pack-validate

Pack Validate

Verify the pack works and earns its tokens.

Core Principle: A pack that doesn't measurably change agent behavior is wasted context tokens. Validation proves the pack delivers value.

Community Pack Path

Step 1: Automated Checks

Run the pack quality checker:

bash .sage/tools/sage-check-pack.sh packs/<pack-name>

Fix all errors. Review all warnings. The checker validates:

• Manifest completeness (required fields, layer, dependencies)
• Token budget compliance (per-file and total)
• Required content (patterns, anti-patterns, tests.md)
• Pattern quality signals (agent-failure explanations, code examples)
• Composability (no contradictions with dependencies)

Step 2: Re-Run Test Prompts WITH Pack

Take the same test prompts from Phase 3. Run them again, but this time with the pack loaded in context.

For each prompt, record:

• What the agent produced this time
• Did the behavior change from the baseline?
• Did the pack's specific guidance get followed?
• Did ANY anti-pattern from the pack still occur?

Step 3: Measure Behavior Change

Compare Phase 3 (without pack) to Step 2 (with pack):

| Prompt | Without Pack | With Pack | Changed? | Improved? |
|--------|-------------|-----------|----------|-----------|
| 1      | [failure]   | [result]  | YES/NO   | YES/NO    |
| 2      | [failure]   | [result]  | YES/NO   | YES/NO    |
| ...    |             |           |          |           |

Behavior change rate: X/Y prompts = Z%
Target: ≥70%

Step 4: Iterate If Needed

If behavior change rate is below 70%:

• Pack guidance was ignored → make the language stronger. "ALWAYS" and "NEVER" are stronger than "prefer" and "consider." Add code examples.
• Agent acknowledged but didn't follow → the pattern may be too abstract. Make it more specific with a concrete code example.
• No change at all → the pattern addresses something the agent already handles. Cut it — it's wasting tokens.
• Agent followed guidance but result was wrong → the pattern itself is inaccurate. Fix the content, not the format.

Repeat Steps 2-3 after changes until ≥70% or you've concluded the pack can't improve on the agent's baseline (rare but honest).

Step 5: Final Report

# Validation Report

## Automated Checks: PASS/FAIL
## Token Usage: N / limit
## Behavior Change: X/Y = Z%

## Per-Prompt Results
[table from Step 3]

## Changes Made During Iteration
- [what was changed and why]

## Verdict: READY / NEEDS WORK / NOT VIABLE

Project Overlay Path

Validation for overlays is simpler:

Step 1: Verify Loading

Confirm the overlay loads correctly alongside its community pack:

• The overrides.md file exists and is well-formed
• The pack.yaml has type: overlay and extends: field
• The community pack it extends is installed

Step 2: Spot Check

Give the agent 1-2 prompts that should trigger the overlay's guidance. Verify the agent follows your project-specific conventions, not just the community pack's generic patterns.

Step 3: Token Check

Confirm the overlay is under 500 tokens. It should be a small delta.

Output

Save to .sage/pack-build/validation.md:

# Validation Report

Path: [community-pack / project-overlay]
Pack: <name>
Automated checks: [PASS/FAIL]
Token usage: [N / limit]
Behavior change: [X/Y = Z%]
Verdict: [READY / NEEDS WORK / NOT VIABLE]

Failure Modes

• Behavior change below 50%: The pack isn't effective enough. Consider whether the framework really needs a pack or if agents handle it well enough.
• One pattern drives all improvement: The other patterns may be noise. Consider trimming to just the high-impact patterns and their supporting anti-patterns.
• Pack causes regressions: A pattern made the agent WORSE on a prompt. The pattern is wrong — fix or remove it immediately.