Agent skill

CI Validation Gates

Defensive CI/CD patterns: semver validation, token checks, retry logic, and draft detection

Install CI Validation Gates

skills CLI

$ npx skills add bradygaster/squad --skill ci-validation-gates -a claude-code

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

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install bradygaster/squad ci-validation-gates --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/bradygaster/squad.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/.copilot/skills/ci-validation-gates .claude/skills/ci-validation-gates && 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/

Paste into Claude Code

Install the "ci-validation-gates" agent skill from https://github.com/bradygaster/squad/tree/dev/.copilot/skills/ci-validation-gates into .claude/skills/ci-validation-gates/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "ci-validation-gates", then confirm the skill loads.

Claude Code copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

$skill-installer

$skill-installer install https://github.com/bradygaster/squad/tree/dev/.copilot/skills/ci-validation-gates

Type this inside Codex. $skill-installer <name> installs a curated skill from openai/skills. The installer writes to $CODEX_HOME/skills (default ~/.codex/skills). Restart Codex if the skill does not show up.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add bradygaster/squad --skill ci-validation-gates -a codex

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install bradygaster/squad ci-validation-gates --agent codex

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/bradygaster/squad.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/.copilot/skills/ci-validation-gates .agents/skills/ci-validation-gates && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.

Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/

Paste into Codex

Install the "ci-validation-gates" agent skill from https://github.com/bradygaster/squad/tree/dev/.copilot/skills/ci-validation-gates into .agents/skills/ci-validation-gates/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "ci-validation-gates", then confirm the skill loads.

Codex copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add bradygaster/squad --skill ci-validation-gates -a cursor

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install bradygaster/squad ci-validation-gates --agent cursor

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/bradygaster/squad.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/.copilot/skills/ci-validation-gates .cursor/skills/ci-validation-gates && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.cursor/skills/ instead of .cursor/skills for a personal install.

Cursor skills documentation · loads skills from .cursor/skills/, .agents/skills/, .claude/skills/, .codex/skills/

Paste into Cursor

Install the "ci-validation-gates" agent skill from https://github.com/bradygaster/squad/tree/dev/.copilot/skills/ci-validation-gates into .cursor/skills/ci-validation-gates/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "ci-validation-gates", then confirm the skill loads.

Cursor copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

gemini skills install

$ gemini skills install https://github.com/bradygaster/squad.git --path .copilot/skills/ci-validation-gates

--scope user (default) or --scope workspace; --path is the subfolder of the repo that holds the skill; --consent skips the security confirmation prompt.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add bradygaster/squad --skill ci-validation-gates -a gemini-cli

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install bradygaster/squad ci-validation-gates --agent gemini-cli

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/bradygaster/squad.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/.copilot/skills/ci-validation-gates .gemini/skills/ci-validation-gates && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.gemini/skills/ instead of .gemini/skills for a personal install, then run /skills reload.

Gemini CLI skills documentation · loads skills from .gemini/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into Gemini CLI

Install the "ci-validation-gates" agent skill from https://github.com/bradygaster/squad/tree/dev/.copilot/skills/ci-validation-gates into .gemini/skills/ci-validation-gates/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "ci-validation-gates", then confirm the skill loads.

Gemini CLI copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install bradygaster/squad ci-validation-gates

Installs for Copilot at project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Preview a skill first with gh skill preview. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

skills CLI

$ npx skills add bradygaster/squad --skill ci-validation-gates -a github-copilot

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/bradygaster/squad.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/.copilot/skills/ci-validation-gates .github/skills/ci-validation-gates && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.copilot/skills/ instead of .github/skills for a personal install. Commit .github/skills so cloud agent and code review can use it.

GitHub Copilot skills documentation · loads skills from .github/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into GitHub Copilot

Install the "ci-validation-gates" agent skill from https://github.com/bradygaster/squad/tree/dev/.copilot/skills/ci-validation-gates into .github/skills/ci-validation-gates/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "ci-validation-gates", then confirm the skill loads.

GitHub Copilot copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add bradygaster/squad --skill ci-validation-gates -a opencode

OpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install bradygaster/squad ci-validation-gates --agent opencode

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/bradygaster/squad.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/.copilot/skills/ci-validation-gates .opencode/skills/ci-validation-gates && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.config/opencode/skills/ instead of .opencode/skills for a personal install.

OpenCode skills documentation · loads skills from .opencode/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into OpenCode

Install the "ci-validation-gates" agent skill from https://github.com/bradygaster/squad/tree/dev/.copilot/skills/ci-validation-gates into .opencode/skills/ci-validation-gates/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "ci-validation-gates", then confirm the skill loads.

OpenCode copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

Facts

Skill name: ci-validation-gates
GitHub stars: 3.3k
Token cost: ~1.1k tokens
SKILL.md length: 458 words
Files: 1
Skills in repo: 31
Repo updated: Oct 6, 2026
First seen: Oct 7, 2026
Licence: MIT

At a glance

Defensive CI/CD patterns: semver validation, token checks, retry logic, and draft detection

Tasks that involve Error handling
SKILL.md covers Context, Patterns, Known Failure Modes and Anti-Patterns
Calls npm, curl and npx; needs NPM_TOKEN
Tasks that involve CI/CD

What it does

CI Validation Gates is an agent skill from bradygaster/squad. Defensive CI/CD patterns: semver validation, token checks, retry logic, and draft detection

Its SKILL.md is about 1.1k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. It is a single SKILL.md file with no bundled scripts.

It sits in DevOps & Cloud, covering Error handling and CI/CD. It works with npm. The repository describes itself as: Squad: AI agent teams for any project. The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

Tasks that involve Error handling
Tasks that involve CI/CD

Example prompts

“/ci-validation-gates”

Requirements

Node.js
A credential in NPM_TOKEN

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit d2364df. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

Tool permissions
Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.
From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.
Runs code
Shell commands in SKILL.md call:
- npm
- curl
- npx
From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.
Network
No URLs in SKILL.md. Its commands use npm, curl and npx, 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 these keys or tokens, usually read from environment variables:
- NPM_TOKEN
From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

CI Validation Gates loads about 1.1k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 28 tokens; SKILL.md has 458 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it: ~28
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches: ~1.1k

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 passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

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 bradygaster/squad at commit d2364df, republished under its MIT licence (© bradygaster). 458 words, ~1,112 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/ci-validation-gates/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).

name: ci-validation-gates
description: Defensive CI/CD patterns: semver validation, token checks, retry logic, and draft detection
domain: ci-cd
confidence: high
source: extracted from release and CI incident lessons

Context

CI workflows must be defensive. These patterns capture lessons from prior release incidents; they are maintained as version-agnostic gates rather than claims about a particular repository release.

Patterns

Semver Validation Gate

Every publish workflow MUST validate version format before npm publish. 4-part versions (e.g., 0.8.21.4) are NOT valid semver — npm mangles them.

yaml

- name: Validate semver
  run: |
    VERSION="${{ github.event.release.tag_name }}"
    VERSION="${VERSION#v}"
    if ! npx semver "$VERSION" > /dev/null 2>&1; then
      echo "❌ Invalid semver: $VERSION"
      echo "Only 3-part versions (X.Y.Z) or prerelease (X.Y.Z-tag.N) are valid."
      exit 1
    fi
    echo "✅ Valid semver: $VERSION"

NPM Token Type Verification

NPM_TOKEN MUST be an Automation token, not a User token with 2FA:

User tokens require OTP — CI can't provide it → EOTP error
Create Automation tokens at npmjs.com → Settings → Access Tokens → Automation
Verify before first publish in any workflow

Retry Logic for npm Registry Propagation

npm registry uses eventual consistency. After npm publish succeeds, the package may not be immediately queryable.

Propagation: typically 5-30s, up to 2min in rare cases
All verify steps: 5 attempts, 15-second intervals
Log each attempt: "Attempt 1/5: Checking package..."
Exit loop on success, fail after max attempts

yaml

- name: Verify package (with retry)
  run: |
    MAX_ATTEMPTS=5
    WAIT_SECONDS=15
    for attempt in $(seq 1 $MAX_ATTEMPTS); do
      echo "Attempt $attempt/$MAX_ATTEMPTS: Checking $PACKAGE@$VERSION..."
      if npm view "$PACKAGE@$VERSION" version > /dev/null 2>&1; then
        echo "✅ Package verified"
        exit 0
      fi
      [ $attempt -lt $MAX_ATTEMPTS ] && sleep $WAIT_SECONDS
    done
    echo "❌ Failed to verify after $MAX_ATTEMPTS attempts"
    exit 1

Draft Release Detection

Draft releases don't emit release: published event. Workflows MUST:

Trigger on release: published (NOT created)
If using workflow_dispatch: verify release is published via GitHub API before proceeding

Installer and Generated-Artifact Gates

Pin downloaded scripts and binaries to an immutable release or commit; never execute a moving branch reference.
Use curl -f (normally curl -fsSL) so HTTP failures cannot be interpreted as scripts.
Download to a named file before execution when practical, then remove it after a successful install. This leaves a diagnosable artifact if the installer fails.
Use set -euo pipefail in Bash steps. When a download must feed an extractor, pipefail prevents the extractor from masking a failed download.
Lint and validate canonical workflow sources and every committed generated/template mirror. A successful source-only check does not prove the artifact that executes is valid.
Keep suppressions narrow: exact tool diagnostic plus exact affected path, and revalidate them when the pinned tool changes.

Show full SKILL.md (155 more words)Show less

The root build invokes scripts/bump-build.mjs, which can mutate package versions. Local validation MUST set SKIP_BUILD_BUMP=1 (or use an existing CI environment that guarantees no mutation) and MUST verify the package manifests and lockfile are unchanged afterward. Prefer an affected workspace build when it covers the check. Never let a validation build rewrite package versions or create a version-only diff.

Known Failure Modes

#	What Happened	Root Cause	Prevention
1	4-part version published, npm mangled it	No semver validation gate	`npx semver` check before every publish
2	CI failed 5+ times with EOTP	User token with 2FA	Automation token only
3	Verify returned false 404	No retry logic for propagation	5 attempts, 15s intervals
4	Workflow never triggered	Draft release doesn't emit event	Never create draft releases

Anti-Patterns

❌ Publishing without semver validation gate
❌ Single-shot verification without retry
❌ Hard-coded secrets in workflows
❌ Silent CI failures — every error needs actionable output with remediation
❌ Assuming npm publish is instantly queryable

Files

Just SKILL.md in .copilot/skills/ci-validation-gates of bradygaster/squad.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit d2364df

Compare with similar skills

CI Validation Gates 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.

CI Validation Gates compared with similar skills
Skill	Stars	Used in	Tokens	Auto-check	Licence	Repo updated
CI Validation Gates this skillbradygaster/squad	3.3k	—	~1.1k	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	yesterday
CI Validation GatesFritzAndFriends/SharpSite	145	1 repos	~911	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	5 mo ago
Repo Hygiene Scan and FixQwenLM/qwen-code	28k	—	~1.7k	Automated safety check: Pass	Apache-2.0	today
Check Deps SyncHyk260/PureChat	546	—	~594	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	20 days ago
npm Release Via GitHub Actionsjmfederico/pi-web	861	—	~2.9k	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	today
Publishcode-yeongyu/oh-my-openagent	70k	—	~5.5k	Automated safety check: Warn	Custom licence	today

Similar skills

CI Validation Gates
FritzAndFriends/SharpSite
Defensive CI/CD patterns: semver validation, token checks, retry logic, draft detection — earned from v0.8.22
145 GitHub starsUsed in 1 repo~911 tokens
DevOps & CloudAuto-check passed
Repo Hygiene Scan and Fix
QwenLM/qwen-code
Scheduled CI skill that scans a repository for small, certain docs, test and code hygiene issues and fixes them on one branch with a commit per finding.
28k GitHub stars~1.7k tokensUpdated today
DevOps & CloudAuto-check passed
Check Deps Sync
Hyk260/PureChat
Check if package.json files are in sync with pnpm-lock.yaml.
546 GitHub stars~594 tokensUpdated 20 days ago
DevOps & CloudAuto-check passed
npm Release Via GitHub Actions
jmfederico/pi-web
A skill your agent uses whenever the user asks for a new npm version, npm release, package release, new release, version bump, publishing to npm, cutting a GitHub release, tagging a release, or…
861 GitHub stars~2.9k tokensUpdated today
DevOps & CloudAuto-check passed
Publish
code-yeongyu/oh-my-openagent
Publish oh-my-opencode to npm by triggering the GitHub Actions publish workflow and verifying its artifacts.
70k GitHub stars~5.5k tokensUpdated today
DevOps & CloudAuto-check: warnings
Release And CI
eser/stack
Releases and CI for eserstack: the shared version of all packages, the release command, the tag-driven build.yml run, JSR and npm publishing, changelog and breaking changes, release recovery, GitHub…
128 GitHub stars~665 tokensUpdated 3 days ago
DevOps & CloudAuto-check passed

Questions about CI Validation Gates

What does CI Validation Gates do?

Defensive CI/CD patterns: semver validation, token checks, retry logic, and draft detection. CI Validation Gates is an agent skill from bradygaster/squad.

When should I use CI Validation Gates?

CI Validation Gates fits situations like: tasks that involve Error handling; tasks that involve CI/CD.

How do I install CI Validation Gates in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add bradygaster/squad --skill ci-validation-gates -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (.copilot/skills/ci-validation-gates in bradygaster/squad) into .claude/skills/ci-validation-gates in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install CI Validation Gates in Codex?

Run `npx skills add bradygaster/squad --skill ci-validation-gates -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (.copilot/skills/ci-validation-gates in bradygaster/squad) into .agents/skills/ci-validation-gates in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use CI Validation Gates 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 bradygaster/squad --skill ci-validation-gates -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/ci-validation-gates, .gemini/skills/ci-validation-gates, .github/skills/ci-validation-gates and .opencode/skills/ci-validation-gates in your project.

What does CI Validation Gates need to run?

Going by SKILL.md and its folder, CI Validation Gates needs the command-line tools its instructions call (npm, curl and npx) and credentials named NPM_TOKEN. Our summary lists: Node.js; A credential in NPM_TOKEN.

Does CI Validation Gates access the network?

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

Is CI Validation Gates safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does CI Validation Gates use?

CI Validation Gates 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 CI Validation Gates use?

About 1.1k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 4.4k 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 CI Validation Gates?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with CI Validation Gates: CI Validation Gates (FritzAndFriends/SharpSite, 145 stars), Repo Hygiene Scan and Fix (QwenLM/qwen-code, 28k stars), Check Deps Sync (Hyk260/PureChat, 546 stars) and npm Release Via GitHub Actions (jmfederico/pi-web, 861 stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains CI Validation Gates?

bradygaster (a GitHub user) maintains it in bradygaster/squad, which has 3,256 GitHub stars. The repository holds 31 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 6, 2026.

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

Install CI Validation Gates

Facts

At a glance

What it does

When your agent uses it

Example prompts

Requirements

What it can do on your machine

Tool permissions

Runs code

Network

Credentials

Context cost

Safety

SKILL.md

Context

Patterns

Semver Validation Gate

NPM Token Type Verification

Retry Logic for npm Registry Propagation

Draft Release Detection

Installer and Generated-Artifact Gates

Known Failure Modes

Anti-Patterns

Files

Compare with similar skills

Similar skills

More from bradygaster/squad

Related

Questions about CI Validation Gates