Link Validator Skill | Agent Skills

Link Validator

Validates markdown links in Claude Code skills for portability across installation locations.

The Problem

Skills with absolute repo paths break when installed elsewhere:

| Path Type | Example | Works When Installed? | | --------------- | ----------------------- | ----------------------- | | Absolute repo | /skills/foo/SKILL.md | No - path doesn't exist | | Relative | ./references/guide.md | Yes - always resolves | | Relative parent | ../sibling/SKILL.md | Yes - always resolves |

When to Use This Skill

Before distributing a skill/plugin
After creating new markdown links in skills
When CI reports link validation failures
To audit existing skills for portability issues

TodoWrite Task Templates

Template A: Validate Single Skill

1. Identify skill path to validate
2. Run: uv run scripts/validate_links.py <skill-path>
3. Review violation report (if any)
4. For each violation, apply suggested fix
5. Re-run validator to confirm all fixed

Template B: Validate Plugin (Multiple Skills)

1. Identify plugin root directory
2. Run: uv run scripts/validate_links.py <plugin-path>
3. Review grouped violations by skill
4. Fix violations skill-by-skill
5. Re-validate entire plugin

Template C: Fix Violations

1. Read violation report output
2. Locate file and line number
3. Review suggested relative path
4. Apply fix using Edit tool
5. Re-run validator on file

Post-Change Checklist

After modifying this skill:

[ ] Script remains in sync with latest patterns
[ ] References updated if new patterns added
[ ] Tested on real skill with violations

Quick Start

# Validate a single skill
uv run scripts/validate_links.py ~/.claude/skills/my-skill/

# Validate a plugin with multiple skills
uv run scripts/validate_links.py ~/.claude/plugins/my-plugin/

# Dry-run in current directory
uv run scripts/validate_links.py .

Exit Codes

| Code | Meaning | | ---- | --------------------------------------- | | 0 | All links valid (relative paths) | | 1 | Violations found (absolute repo paths) | | 2 | Error (invalid path, no markdown files) |

What Gets Checked

Flagged as Violations:

/skills/foo/SKILL.md - Absolute repo path
/docs/guide.md - Absolute repo path

Allowed (Pass):

./references/guide.md - Relative same directory
../sibling/SKILL.md - Relative parent
https://example.com - External URL
#section - Anchor link

Reference Documentation

Link Patterns Reference - Detailed pattern explanations and fix strategies

Troubleshooting

| Issue | Cause | Solution | | ------------------------- | ----------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------- | | Script not found | Path or plugin not installed | Verify plugin installed with claude plugin list | | Exit code 2 | Invalid path or no .md files | Check target path exists and contains markdown | | False positive on URL | Regex matched external link | URLs starting with http should be ignored | | Anchor link flagged | Script treating # as path | Anchor links (#section) are allowed by design | | Relative path still fails | Wrong relative direction | Use ./ for same dir, ../ for parent | | Validation passes locally | CI uses different working dir | Ensure CI runs from correct repo root | | Too many violations | Legacy codebase | Fix incrementally, prioritize high-impact files | | Can't determine fix | Complex path structure | Read link-patterns.md for detailed fix strategies |

Agent Skills: Link Validator

Install this agent skill to your local

Skill Files