SKM-N02 · Error
`name` is longer than 64 characters
The specification caps `name` at 64 characters.
What the rule is
The specification caps `name` at 64 characters. This is a hard constraint in the field table, not a recommendation — unlike the body-length guidance in SKM-B01, there's no softer framing here.
In practice this is rarely a problem for a genuinely descriptive name; it usually shows up when a name has been written as a short sentence rather than a short identifier.
Where it comes from
- Agent Skills — SpecificationSpecification / reference validator
- Agent Skills — Adding skills support to your agent (client-implementation guide)Specification / reference validator
- skills-ref validate (official reference validator, v0.1.5)Specification / reference validator
Strict spec conformance
Non-conformant. The official reference validator (skills-ref) rejects this — tested directly, not inferred from severity.
This is a separate question from the severity above and from which runtimes enforce it below — a rule can be a real, working extension in its home runtime while the reference validator still rejects the file outright, or vice versa. Both facts are reported, never one inferred from the other.
Which runtimes enforce it
| Runtime | Effect | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Code | Not documented | The spec states the limit as a hard constraint (confirmed: skills-ref hard-fails on this), but the client-implementation guide's own best-practice recommendation is to warn and load anyway — no runtime is documented as doing either specifically. |
| Codex | Not documented | The spec states the limit as a hard constraint (confirmed: skills-ref hard-fails on this), but the client-implementation guide's own best-practice recommendation is to warn and load anyway — no runtime is documented as doing either specifically. |
| Cursor | Not documented | The spec states the limit as a hard constraint (confirmed: skills-ref hard-fails on this), but the client-implementation guide's own best-practice recommendation is to warn and load anyway — no runtime is documented as doing either specifically. |
| OpenClaw | Not documented | The spec states the limit as a hard constraint (confirmed: skills-ref hard-fails on this), but the client-implementation guide's own best-practice recommendation is to warn and load anyway — no runtime is documented as doing either specifically. |
| Hermes Agent | Not documented | The spec states the limit as a hard constraint (confirmed: skills-ref hard-fails on this), but the client-implementation guide's own best-practice recommendation is to warn and load anyway — no runtime is documented as doing either specifically. |
How to fix it
- Shorten `name` to 64 characters or fewer. It only needs to identify the skill, not describe it — that's what `description` is for.
Elsewhere
- SKILL.md, the formatThe full frontmatter field table this rule is drawn from.
- Agent Skills Not WorkingThe diagnostic reference this rule’s portability and failure evidence comes from.
- All rulesEvery check the validator runs, grouped by class.