docs.validate.skill_docs

docs.validate.skill_docs

Overview

The docs.validate.skill_docs skill validates SKILL.md documentation files against their corresponding skill.yaml manifests to ensure completeness, consistency, and quality. This skill helps maintain high documentation standards across all Betty Framework skills by automatically checking for required sections and verifying that documented fields match the manifest.

Purpose

Documentation quality is critical for skill discoverability and usability. This skill addresses the common problem of documentation drift, where SKILL.md files become outdated or incomplete as skills evolve. By automatically validating documentation, this skill ensures that:

• All required documentation sections are present
• Documented inputs and outputs match the manifest
• Skill metadata is consistent between files
• Documentation follows Betty Framework standards

This enables developers to maintain high-quality, trustworthy documentation with minimal manual effort.

Usage

Basic Usage

python skills/docs.validate.skill_docs/skill_docs_validate.py <skill_path> [options]

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
skill_path	string	Yes	-	Path to skill directory containing skill.yaml and SKILL.md
--summary	boolean	No	false	Print a short summary table instead of full JSON output
--no-headers	boolean	No	false	Skip validation of required headers
--no-manifest-parity	Skip validation of manifest field parity

Options

• --summary: Displays a concise table showing validation status for each skill
• --no-headers: Skips checking for required section headers
• --no-manifest-parity: Skips checking that SKILL.md matches skill.yaml fields

Inputs

The skill accepts the following inputs:

• skill_path (required): Path to the skill directory to validate. Can be a single skill directory or a parent directory containing multiple skills for batch validation.

• summary (optional, default: false): When enabled, outputs a formatted table summary instead of detailed JSON output. Useful for quick validation checks.

• check_headers (optional, default: true): Validates that SKILL.md contains all required section headers: Overview, Purpose, Usage, Inputs, Outputs, Examples, Integration, and Errors.

• check_manifest_parity (optional, default: true): Validates that documented inputs, outputs, and metadata match the skill.yaml manifest.

Outputs

The skill produces a JSON validation report with the following fields:

• ok (boolean): Overall validation status (true if valid, false if errors found)
• status (string): "valid" or "invalid"
• skill_path (string): Path to the validated skill
• skill_name (string): Name of the skill from manifest
• valid (boolean): Whether the skill documentation is valid
• errors (array): List of validation errors
• warnings (array): List of validation warnings
• validation_report (object): Detailed validation results

Each error/warning includes:

• type: Error type (e.g., "missing_header", "undocumented_input")
• message: Human-readable description
• severity: "error" or "warning"
• file: Affected file (if applicable)
• suggestion: Recommended fix (if applicable)

Examples

Example 1: Validate a Single Skill

python skills/docs.validate.skill_docs/skill_docs_validate.py skills/api.validate

Output:

{
  "ok": true,
  "status": "valid",
  "skill_path": "skills/api.validate",
  "errors": [],
  "warnings": [],
  "details": {
    "valid": true,
    "skill_name": "api.validate",
    "skill_path": "skills/api.validate",
    "errors": [],
    "warnings": [],
    "checks_run": {
      "headers": true,
      "manifest_parity": true
    }
  }
}

Example 2: Batch Validate All Skills with Summary

python skills/docs.validate.skill_docs/skill_docs_validate.py skills --summary

Output:

================================================================================
SKILL DOCUMENTATION VALIDATION SUMMARY
================================================================================
Skill Name                      Status    Errors    Warnings
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
api.validate                    VALID     0         0
docs.validate.skill_docs        VALID     0         0
generate.docs                   VALID     0         1
workflow.validate               INVALID   2         0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: 4 skills | Valid: 3 | Total Errors: 2 | Total Warnings: 1
================================================================================

Example 3: Validate with Detailed Error Report

python skills/docs.validate.skill_docs/skill_docs_validate.py skills/workflow.validate

Output:

{
  "ok": false,
  "status": "invalid",
  "skill_path": "skills/workflow.validate",
  "errors": [
    {
      "type": "missing_header",
      "message": "Required header 'Integration' not found in SKILL.md",
      "severity": "error",
      "file": "SKILL.md",
      "suggestion": "Add a '## Integration' section to SKILL.md"
    },
    {
      "type": "undocumented_input",
      "message": "Input 'strict_mode' from manifest not documented in SKILL.md",
      "severity": "error",
      "file": "SKILL.md",
      "suggestion": "Document the 'strict_mode' input in the Inputs section"
    }
  ],
  "warnings": [],
  "details": {
    "valid": false,
    "skill_name": "workflow.validate",
    "checks_run": {
      "headers": true,
      "manifest_parity": true
    }
  }
}

Example 4: Skip Header Validation

python skills/docs.validate.skill_docs/skill_docs_validate.py skills/api.validate --no-headers

This validates only manifest field parity, skipping header checks.

Validation Rules

Required Headers

The following headers must be present in SKILL.md:

1. Overview: Brief description of the skill
2. Purpose: Detailed explanation of the problem it solves
3. Usage: How to use the skill with command examples
4. Inputs: Documentation of all input parameters
5. Outputs: Documentation of all output fields
6. Examples: Practical usage examples
7. Integration: How to integrate with workflows or hooks
8. Errors: Common errors and exit codes

Alternative header variations are accepted (e.g., "How to Use" for "Usage", "Parameters" for "Inputs").

Manifest Parity Checks

The skill validates that:

• Skill name from manifest appears in the documentation
• All inputs defined in skill.yaml are documented in SKILL.md
• All outputs defined in skill.yaml are documented in SKILL.md
• Status field uses standard values (active, deprecated, experimental)
• Tags are defined for skill discoverability

Error Types

Error Type	Severity	Description
missing_file	error	SKILL.md file not found
missing_header	error	Required section header missing
undocumented_input	error	Manifest input not documented
undocumented_output	warning	Manifest output not documented
missing_skill_name	warning	Skill name not mentioned in docs
invalid_status	warning	Non-standard status value
missing_tags	warning	No tags defined in manifest

Integration

Integration with Hooks

You can integrate this skill with Betty's hook system to automatically validate documentation before commits:

# .betty/hooks/pre-commit.yaml
name: validate-docs-pre-commit
event: pre-commit
skill: docs.validate.skill_docs
inputs:
  skill_path: ${CHANGED_SKILL_DIR}
  summary: true
on_failure: block

Use in Workflows

Example workflow for continuous documentation validation:

name: validate-all-skill-docs
description: Validate all skill documentation files

steps:
  - name: validate-docs
    skill: docs.validate.skill_docs
    inputs:
      skill_path: skills
      summary: true
      check_headers: true
      check_manifest_parity: true

  - name: report-results
    condition: ${{ steps.validate-docs.outputs.valid == false }}
    action: fail
    message: "Documentation validation failed. See errors above."

CI/CD Integration

Add to your CI/CD pipeline:

# Validate all skills and fail on errors
python skills/docs.validate.skill_docs/skill_docs_validate.py skills --summary || exit 1

Errors

Exit Codes

Code	Description
0	All validations passed successfully
1	Validation failed (errors found) or usage error

Common Validation Errors

Missing Header Error

Error:

{
  "type": "missing_header",
  "message": "Required header 'Integration' not found in SKILL.md"
}

Fix: Add the missing section to SKILL.md:

## Integration

Describe how to integrate this skill with workflows and hooks.

Undocumented Input Error

Error:

{
  "type": "undocumented_input",
  "message": "Input 'api_key' from manifest not documented in SKILL.md"
}

Fix: Document the input in the Inputs section:

## Inputs

- **api_key** (optional): API authentication key for external service

Invalid Status Warning

Error:

{
  "type": "invalid_status",
  "message": "Manifest status 'beta' is not a standard value"
}

Fix: Update skill.yaml to use a standard status:

status: experimental  # Use: active, deprecated, or experimental

Dependencies

• Python: 3.8+
• PyYAML: For parsing skill.yaml manifests
• Betty Framework: context.schema dependency

See Also

• generate.docs - Generate SKILL.md from manifests
• workflow.validate - Validate workflow definitions
• api.validate - Validate API specifications

Version

v0.1.0