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Official agent skill

Reviewer Protocol

by microsoft in microsoft/waza

Reviewer rejection workflow and strict lockout semantics. An agent skill from microsoft/waza.

OfficialMITAuto-check passed

Install Reviewer Protocol

skills CLI
$ npx skills add microsoft/waza --skill reviewer-protocol -a claude-code

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

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install microsoft/waza reviewer-protocol --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/reviewer-protocol .claude/skills/reviewer-protocol && 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
reviewer-protocol
GitHub stars
1.4k
Used in
4 other repos
Token cost
~1.1k tokens
SKILL.md length
614 words
Files
1
Skills in repo
16
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
MIT

At a glance

Reviewer rejection workflow and strict lockout semantics. An agent skill from microsoft/waza.

  • Works in 2 steps: Reassign: Require a different agent to… → Escalate: Require a new agent be spawned…
  • SKILL.md covers Context, Patterns, Examples and Anti-Patterns
  • Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md

What it does

Reviewer Protocol is an agent skill from microsoft/waza, published by the product's own GitHub organization. Reviewer rejection workflow and strict lockout semantics

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.

The repository describes itself as: CLI / Framework for Agent Skills - create, test, measure and improve skill quality and effectiveness. The licence is MIT.

Example prompts

  • “/reviewer-protocol”

Workflow steps

2 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.

  1. Reassign: Require a different agent to do the revision (not the original author).
  2. Escalate: Require a new agent be spawned with specific expertise.

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

Reviewer Protocol loads about 1.1k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 19 tokens; SKILL.md has 614 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~19
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 microsoft/waza at commit 774df00, republished under its MIT licence (© microsoft). 614 words, ~1,077 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/reviewer-protocol/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).
name
reviewer-protocol
description
Reviewer rejection workflow and strict lockout semantics
domain
orchestration
confidence
high
source
extracted

Context

When a team member has a Reviewer role (e.g., Tester, Code Reviewer, Lead), they may approve or reject work from other agents. On rejection, the coordinator enforces strict lockout rules to ensure the original author does NOT self-revise. This prevents defensive feedback loops and ensures independent review.

Patterns

Reviewer Rejection Protocol

When a team member has a Reviewer role:

  • Reviewers may approve or reject work from other agents.
  • On rejection, the Reviewer may choose ONE of:
    1. Reassign: Require a different agent to do the revision (not the original author).
    2. Escalate: Require a new agent be spawned with specific expertise.
  • The Coordinator MUST enforce this. If the Reviewer says "someone else should fix this," the original agent does NOT get to self-revise.
  • If the Reviewer approves, work proceeds normally.
Strict Lockout Semantics

When an artifact is rejected by a Reviewer:

  1. The original author is locked out. They may NOT produce the next version of that artifact. No exceptions.
  2. A different agent MUST own the revision. The Coordinator selects the revision author based on the Reviewer's recommendation (reassign or escalate).
  3. The Coordinator enforces this mechanically. Before spawning a revision agent, the Coordinator MUST verify that the selected agent is NOT the original author. If the Reviewer names the original author as the fix agent, the Coordinator MUST refuse and ask the Reviewer to name a different agent.
  4. The locked-out author may NOT contribute to the revision in any form — not as a co-author, advisor, or pair. The revision must be independently produced.
  5. Lockout scope: The lockout applies to the specific artifact that was rejected. The original author may still work on other unrelated artifacts.
  6. Lockout duration: The lockout persists for that revision cycle. If the revision is also rejected, the same rule applies again — the revision author is now also locked out, and a third agent must revise.
  7. Deadlock handling: If all eligible agents have been locked out of an artifact, the Coordinator MUST escalate to the user rather than re-admitting a locked-out author.
Show full SKILL.md (272 more words)Show less

Examples

Example 1: Reassign after rejection

  1. Fenster writes authentication module
  2. Hockney (Tester) reviews → rejects: "Error handling is missing. Verbal should fix this."
  3. Coordinator: Fenster is now locked out of this artifact
  4. Coordinator spawns Verbal to revise the authentication module
  5. Verbal produces v2
  6. Hockney reviews v2 → approves
  7. Lockout clears for next artifact

Example 2: Escalate for expertise

  1. Edie writes TypeScript config
  2. Keaton (Lead) reviews → rejects: "Need someone with deeper TS knowledge. Escalate."
  3. Coordinator: Edie is now locked out
  4. Coordinator spawns new agent (or existing TS expert) to revise
  5. New agent produces v2
  6. Keaton reviews v2

Example 3: Deadlock handling

  1. Fenster writes module → rejected
  2. Verbal revises → rejected
  3. Hockney revises → rejected
  4. All 3 eligible agents are now locked out
  5. Coordinator: "All eligible agents have been locked out. Escalating to user: [artifact details]"

Example 4: Reviewer accidentally names original author

  1. Fenster writes module → rejected
  2. Hockney says: "Fenster should fix the error handling"
  3. Coordinator: "Fenster is locked out as the original author. Please name a different agent."
  4. Hockney: "Verbal, then"
  5. Coordinator spawns Verbal

Anti-Patterns

  • ❌ Allowing the original author to self-revise after rejection
  • ❌ Treating the locked-out author as an "advisor" or "co-author" on the revision
  • ❌ Re-admitting a locked-out author when deadlock occurs (must escalate to user)
  • ❌ Applying lockout across unrelated artifacts (scope is per-artifact)
  • ❌ Accepting the Reviewer's assignment when they name the original author (must refuse and ask for a different agent)
  • ❌ Clearing lockout before the revision is approved (lockout persists through revision cycle)
  • ❌ Skipping verification that the revision agent is not the original author

© 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/reviewer-protocol of microsoft/waza.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 774df00

Used in 4 other repositories

We found 5 copies of this SKILL.md (exact, near-identical or edited) in other folders, from 4 other GitHub owners. This page covers the copy in microsoft/waza, which our catalogue first saw on October 7, 2026.

Compare with similar skills

Reviewer Protocol 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.

Reviewer Protocol compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Reviewer Protocol this skillmicrosoft/waza1.4k4 repos~1.1kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Review Pending PR Reviewsnrwl/nx29k—~3.9kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Reviewthedaviddias/Front-End-Checklist74k—~556Automated safety check: PassMIT
ReviewClickHouse/ClickHouse50k—~8kAutomated safety check: NotesApache-2.0
Docling Pull Request Reviewdocling-project/docling69k—~1kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Pre-Landing PR Reviewgarrytan/gstack136k—~19kAutomated safety check: NotesMIT

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Questions about Reviewer Protocol

What does Reviewer Protocol do?

Reviewer rejection workflow and strict lockout semantics. An agent skill from microsoft/waza. Reviewer Protocol is an agent skill from microsoft/waza, published by the product's own GitHub organization.

How do I install Reviewer Protocol in Claude Code?

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

How do I install Reviewer Protocol in Codex?

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

Can I use Reviewer Protocol 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 reviewer-protocol -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/reviewer-protocol, .gemini/skills/reviewer-protocol, .github/skills/reviewer-protocol and .opencode/skills/reviewer-protocol in your project.

What does Reviewer Protocol need to run?

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

Does Reviewer Protocol 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 Reviewer Protocol 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 Reviewer Protocol use?

Reviewer Protocol 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 Reviewer Protocol use?

About 1.1k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 4.3k 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 Reviewer Protocol?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Reviewer Protocol: Review Pending PR Reviews (nrwl/nx, 29k stars), Review (thedaviddias/Front-End-Checklist, 74k stars), Review (ClickHouse/ClickHouse, 50k stars) and Docling Pull Request Review (docling-project/docling, 69k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Reviewer Protocol?

microsoft (a GitHub organization, an official publisher) maintains it in microsoft/waza, which has 1,403 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.