Guide · Agent skill
How to use the AI Debt Detector agent skill
Updated · written with AI from the project's own documentation and checked against our catalogue data
AI Debt Detector is an agent skill that makes your coding agent re-check code it has just written, or code you point it at, against a checklist of mistakes AI coding tools commonly make. This guide explains what the skill does, how to install it, how to trigger it with plain requests, and where its limits are. By the end you will be able to run an audit on AI-generated code before you merge it.
AI Debt Detectorwshobson/agents · MIT Download the skill Quick start
- 1Download the ZIP. Get the ai-debt-detector ZIP from this page.
- 2Unzip the skill. Unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use, or into the project's .claude/skills/ folder for one project.
- 3Or upload in the Claude apps. In the Claude apps, go to Settings → Capabilities → Skills and upload the skill.
- 4Ask for a review. After the agent writes code, ask it to review the changed files with the AI debt detector.
- 5Check the findings. Read each finding and confirm it against the code, since the checklist can report false positives.
- 6Fix and re-check. Fix the confirmed issues and run your tests and linters before merging.
What the AI Debt Detector skill makes the agent do
The skill is a checklist-driven review that the agent performs itself. It is not a separate tool, and it does not run your tests. The checklist covers five areas: failure modes, orphaned resources, edge cases, hallucinated dependencies and architectural drift.
Failure modes asks what happens when something goes wrong, such as a network timeout, a full disk, a permission error or a null input. Orphans asks what gets created and never cleaned up, such as temp files, event listeners, intervals, subscriptions and connections. Edge cases asks what inputs break the code, such as empty values, very large input or concurrent calls.
- Failure modes: is there a try/catch, and does it catch specific errors or swallow everything?
- Orphans: does every open or create have a matching close, dispose or cleanup call?
- Edge cases: does the code assume the happy path?
- Hallucinated dependencies: do the imports, packages and API methods actually exist?
- Architectural drift: does the code follow the project's existing error handling, utilities and file structure?
Install the skill from a ZIP or the Claude apps
Download the ZIP for the skill from this page. The skill package contains a single file, SKILL.md. You can install it in one of three places.
For a personal install across projects, unzip the download into ~/.claude/skills/. For a single project, unzip it into the project's .claude/skills/ folder. If you use the Claude apps, you can instead upload the skill under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.
- Personal: unzip into ~/.claude/skills/
- Single project: unzip into .claude/skills/ inside the project
- Claude apps: Settings → Capabilities → Skills, then upload
Trigger the skill with natural requests
You do not need a special command. The skill's description tells the agent when to use it, so plain requests work. The skill is meant to run after code generation, before a merge, or when something feels off.
Good triggers name the code and the concern. You can also ask for the audit directly. The skill also applies when the agent says it is finished without showing any verification.
- Review the code you just wrote for missing error handling and unclosed resources.
- Before I merge this AI-generated PR, run the AI debt detector on the changed files.
- This module works but feels brittle. Check it for hidden debt.
- Check whether every addEventListener in this React component has a matching cleanup.
Example: what a review looks like
Suppose the agent wrote a function that opens a database connection, runs a query and returns the rows. A happy-path version may work in testing but never release the connection on error. The checklist asks you to look at exactly this case: is there a finally block when resources were opened, and is the connection returned to the pool?
Review the findings yourself. The skill can report false positives, so confirm each finding against the code before changing it.
- Red flag: an empty catch block or a catch that only logs the error
- Red flag: a timeout is set but nothing aborts or cleans up when it fires
- Red flag: an import from a path that does not exist in the project
What you need and the safety notes
The skill lists no requirements. It does not run scripts and does not use the network. Its only file is SKILL.md, so it is a set of instructions for the agent rather than executable code.
Because the review is a prompted checklist, it can miss real problems and can flag things that are fine. It does not replace automated tests, linters, or a human security review. The source also notes that compilation only checks syntax, not logic, so a clean build does not mean the code is correct.
- No listed requirements
- Runs scripts: no
- Uses network: no
- Use alongside tests, linters and human review
Tips for getting useful results
Give the skill a scope. Point it at the specific files or diff you want reviewed rather than the whole repository. Ask it to check what the AI did not generate, not just what it did, since missing error paths are a common blind spot.
Also ask it to check dependency versions. The source warns that AI often uses deprecated APIs, so an explicit check of the library version helps.
- Name the files or diff to review
- Ask about missing error paths, not only the code that was written
- Ask the agent to verify package versions and API methods
- Do not skip the orphan check on the assumption that garbage collection handles it; it does not for connections, listeners or timers
What people use it for
- Reviewing an AI-generated pull request for swallowed errors before merge.
- Auditing a React component for event listeners that lack cleanup.
- Checking a vibe-coded module for imports that may not exist in the project.
- Giving a team a shared review checklist for AI-written modules.
Frequently asked questions
How do I install the AI Debt Detector skill?
Download the ZIP from this page and unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use, or into a project's .claude/skills/ folder. In the Claude apps, you can upload it under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.
Is the AI Debt Detector skill free?
The skill is listed under the MIT licence. Check the licence file in the source repository for the terms that apply to your use.
Does the skill need any other software?
The source lists no requirements. The skill does not run scripts and does not use the network.
Does the skill run tests or a linter?
No. It is a checklist-driven review that the agent performs itself. It does not run tests, and it should be used alongside automated tests, linters and human review.
Can the skill miss problems or report false positives?
Yes. Because it is a prompted checklist, it can miss issues and can flag code that is actually fine, so verify each finding before acting on it.
How is this different from a linter or static analysis tool?
A linter applies fixed rules, while this skill asks the agent to check code against a checklist of AI-specific mistakes such as orphaned resources and hallucinated imports. It complements tools like linters rather than replacing them.
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Our verdict
Use AI Debt Detector if you review AI-generated code and want a consistent second-pass checklist for error handling, cleanup and hallucinated dependencies. Pick something else, or add a human expert, if you need guaranteed security review, automated test coverage, or if you cannot judge whether the agent's findings are correct.
Download the skill