Agent skill

Self Diagnostic

by Abilityai in Abilityai/cornelius

Run self-diagnostics on Cornelius agent to verify skills, commands, agents, and integrations are working.

MITAuto-check: notes

Install Self Diagnostic

skills CLI
$ npx skills add Abilityai/cornelius --skill self-diagnostic -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install Abilityai/cornelius self-diagnostic --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Abilityai/cornelius.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/.claude/skills/self-diagnostic .claude/skills/self-diagnostic && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
self-diagnostic
GitHub stars
109
Token cost
~2.8k tokens
SKILL.md length
693 words
Files
1
Skills in repo
51
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
MIT

At a glance

Run self-diagnostics on Cornelius agent to verify skills, commands, agents, and integrations are working.

  • Works in 5 steps: Infrastructure Tests → Dependency Tests → Skills Validation Tests → …
  • Troubleshooting
  • SKILL.md covers Quick Start, State Dependencies, Arguments and Safety Principles, plus 7 more sections
  • Calls python3 and uv

What it does

Self Diagnostic is an agent skill from Abilityai/cornelius. Run self-diagnostics on Cornelius agent to verify skills, commands, agents, and integrations are working. Use when troubleshooting, after configuration changes, or for regular health checks.

Its SKILL.md is about 2.8k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. It is a single SKILL.md file with no bundled scripts.

The repository describes itself as: AI-powered second brain template for Claude Code + Obsidian. The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

  • Troubleshooting
  • After configuration changes
  • For regular health checks

Example prompts

  • “/self-diagnostic”

Requirements

  • Python 3
  • Pre-approved tools (allowed-tools): Read, Bash, Grep, Glob, Skill, Task

Workflow steps

5 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.

  1. Infrastructure Tests
  2. Dependency Tests
  3. Skills Validation Tests
  4. Commands Validation Tests
  5. Agents Validation Tests

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit fd5e9a4. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves these tools, so the agent can use them without asking each time:

    • Read
    • Bash
    • Grep
    • Glob
    • Skill
    • Task

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    Shell commands in SKILL.md call:

    • python3
    • uv

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    No URLs in SKILL.md. Its commands use uv, which can reach the network depending on how they are called.

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Self Diagnostic loads about 2.8k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 52 tokens; SKILL.md has 693 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~52
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~2.8k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check: notes

The automated check noted patterns worth knowing about, such as sudo or a known installer.

  • NotePre-approves every shell command (allowed-tools: Bash)SKILL.md
    allowed-tools: Read, Bash, Grep, Glob, Skill, Task

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from Abilityai/cornelius at commit fd5e9a4, republished under its MIT licence (© Abilityai). 693 words, ~2,789 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/self-diagnostic/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).
name
self-diagnostic
description
Run self-diagnostics on Cornelius agent to verify skills, commands, agents, and integrations are working. Use when troubleshooting, after configuration changes, or for regular health checks.
allowed-tools
Read, Bash, Grep, Glob, Skill, Task
automation
manual

Cornelius Self-Diagnostic

Run comprehensive diagnostics to verify all agent components are functioning correctly.

Quick Start

Run full diagnostics:

/self-diagnostic

Run specific test category:

/self-diagnostic commands-only
/self-diagnostic skills-only
/self-diagnostic agents-only
/self-diagnostic dependencies-only

State Dependencies

SourceLocationReadWriteDescription
Vault PathBrain/✓Verify vault exists
Permanent Notes DirBrain/02-Permanent/✓Verify directory exists
Article IndexBrain/04-Output/Articles/ARTICLE-INDEX.md✓Verify index exists
Local Brain Searchresources/local-brain-search/✓Search scripts and index
Skills Directory.claude/skills/*/SKILL.md✓Skill configurations
Commands Directory.claude/commands/*.md✓Command configurations
Agents Directory.claude/agents/*.md✓Agent configurations
Python RuntimeSystem✓Verify Python3 available
uv Package Manager~/.local/bin/uv✓Verify uv available
Temp Output/tmp/cornelius-diagnostic/✓Diagnostic results (optional)

Arguments

$ARGUMENTS

Safety Principles

CRITICAL: These diagnostics are READ-ONLY and NEVER modify production data.

  • All tests use read-only operations (search, grep, read)
  • NO file creation in Brain/ directory during tests
  • NO API calls to paid services (HeyGen, Gemini, etc.)
  • Test outputs go to /tmp/cornelius-diagnostic/ only
  • NO changelog creation during diagnostics

Diagnostic Categories

1. Infrastructure Tests

Verify core infrastructure is accessible:

bash
# Test 1.1: Check vault path exists
test -d "Brain" && echo "PASS: Vault path exists" || echo "FAIL: Vault path missing"

# Test 1.2: Check permanent notes directory
test -d "Brain/02-Permanent" && echo "PASS: Permanent notes directory exists" || echo "FAIL: Permanent notes directory missing"

# Test 1.3: Check Local Brain Search is available
test -f "resources/local-brain-search/run_search.sh" && echo "PASS: Local Brain Search scripts exist" || echo "FAIL: Local Brain Search scripts missing"

# Test 1.4: Check Article Index exists
test -f "Brain/04-Output/Articles/ARTICLE-INDEX.md" && echo "PASS: Article Index exists" || echo "FAIL: Article Index missing"
2. Dependency Tests

Verify external dependencies are installed:

bash
# Test 2.1: Python available
python3 --version 2>/dev/null && echo "PASS: Python3 available" || echo "FAIL: Python3 not found"

# Test 2.2: uv package manager (for epub-chapter-extractor)
uv --version 2>/dev/null && echo "PASS: uv available" || echo "FAIL: uv not found"

# Test 2.3: Check Local Brain Search can run (simple test)
cd resources/local-brain-search && python3 -c "import sqlite3; import json; print('PASS: Core Python modules available')" 2>/dev/null || echo "FAIL: Python modules missing"

# Test 2.4: Check mermaid-diagram MCP is responsive
# (Just verify the skill file exists - actual MCP test would require invocation)
test -f ".claude/agents/diagram-generator.md" && echo "PASS: Diagram generator agent configured" || echo "FAIL: Diagram generator agent missing"
3. Skills Validation Tests

Verify skills are properly configured (metadata valid):

bash
# Test 3.1: List all skills and validate structure
for skill_dir in .claude/skills/*/; do
  skill_name=$(basename "$skill_dir")
  if [ -f "${skill_dir}SKILL.md" ]; then
    # Check for required frontmatter
    if head -1 "${skill_dir}SKILL.md" | grep -q "^---"; then
      if grep -q "^name:" "${skill_dir}SKILL.md" && grep -q "^description:" "${skill_dir}SKILL.md"; then
        echo "PASS: Skill '$skill_name' - valid metadata"
      else
        echo "FAIL: Skill '$skill_name' - missing name or description"
      fi
    else
      echo "FAIL: Skill '$skill_name' - missing frontmatter"
    fi
  else
    echo "FAIL: Skill '$skill_name' - missing SKILL.md"
  fi
done
4. Commands Validation Tests

Verify commands are properly configured:

bash
# Test 4.1: List all commands and validate structure
for cmd_file in .claude/commands/*.md; do
  cmd_name=$(basename "$cmd_file" .md)
  if head -1 "$cmd_file" | grep -q "^---"; then
    if grep -q "^description:" "$cmd_file"; then
      echo "PASS: Command '/$cmd_name' - valid metadata"
    else
      echo "FAIL: Command '/$cmd_name' - missing description"
    fi
  else
    echo "FAIL: Command '/$cmd_name' - missing frontmatter"
  fi
done
5. Agents Validation Tests

Verify sub-agents are properly configured:

bash
# Test 5.1: List all agents and validate structure
for agent_file in .claude/agents/*.md; do
  agent_name=$(basename "$agent_file" .md)
  if head -1 "$agent_file" | grep -q "^---"; then
    if grep -q "^name:" "$agent_file" || grep -q "^description:" "$agent_file"; then
      echo "PASS: Agent '$agent_name' - valid metadata"
    else
      echo "FAIL: Agent '$agent_name' - missing name or description"
    fi
  else
    echo "FAIL: Agent '$agent_name' - missing frontmatter"
  fi
done

Functional Tests (Safe Invocations)

These tests invoke actual skills/commands with READ-ONLY operations.

Test: /search-vault Command

This tests the semantic search and grep functionality:

Invoke /search-vault with query: "dopamine"
Expected: Returns at least 1 result from permanent notes

Run this test: Use the Skill tool to invoke search-vault with args "dopamine"

Success criteria:

  • Command executes without error
  • Returns at least 1 search result
  • Does NOT create any files
Test: /recall Command

Tests 3-layer semantic search:

Invoke /recall with query: "decision making"
Expected: Returns layered results with connections

Run this test: Use the Skill tool to invoke recall with args "decision making"

Success criteria:

  • Command executes without error
  • Returns Layer 1, Layer 2, and Layer 3 results
  • Does NOT create any files
Test: /find-connections Command

Tests connection discovery:

Invoke /find-connections with query: "Dopamine"
Expected: Returns connections for the Dopamine note

Run this test: Use the Skill tool to invoke find-connections with args "Dopamine"

Success criteria:

  • Command executes without error
  • Returns explicit and semantic connections
  • Does NOT create any files
Test: /get-perspective-on Command

Tests perspective extraction:

Invoke /get-perspective-on with query: "AI agents"
Expected: Returns the user's perspective with note citations

Run this test: Use the Skill tool to invoke get-perspective-on with args "AI agents"

Success criteria:

  • Command executes without error
  • Returns perspective text with [[note citations]]
  • Does NOT create any files
Test: Local Brain Search Direct

Tests local brain search scripts directly:

bash
# Run semantic search
resources/local-brain-search/run_search.sh "consciousness" --limit 3 --json

# Run connections query
resources/local-brain-search/run_connections.sh --stats --json

# Run hub discovery
resources/local-brain-search/run_connections.sh --hubs --limit 5 --json

Success criteria:

  • All three commands return valid JSON
  • Search returns results with similarity scores
  • Stats returns note count and connection count

Show full SKILL.md (308 more words)Show less

Skipped Tests (Would Modify Data or Cost Money)

These tests are INTENTIONALLY SKIPPED to avoid side effects:

TestReason Skipped
/create-articleWould create files in Brain/04-Output/
/update-changelogWould create changelog file
/analyze-kbMay update knowledge-base-analysis.md
/deep-researchUses external APIs (Gemini, Apollo) - costs money
/synthesize-insightsMay create output files
/talkInteractive mode - not suitable for automated testing
nano-banana-image-generatorUses Gemini API - costs $0.039/image
epub-chapter-extractorRequires actual EPUB file
vault-manager (write ops)Would modify vault notes
auto-discoveryCreates changelog files
insight-extractorCreates notes in AI Extracted Notes/
document-insight-extractorCreates notes in Document Insights/ (or Books/<slug>/ in Book Mode)

Diagnostic Execution Instructions

Full Diagnostic Run
  1. Run infrastructure tests (bash commands above)
  2. Run dependency tests (bash commands above)
  3. Run skill validation tests (bash commands above)
  4. Run command validation tests (bash commands above)
  5. Run agent validation tests (bash commands above)
  6. Run functional tests (invoke skills via Skill tool)
  7. Compile results into summary report
Output Format

Present results as:

markdown
# Cornelius Self-Diagnostic Report
**Run Date:** [current date/time]
**Agent Version:** 01.25

## Summary
| Category | Passed | Failed | Skipped |
|----------|--------|--------|---------|
| Infrastructure | X | X | 0 |
| Dependencies | X | X | 0 |
| Skills | X | X | 0 |
| Commands | X | X | 0 |
| Agents | X | X | 0 |
| Functional Tests | X | X | X |

## Detailed Results

### Infrastructure Tests
[Results...]

### Dependency Tests
[Results...]

### Skills Validation
[Results...]

### Commands Validation
[Results...]

### Agents Validation
[Results...]

### Functional Tests
[Results...]

### Skipped Tests
[List with reasons...]

## Recommendations
[Any issues found and suggested fixes]

Argument Handling

Based on $ARGUMENTS:

  • No arguments or "full": Run all safe tests
  • "commands-only": Only test commands validation + functional
  • "skills-only": Only test skills validation
  • "agents-only": Only test agents validation
  • "dependencies-only": Only test infrastructure + dependencies
  • "quick": Only run validation tests (no functional invocations)

Notes

  • This diagnostic is designed to be safe and repeatable
  • Run after any configuration changes to verify agent health
  • If functional tests fail, check the underlying dependency first
  • Diagnostic output can be saved to /tmp/cornelius-diagnostic/ for review

Completion Checklist

  • Infrastructure tests executed (vault path, permanent notes, Local Brain Search, Article Index)
  • Dependency tests executed (Python3, uv, core modules, diagram agent)
  • Skills validation completed (frontmatter, name, description for all skills)
  • Commands validation completed (frontmatter, description for all commands)
  • Agents validation completed (frontmatter, name/description for all agents)
  • Functional tests executed (search-vault, recall, find-connections, get-perspective-on, Local Brain Search)
  • Summary report generated with pass/fail/skip counts
  • Recommendations provided for any failures

© Abilityai, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

Just SKILL.md in .claude/skills/self-diagnostic of Abilityai/cornelius.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit fd5e9a4

Compare with similar skills

Self Diagnostic next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

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Bootstrap Diagnosticskunchenguid/firstmate7.7k—~3.6kAutomated safety check: NotesMIT

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Questions about Self Diagnostic

What does Self Diagnostic do?

Run self-diagnostics on Cornelius agent to verify skills, commands, agents, and integrations are working. Self Diagnostic is an agent skill from Abilityai/cornelius. Run self-diagnostics on Cornelius agent to verify skills, commands, agents, and integrations are working.

When should I use Self Diagnostic?

Self Diagnostic fits situations like: troubleshooting; after configuration changes; for regular health checks.

How do I install Self Diagnostic in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add Abilityai/cornelius --skill self-diagnostic -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (.claude/skills/self-diagnostic in Abilityai/cornelius) into .claude/skills/self-diagnostic in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Self Diagnostic in Codex?

Run `npx skills add Abilityai/cornelius --skill self-diagnostic -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (.claude/skills/self-diagnostic in Abilityai/cornelius) into .agents/skills/self-diagnostic in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Self Diagnostic in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add Abilityai/cornelius --skill self-diagnostic -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/self-diagnostic, .gemini/skills/self-diagnostic, .github/skills/self-diagnostic and .opencode/skills/self-diagnostic in your project.

What does Self Diagnostic need to run?

Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Self Diagnostic needs the command-line tools its instructions call (python3 and uv). Our summary lists: Python 3. Its frontmatter pre-approves these tools: Read, Bash, Grep, Glob, Skill, Task.

Does Self Diagnostic access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Its commands use uv, which can reach the network depending on how they are called. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Self Diagnostic safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found notes only (pre-approves every shell command (allowed-tools: bash)), nothing it rates as a warning. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Self Diagnostic use?

Self Diagnostic is published under the MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Self Diagnostic use?

About 2.8k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 11k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

What are the alternatives to Self Diagnostic?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Self Diagnostic: Network Bgp Diagnostics (affaan-m/ECC, 275k stars), Triage Snmp Diagnostics (netdata/netdata, 81k stars), Adding Ty Diagnostics (astral-sh/ruff, 50k stars) and Diagnostics Development (biomejs/biome, 26k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Self Diagnostic?

Abilityai (a GitHub organization) maintains it in Abilityai/cornelius, which has 109 GitHub stars. The repository holds 51 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on September 22, 2026.

Source: Abilityai/cornelius on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.