subagent-testing

Original：🇺🇸 English

Translated

TDD-style testing methodology for skills using fresh subagent instances to prevent priming bias and validate skill effectiveness. Use when validating skill improvements, testing skill effectiveness, preventing priming bias, measuring skill impact on behavior. Do not use when implementing skills (use skill-authoring instead), creating hooks (use hook-authoring instead).

1installs

Sourceathola/claude-night-market

Added on2026-02-17

NPX Install

npx skill4agent add athola/claude-night-market subagent-testing

SKILL.md Content

View Translation Comparison →

Subagent Testing - TDD for Skills

Test skills with fresh subagent instances to prevent priming bias and validate effectiveness.

Overview

Fresh instances prevent priming: Each test uses a new Claude conversation to verify the skill's impact is measured, not conversation history effects.

Why Fresh Instances Matter

The Priming Problem

Running tests in the same conversation creates bias:

Prior context influences responses
Skill effects get mixed with conversation history
Can't isolate skill's true impact

Fresh Instance Benefits

Isolation: Each test starts clean
Reproducibility: Consistent baseline state
Measurement: Clear before/after comparison
Validation: Proves skill effectiveness, not priming

Testing Methodology

Three-phase TDD-style approach:

Phase 1: Baseline Testing (RED)

Test without skill to establish baseline behavior.

Phase 2: With-Skill Testing (GREEN)

Test with skill loaded to measure improvements.

Phase 3: Rationalization Testing (REFACTOR)

Test skill's anti-rationalization guardrails.

Quick Start

bash

# 1. Create baseline tests (without skill)
# Use 5 diverse scenarios
# Document full responses

# 2. Create with-skill tests (fresh instances)
# Load skill explicitly
# Use identical prompts
# Compare to baseline

# 3. Create rationalization tests
# Test anti-rationalization patterns
# Verify guardrails work

Detailed Testing Guide

For complete testing patterns, examples, and templates:

Testing Patterns - Full TDD methodology
Test Examples - Baseline, with-skill, rationalization tests
Analysis Templates - Scoring and comparison frameworks

Success Criteria

Baseline: Document 5+ diverse baseline scenarios
Improvement: ≥50% improvement in skill-related metrics
Consistency: Results reproducible across fresh instances
Rationalization Defense: Guardrails prevent ≥80% of rationalization attempts