Skill Discovery & Pre-Install Check
Combined entry point for finding skills on GitHub and for evaluating a specific skill (URL or local path) before installing it.
Overview
Replaces the v1.2 split between /janitor-search and /janitor-precheck. The dispatcher picks the right mode from the argument shape. Search results are relevance-gated (a repo must carry a skill signal in its name/description/topics) and ranked by relevance before stars, so generic mega-repos don't crowd out actual skills.
| Argument | Mode | What runs |
|---|---|---|
Keyword(s) like seo or n8n workflows | Discovery | search.sh — find matching skills on GitHub |
--compare <skill-name> | Comparison | search.sh --compare — find alternatives to a local skill |
Full URL: https://github.com/user/skill | Pre-install check | precheck.sh — analyze before installing |
Short repo: user/skill | Pre-install check | precheck.sh (auto-expanded to URL) |
Local path: ~/path/to/skill | Pre-install check | precheck.sh (local folder) |
Pre-install mode runs two checks, not one: overlap against what's already installed, and
(since v1.6) a security scan of the candidate via security.sh — the same heuristics
/janitor-security uses on installed skills.
Prerequisites
- Claude Code with the skills-janitor plugin installed (provides
scripts/discover.sh,search.sh,precheck.sh,compare.sh) - bash 3.2+ and
curl - Network access to
api.github.com(anonymous OK; setGITHUB_TOKENfor higher rate limits and code search)
Instructions
Step 1: Dispatch on argument shape
bashbash ~/.claude/skills/skills-janitor/scripts/discover.sh <query-or-url> [options]
Examples:
discover.sh seo— search for SEO-related skillsdiscover.sh n8n --limit 20— top 20 n8n skillsdiscover.sh --compare marketing-seo-audit— alternatives to a local skilldiscover.sh https://github.com/user/my-skill— check before installingdiscover.sh user/my-skill— same, short form
Step 2: Present results per mode
Discovery mode — ranked list of GitHub repos with skill name, description, stars, last updated, and a one-line verdict.
Pre-install mode — two sections. First, overlap analysis: which of the user's existing skills (including plugin skills) overlap with the candidate by description, and a recommendation to install / skip / replace. Second, a --- Security (<scope>) --- block.
Always report the security scope back to the user, because it differs by source:
| Source | Scanned |
|---|---|
| Local path | Full directory — SKILL.md and bundled scripts |
URL / user/repo | Fetched SKILL.md only — scripts are never downloaded, so re-check after cloning |
A PASS on a remote URL therefore means "nothing suspicious in the text we could see", not "this repo is safe". Say so when the candidate ships scripts.
Output
Discovery: a numbered table (repository, stars, updated, INSTALLED/AVAILABLE status).
Pre-install: overlap buckets (HIGH ≥60%, MODERATE 30–59%, LOW <30%) with shared keywords and a final verdict line (HIGH_OVERLAP / MODERATE_OVERLAP / SAFE), plus a security block that prints either No suspicious patterns found. (PASS), Security scan unavailable. (UNKNOWN), or VERDICT: REVIEW|RISK followed by one severity + title + evidence line per finding. With --json, the same data lands under a security key (verdict, scope, findings).
Error Handling
-
Error:
GitHub API rate limit exceededSolution: Set theGITHUB_TOKENenvironment variable (any classic token, no scopes needed) and re-run; anonymous search allows only a few requests per minute. -
Error:
Could not fetch SKILL.md from <url>Solution: The repo keeps its SKILL.md at a non-standard path — pass a direct URL to the SKILL.md file, or a local clone path instead. -
Error: No results for a valid topic Solution: The relevance gate drops repos without any skill signal. Broaden the keyword (e.g.
n8n skill→n8n) or check the cached results note — results are cached for 24h indata/search-cache.json. -
Error:
Security scan unavailable.(verdictUNKNOWN) Solution:security.shfailed or returned no parseable JSON — the overlap result is still valid, but do not present the candidate as security-checked. Re-run, or scan after cloning with/janitor-security.
Examples
Example 1: Find skills by topic
Input: "Find me an n8n skill."
Output: Run discover.sh n8n, present the ranked table, and flag any result already installed.
Example 2: Check before installing
Input: "Is github.com/user/seo-helper worth installing?"
Output: Run discover.sh https://github.com/user/seo-helper, then summarize: overlap with existing skills, the verdict (e.g. "MODERATE_OVERLAP — 45% with marketing-skills:seo-audit"), the security verdict, and a recommendation. Note that only the fetched SKILL.md was scanned.
Example 3: Candidate trips the security scan
Input: "Check user/handy-helper before I install it."
Output: Run discover.sh user/handy-helper. If the security block reports VERDICT: RISK, lead with that rather than the overlap number — quote the finding's severity, title and evidence, explain that RISK means "read this before trusting it" (not "malware"), and remind the user that bundled scripts were not fetched.
Resources
- Dispatcher (plugin-relative):
{baseDir}/../../scripts/discover.sh - Search cache:
data/search-cache.json(24h TTL) /janitor-security— same scan, run across everything already installed/janitor-report— health check of currently installed skills/janitor-value— are existing skills earning their context cost/janitor-fix— fix issues with installed skills
