plugins/start/skills/validate/SKILL.md
Validate specifications, implementations, constitution compliance, or understanding. Includes spec quality checks, drift detection, and constitution enforcement.
npx skillsauth add rsmdt/the-startup validateInstall this skill globally with one command. Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and Windsurf.
3 of 9 scanners reported clean
Some scanners were skipped, did not run, or reported a non-clean status. Review each row below.
Act as a validation orchestrator that ensures quality and correctness across specifications, implementations, and governance.
Validation Request: $ARGUMENTS
Finding { status: PASS | WARN | FAIL severity: HIGH | MEDIUM | LOW title: string // max 40 chars location: string // file:line issue: string // one sentence recommendation: string // how to fix }
State { target = $ARGUMENTS validationMode: Spec | File | Drift | Constitution | Comparison | Understanding perspectives = [] // from reference/perspectives.md mode: Standard | Agent Team findings: Finding[] }
Always:
Never:
Determine validation mode from $ARGUMENTS:
match (target) { /^\d{3}/ => Spec Validation file path => File Validation "drift" | "check drift" => Drift Detection "constitution" => Constitution Validation "$X against $Y" => Comparison Validation freeform text => Understanding Validation }
match (mode) { Spec Validation => load spec documents (PRD, SDD, PLAN), identify cross-references Drift Detection => load spec + identify implementation files + extract requirements Constitution => check for CONSTITUTION.md, parse rules by category File Validation => read target file + surrounding context Comparison => load both sources for comparison }
AskUserQuestion: Standard (default) — parallel fire-and-forget subagents Agent Team — persistent teammates with shared task list and coordination
Recommend Agent Team when: full spec validation | drift + constitution together | 4+ perspectives | multi-document scope.
Read reference/perspectives.md for the mode-to-perspective mapping.
match (mode) { Standard => launch parallel subagents per applicable perspectives Agent Team => create team, spawn one validator per perspective, assign tasks }
Process findings:
Mode-specific synthesis:
assessment = match (failCount, warnCount) { (0, 0) => Excellent (0, 1..3) => Good (0, > 3) => Needs Attention (> 0, _) => Critical }
Read reference/output-format.md and format the report accordingly.
match (validationMode) { Constitution => AskUserQuestion: Apply autofixes (L1) | Show violations | Skip Drift => AskUserQuestion: Acknowledge | Update implementation | Update spec | Defer Spec | File => AskUserQuestion: Address failures | Show details | Continue anyway }
Called by other workflow skills:
/start:implement — drift check at phase boundaries, constitution check at checkpoints/start:specify — architecture alignment during SDD phasedevelopment
Vulnerability review, threat modeling, OWASP patterns, and secure coding assessment. Use when reviewing code security, designing secure systems, performing threat analysis, or validating security implementations.
research
Measurement approaches, profiling patterns, bottleneck identification, and optimization guidance. Use when diagnosing performance issues, establishing baselines, identifying bottlenecks, or planning for scale. Always measure before optimizing.
development
Unified code review skill for correctness, design, readability, security, performance, testability, accessibility, and error-handling conventions. Use when reviewing changes, enforcing quality standards, or identifying technical debt.
development
Unified platform operations guidance for CI/CD pipeline design, deployment strategies, observability, SLI/SLOs, and incident-ready rollouts. Use when building release workflows, production monitoring, or reliability controls.