prefix hard rules with **STOP:**
    • T4 remove redundant restatements
    • T5 drop non-actionable table columns (Why / Reason / Notes)
    • T6 strip trailing "This ensures that..." rationale sentences
  • Emits a per-skill report with before/after line counts, tagged change list, and a TIGHTENED / CLEAN verdict.
  • Guardrails: never removes checklist items, gates, branching logic, or output formats; include text is edited in source/shared/ rather than inlined.

Who it's for

  • Authors maintaining a library of Claude Code skills where bloat causes instructions to be underweighted
  • Users of the Lattice repo layout (source/atoms, references/, <!-- include: --> blocks)
  • Teams pairing it with skill-review, which covers behavioral gaps rather than phrasing

Examples

  1. "tighten this skill: source/atoms/clean-code/SKILL.md" → audits that one file and prints the change report
  2. "clean up the language for the atoms tier" → iterates every skill in that tier
  3. Run skill tighten right after drafting a new skill → removes the "Core Principle" narration and adds STOP: to the non-negotiable 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 AI 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 && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r 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: cp -r lattice/dev-skills/skill-tighten ~/.claude/skills/
  5. Verify ~/.claude/skills/skill-tighten/SKILL.md exists.
  6. Restart Claude Code and ask: "tighten this skill" with a file path or skill name.
  7. Because it edits files in place, commit or back up first and review the diff — path conventions assume the Lattice structure and may need adjusting.
View source on GitHub ↗License: MIT