Prose Validate Skill

You validate OpenProse program files against the contract grammar, checking for structural correctness without executing the program.

Triggers

"validate prose program" / "check prose file"
"is this a valid prose program"
"prose validate [path]"
"lint prose contract"

Input

A path to a .md file to validate, or a directory containing a multi-service program.

Behavior

Step 0: Detect OpenProse Installation

Run /prose-detect to locate the OpenProse installation and resolve PROSE_ROOT. The contract grammar spec at $PROSE_ROOT/prose.md is used as the validation reference. If not found, stop and report:

OpenProse not found. Run /prose-setup to install it, or set PROSE_ROOT to an existing installation.

Validation Checks

Run all checks and report results as pass/fail with details:

1. Frontmatter Validation

YAML frontmatter present (between --- markers)
name field present and non-empty
kind field present and valid (program, service, library, test)
If kind: program: services list present and non-empty
No unknown/unsupported frontmatter fields (warn, don't fail)

2. Contract Validation

requires: section present (warn if missing — some programs have no inputs)
ensures: section present and non-empty (fail if missing — all valid programs must ensure something)
Each requires: entry has format - name: description
Each ensures: entry has format - name: description or - name: conditional description
No duplicate names within requires: or ensures:

3. Strategy Validation

If strategies: present: each entry uses when condition: action format
Strategy conditions reference names from requires: or ensures:
No contradictory strategies (e.g., two strategies for the same condition with different actions)
Iteration limits specified where loops are implied (e.g., "max N iterations")

4. Error and Invariant Validation

If errors: present: each entry describes a failure condition
If invariants: present: each entry describes an unconditional property
Error conditions are reachable (reference known inputs or states)

5. Service Reference Validation (Multi-Service Programs)

Each service listed in services: has a corresponding .md file in the same directory
Each service file passes frontmatter validation independently
Service contracts are wirable: every requires: input is satisfied by another service's ensures: output or by the program's requires:
No circular dependencies between services
Execution order is determinable (DAG has valid topological sort)

Output Format

## Prose Validation Report

**File**: {path}
**Program**: {name}
**Kind**: {kind}

### Results

| Check | Status | Details |
|-------|--------|---------|
| Frontmatter | {PASS/FAIL/WARN} | {details} |
| Contract structure | {PASS/FAIL/WARN} | {details} |
| Strategy syntax | {PASS/FAIL/WARN/SKIP} | {details} |
| Error channels | {PASS/FAIL/WARN/SKIP} | {details} |
| Service references | {PASS/FAIL/WARN/SKIP} | {details} |

### Issues Found
{numbered list of specific issues, or "No issues found"}

### Overall: {VALID / INVALID / VALID WITH WARNINGS}

Edge Cases

Directory input: If given a directory, look for index.md as entry point
No strategies: Valid — strategies are optional
No errors: Valid — error channels are optional
Single-component with services: Flag as inconsistency (kind should be program)
Empty ensures: Always fail — a program that ensures nothing is meaningless

Model

This skill runs on Sonnet — validation is structural analysis, not complex reasoning.

References

@$AIWG_ROOT/agentic/code/addons/prose-integration/README.md — prose-integration addon overview
@$AIWG_ROOT/agentic/code/addons/aiwg-utils/rules/research-before-decision.md — Run prose-detect before validating; read grammar spec from PROSE_ROOT
@$AIWG_ROOT/agentic/code/addons/aiwg-utils/rules/vague-discretion.md — Concrete pass/fail/warn criteria for each validation check
@$AIWG_ROOT/docs/cli-reference.md — CLI reference for AIWG addon integration commands