Safety review· Learn
Skill Security Checklist
A practical checklist for reviewing skill safety before installing, running, or publishing a skill.
intermediate6 min readUpdated May 4, 2026
Short answer
Before using a skill, read SKILL.md, inspect scripts, check filesystem and network behavior, verify the source, and test it in a disposable workspace before production use.
Before you install
- Read SKILL.md before running the skill.
- Confirm the skill has a narrow purpose and clear trigger.
- Check the source repository and maintainer signal.
- Review when the skill was last updated.
- Prefer skills with explicit safety and audit notes.
Inspect scripts like production code
- Look for broad filesystem writes or recursive deletes.
- Look for network calls to unknown domains.
- Look for secret access through environment variables or config files.
- Look for shell command construction that interpolates untrusted input.
- Prefer deterministic scripts that print clear outputs and fail loudly.
Scripts are where risk concentrates
Instruction text can be reviewed quickly. Executable helpers deserve the same scrutiny you would give a dependency or CI script.
Test safely
- Run the skill in a disposable repo or branch.
- Use non-sensitive sample data.
- Review every changed file before committing.
- Keep high-risk skills out of production work until a human has reviewed the behavior.
How Skill Market presents trust signals
Skill Market keeps risk close to install intent. Skill detail pages surface author information, security labels, audit notes, compatibility, and curator reasoning before the install command.