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Overview

The validate command provides a fast pass/fail validation check. Unlike evaluate, it only reports errors without detailed scoring or verbose output, making it ideal for CI/CD pipelines and quick checks.

Usage

sklab validate [SKILL_PATH] [OPTIONS]

Arguments

SKILL_PATH
Path
Path to the skill directory. Defaults to current directory if not specified.

Options

--spec-only
boolean
default:false
Alias: -sOnly run checks required by the Agent Skills specification. Skips quality suggestion checks.
sklab validate --spec-only

Examples

Validate current directory

sklab validate

Validate specific skill

sklab validate ./my-skill

Validate with spec-required checks only

sklab validate --spec-only

Use in CI/CD pipeline

# GitHub Actions example
steps:
  - name: Validate skill
    run: sklab validate ./skills/my-skill

Output Format

The output is minimal and focused:

Success

Validation passed!

Failure

Validation failed!

  X [check-id] Error message describing the issue
  X [another-check-id] Another error message
Only failed checks are displayed with:
  • Check ID in brackets
  • Error message

Exit Codes

  • 0: Validation passed (all checks passed)
  • 1: Validation failed (one or more checks failed) or error occurred

Notes

The skill directory must contain a SKILL.md file. If not found, the command will exit with an error.
validate runs the same checks as evaluate but only reports errors, making it faster and more suitable for automation.

Comparison: validate vs evaluate

Featurevalidateevaluate
SpeedFastModerate
OutputErrors onlyFull report with scores
VerbosityMinimalDetailed
Best forCI/CD, quick checksDevelopment, debugging
JSON outputNoYes
ScoringNoYes (0-100)

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