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Official agent skill

Error Recovery

by microsoft in microsoft/waza

Standard recovery patterns for all squad agents. An agent skill from microsoft/waza.

OfficialMITAuto-check passedDevelopment

Install Error Recovery

skills CLI
$ npx skills add microsoft/waza --skill error-recovery -a claude-code

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

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install microsoft/waza error-recovery --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/microsoft/waza.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/.copilot/skills/error-recovery .claude/skills/error-recovery && 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
error-recovery
GitHub stars
1.4k
Used in
2 other repos
Token cost
~857 tokens
SKILL.md length
458 words
Files
1
Skills in repo
16
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
MIT

At a glance

Standard recovery patterns for all squad agents. An agent skill from microsoft/waza.

  • Works in 5 steps: Retry with Backoff → Fallback Alternatives → Diagnose-and-Fix → …
  • Tasks that involve Error handling
  • SKILL.md covers 1. Retry with Backoff, 2. Fallback Alternatives, 3. Diagnose-and-Fix and 4. Escalate with Context, plus 2 more sections
  • Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md

What it does

Error Recovery is an agent skill from microsoft/waza, published by the product's own GitHub organization. Standard recovery patterns for all squad agents. When something fails, adapt — don't just report the failure.

Its SKILL.md is about 860 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 Development, covering Error handling. The repository describes itself as: CLI / Framework for Agent Skills - create, test, measure and improve skill quality and effectiveness. The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

  • Tasks that involve Error handling

Example prompts

  • “/error-recovery”

Workflow steps

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

  1. Retry with Backoff
  2. Fallback Alternatives
  3. Diagnose-and-Fix
  4. Escalate with Context
  5. Graceful Degradation

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 774df00. 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

    No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md.

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

  • Network

    No URLs in SKILL.md.

    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

Error Recovery loads about 857 tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 31 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
~31
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~857

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 microsoft/waza at commit 774df00, republished under its MIT licence (© microsoft). 458 words, ~857 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/error-recovery/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).
name
error-recovery
description
Standard recovery patterns for all squad agents. When something fails, adapt — don't just report the failure.
domain
reliability, agent-coordination
confidence
high
license
MIT

Error Recovery Patterns

Standard recovery patterns for all squad agents. When something fails, adapt — don't just report the failure.

1. Retry with Backoff

When: Transient failures — API timeouts, rate limits, network errors, temporary service unavailability.

Pattern:

  1. Wait briefly, then retry (start at 2s, double each attempt)
  2. Maximum 3 retries before escalating
  3. Log each attempt with the error received

Example: API call returns 429 Too Many Requests → wait 2s → retry → wait 4s → retry → wait 8s → retry → escalate if still failing.

2. Fallback Alternatives

When: Primary tool or approach fails and an alternative exists.

Pattern:

  1. Attempt primary approach
  2. On failure, identify alternative tool/method
  3. Try the alternative with the same intent
  4. Document which alternative was used and why

Example: Primary CLI tool fails → fall back to direct API call for the same operation.

3. Diagnose-and-Fix

When: Build failures, test failures, linting errors — structured errors with actionable output.

Pattern:

  1. Read the full error output carefully
  2. Identify the root cause from error messages
  3. Attempt a targeted fix
  4. Re-run to verify the fix
  5. Maximum 3 fix-retry cycles before escalating

Example: Build fails with a type error → check for missing import → add it → rebuild.

4. Escalate with Context

When: Recovery attempts have been exhausted, or the failure requires human judgment.

Pattern:

  1. Summarize what was attempted and what failed
  2. Include the exact error messages
  3. State what you believe the root cause is
  4. Suggest next steps or who might be able to help
  5. Hand off to the coordinator or the appropriate specialist

Example: After 3 failed build attempts → "Build fails on line 42 with null reference. Tried X, Y, Z. Likely a design issue in the Foo module. Recommend the code owner review."

Show full SKILL.md (167 more words)Show less

5. Graceful Degradation

When: A non-critical step fails but the overall task can still deliver value.

Pattern:

  1. Determine if the failed step is critical to the task outcome
  2. If non-critical, log the failure and continue
  3. Deliver partial results with a clear note of what was skipped
  4. Offer to retry the skipped step separately

Example: Generating a report with 5 sections — section 3 data source is unavailable → produce the report with 4 sections, note that section 3 was skipped and why.

Applying These Patterns

Each agent should reference these patterns in their charter's ## Error Recovery section, tailored to their domain. The charter should list the agent's most common failure modes and map each to the appropriate pattern above.

Selection guide:

Failure TypePrimary PatternFallback Pattern
Network/API transientRetry with BackoffEscalate with Context
Tool/dependency missingFallback AlternativesEscalate with Context
Build/test errorDiagnose-and-FixEscalate with Context
Auth/permissionsRetry with BackoffEscalate with Context
Non-critical data missingGraceful Degradation—
Unknown/novel errorEscalate with Context—

© microsoft, 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 .copilot/skills/error-recovery of microsoft/waza.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 774df00

Used in 2 other repositories

We found 2 copies of this SKILL.md (exact, near-identical or edited) in other folders, from 2 other GitHub owners. This page covers the copy in microsoft/waza, which our catalogue first saw on October 7, 2026.

Compare with similar skills

Error Recovery 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.

Error Recovery compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Error Recovery this skillmicrosoft/waza1.4k2 repos~857Automated safety check: PassMIT
Mole Bug Patternstw93/Mole69k—~2kAutomated safety check: PassGPL-3.0
Native Data FetchingCherryHQ/cherry-studio-app4k6 repos~2.9kAutomated safety check: NotesMIT
Rust Best Practicesfarm-fe/farm5.6k3 repos~1.1kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
R Function Input Validationtidyverse/dplyr5.1k1 repos~2.3kAutomated safety check: PassCustom licence
Error Handlingmicrosoft/data-formulator18k—~3.8kAutomated safety check: PassMIT

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Categories

Questions about Error Recovery

What does Error Recovery do?

Standard recovery patterns for all squad agents. An agent skill from microsoft/waza. Error Recovery is an agent skill from microsoft/waza, published by the product's own GitHub organization. Standard recovery patterns for all squad agents.

When should I use Error Recovery?

Error Recovery fits situations like: tasks that involve Error handling.

How do I install Error Recovery in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add microsoft/waza --skill error-recovery -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (.copilot/skills/error-recovery in microsoft/waza) into .claude/skills/error-recovery in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Error Recovery in Codex?

Run `npx skills add microsoft/waza --skill error-recovery -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (.copilot/skills/error-recovery in microsoft/waza) into .agents/skills/error-recovery in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Error Recovery 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 microsoft/waza --skill error-recovery -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/error-recovery, .gemini/skills/error-recovery, .github/skills/error-recovery and .opencode/skills/error-recovery in your project.

What does Error Recovery need to run?

SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Error Recovery is instructions for the agent only.

Does Error Recovery access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Error Recovery 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 Error Recovery use?

Error Recovery is published under the MIT licence (declared in SKILL.md). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Error Recovery use?

About 857 tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 3.4k 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 Error Recovery?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Error Recovery: Mole Bug Patterns (tw93/Mole, 69k stars), Native Data Fetching (CherryHQ/cherry-studio-app, 4k stars), Rust Best Practices (farm-fe/farm, 5.6k stars) and R Function Input Validation (tidyverse/dplyr, 5.1k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Error Recovery?

microsoft (a GitHub organization, an official publisher) maintains it in microsoft/waza, which has 1,400 GitHub stars. The repository holds 16 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 6, 2026.

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