sensei

Original：🇺🇸 English
Translated

Iteratively improve skill frontmatter compliance using the Ralph loop pattern. USE FOR: run sensei, sensei help, improve skill, fix frontmatter, skill compliance, frontmatter audit, improve triggers, add anti-triggers, batch skill improvement, check skill tokens. DO NOT USE FOR: creating new skills (use skill-authoring), writing skill content, token optimization only (use markdown-token-optimizer), or non-frontmatter changes.

11installs
Sourcetyler-r-kendrick/agent-skills
Added on

NPX Install

npx skill4agent add tyler-r-kendrick/agent-skills sensei

Tags

Translated version includes tags in frontmatter
skill-frontmatter-complianceralph-loop-patternbatch-skill-improvementtoken-auditsensei-tool

SKILL.md Content

View Translation Comparison →

Sensei

"A true master teaches not by telling, but by refining." - The Skill Sensei
Automates skill frontmatter improvement using the Ralph loop pattern - iteratively improving skills until they reach Medium-High compliance with passing tests, then checking token usage and prompting for action.

Help

When user says "sensei help" or asks how to use sensei, show this:
╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║  SENSEI - Skill Frontmatter Compliance Improver                  ║
╠══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║                                                                  ║
║  USAGE:                                                          ║
║    Run sensei on <skill-name>              # Single skill        ║
║    Run sensei on <skill-name> --skip-integration  # Fast mode    ║
║    Run sensei on <skill1>, <skill2>, ...   # Multiple skills     ║
║    Run sensei on all Low-adherence skills  # Batch by score      ║
║    Run sensei on all skills                # All skills       ║
║                                                                  ║
║  EXAMPLES:                                                       ║
║    Run sensei on appinsights-instrumentation                     ║
║    Run sensei on azure-security --skip-integration               ║
║    Run sensei on azure-security, azure-networking                ║
║    Run sensei on all Low-adherence skills                        ║
║                                                                  ║
║  WHAT IT DOES:                                                   ║
║    1. READ    - Load skill's SKILL.md, tests, and token count    ║
║    2. SCORE   - Check compliance (Low/Medium/Medium-High/High)   ║
║    3. SCAFFOLD- Create tests from template if missing            ║
║    4. IMPROVE - Add USE FOR triggers + DO NOT USE FOR            ║
║    5. TEST    - Run tests, fix if needed                         ║
║    6. TOKENS  - Check token budget, gather suggestions           ║
║    7. SUMMARY - Show before/after with suggestions               ║
║    8. PROMPT  - Ask: Commit, Create Issue, or Skip?              ║
║    9. REPEAT  - Until Medium-High score + tests pass             ║
║                                                                  ║
║  TARGET SCORE: Medium-High                                       ║
║    ✓ Description > 150 chars                                     ║
║    ✓ Has "USE FOR:" trigger phrases                              ║
║    ✓ Has "DO NOT USE FOR:" anti-triggers                         ║
║    ✓ SKILL.md < 500 tokens (soft limit)                          ║
║                                                                  ║
║  MORE INFO:                                                      ║
║    See .github/skills/sensei/README.md for full documentation    ║
║                                                                  ║
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝

When to Use

  • Improving a skill's frontmatter compliance score
  • Adding trigger phrases and anti-triggers to skill descriptions
  • Batch-improving multiple skills at once
  • Auditing and fixing Low-adherence skills

Invocation Modes

Single Skill

Run sensei on azure-deploy

Multiple Skills

Run sensei on azure-security, azure-networking, azure-observability

By Adherence Level

Run sensei on all Low-adherence skills

All Skills

Run sensei on all skills

The Ralph Loop

For each skill, execute this loop until score >= Medium-High AND tests pass:
  1. READ - Load 
    plugin/skills/{skill-name}/SKILL.md
    , tests, and token count
  2. SCORE - Run rule-based compliance check (see SCORING.md)
  3. CHECK - If score >= Medium-High AND tests pass → go to TOKENS step
  4. SCAFFOLD - If 
    tests/{skill-name}/
    doesn't exist, create from 
    tests/_template/
  5. IMPROVE FRONTMATTER - Add triggers, anti-triggers, compatibility (stay under 1024 chars)
  6. IMPROVE TESTS - Update 
    shouldTriggerPrompts
    and 
    shouldNotTriggerPrompts
    to match
  7. VERIFY - Run 
    cd tests && npm test -- --testPathPattern={skill-name}
  8. TOKENS - Check token budget, gather optimization suggestions
  9. SUMMARY - Display before/after comparison with unimplemented suggestions
  10. PROMPT - Ask user: Commit, Create Issue, or Skip?
  11. REPEAT - Go to step 2 (max 5 iterations per skill)

Scoring Criteria (Quick Reference)

ScoreRequirements
LowBasic description, no explicit triggers, no anti-triggers
MediumHas trigger keywords/phrases, description > 150 chars
Medium-HighHas "USE FOR:" triggers AND "DO NOT USE FOR:" anti-triggers
HighTriggers + anti-triggers + compatibility field
Target: Medium-High (triggers + anti-triggers present)

Frontmatter Template

yaml
---
name: skill-name
description: |
  [1-2 sentence description of what the skill does]
  USE FOR: [trigger phrase 1], [trigger phrase 2], [trigger phrase 3]
  DO NOT USE FOR: [scenario] (use other-skill), [scenario] (use another-skill)
---
IMPORTANT: Always use multi-line YAML format (
|
) for descriptions over 200 characters. Single-line descriptions become difficult to read, review, and maintain. See azure-ai, azure-functions for examples.
Keep total description under 1024 characters.

Test Scaffolding

When tests don't exist, scaffold from 
tests/_template/
:
bash
cp -r tests/_template tests/{skill-name}
Then update:
  1. SKILL_NAME
    constant in all test files
  2. shouldTriggerPrompts
    - 5+ prompts matching new frontmatter triggers
  3. shouldNotTriggerPrompts
    - 5+ prompts matching anti-triggers
Commit Messages:
sensei: improve {skill-name} frontmatter

Constraints

  • Only modify 
    plugin/skills/
    - these are the Azure skills used by Copilot
  • .github/skills/
    contains meta-skills like sensei for developer tooling
  • Max 5 iterations per skill before moving on
  • Description must stay under 1024 characters
  • SKILL.md should stay under 500 tokens (soft limit)
  • Tests must pass before prompting for action
  • User chooses: Commit, Create Issue, or Skip after each skill

Flags

FlagDescription
--skip-integration
Skip integration tests for faster iteration. Only runs unit and trigger tests.
⚠️ Skipping integration tests speeds up the loop but may miss runtime issues. Consider running full tests before final commit.

Reference Documentation

  • SCORING.md - Detailed scoring criteria
  • LOOP.md - Ralph loop workflow details
  • EXAMPLES.md - Before/after examples
  • TOKEN-INTEGRATION.md - Token budget integration

Related Skills