SKILL.md

/printing-press-score

Name: printing-press-score
Author: mvanhorn

Score generated CLIs against the Steinberger bar. Supports rescoring, scoring by name/path, and comparing two CLIs.

Quick Start

/printing-press-score                              # rescore current CLI

/printing-press-score notion-pp-cli-4              # score by name

/printing-press-score ~/my-cli                     # score by path

/printing-press-score notion-pp-cli-4 vs notion-pp-cli-2  # compare two

Prerequisites

Go 1.26.3 or newer installed

printing-press binary on PATH (install with go install github.com/mvanhorn/cli-printing-press/v4/cmd/printing-press@latest)

Step 0: Setup

Before any other commands, run the setup contract to verify the printing-press binary is on PATH and initialize scope variables:

# min-binary-version: 4.0.0

# Derive scope first — needed for local build detection

_scope_dir="$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null || echo "$PWD")"

_scope_dir="$(cd "$_scope_dir" &#x26;&#x26; pwd -P)"

# Prefer local build when running from inside the printing-press repo.

_press_repo=false

if [ -x "$_scope_dir/printing-press" ] &#x26;&#x26; [ -d "$_scope_dir/cmd/printing-press" ]; then

  _press_repo=true

  export PATH="$_scope_dir:$PATH"

  echo "Using local build: $_scope_dir/printing-press"

elif ! command -v printing-press >/dev/null 2>&#x26;1; then

  if [ -x "$HOME/go/bin/printing-press" ]; then

    echo "printing-press found at ~/go/bin/printing-press but not on PATH."

    echo "Add GOPATH/bin to your PATH:  export PATH=\"\$HOME/go/bin:\$PATH\""

  else

    echo "printing-press binary not found."

    echo "Install with:  go install github.com/mvanhorn/cli-printing-press/v4/cmd/printing-press@latest"

  fi

  return 1 2>/dev/null || exit 1

fi

# Resolve and emit the absolute path the agent must use for every later

# `printing-press` invocation. `export PATH` above only affects this one

# Bash tool call; subsequent calls open a fresh shell and resolve bare

# `printing-press` against the user's default PATH, where a stale global

# can silently shadow the local build. The agent captures this marker and

# substitutes the absolute path into every later invocation.

if [ "$_press_repo" = "true" ]; then

  PRINTING_PRESS_BIN="$_scope_dir/printing-press"

else

  PRINTING_PRESS_BIN="$(command -v printing-press 2>/dev/null || true)"

fi

echo "PRINTING_PRESS_BIN=$PRINTING_PRESS_BIN"

PRESS_BASE="$(basename "$_scope_dir" | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]' | sed -E 's/[^a-z0-9_-]/-/g; s/^-+//; s/-+$//')"

if [ -z "$PRESS_BASE" ]; then

  PRESS_BASE="workspace"

fi

PRESS_SCOPE="$PRESS_BASE-$(printf '%s' "$_scope_dir" | shasum -a 256 | cut -c1-8)"

PRESS_HOME="$HOME/printing-press"

PRESS_RUNSTATE="$PRESS_HOME/.runstate/$PRESS_SCOPE"

PRESS_LIBRARY="$PRESS_HOME/library"

PRESS_MANUSCRIPTS="$PRESS_HOME/manuscripts"

PRESS_CURRENT="$PRESS_RUNSTATE/current"

mkdir -p "$PRESS_RUNSTATE" "$PRESS_LIBRARY" "$PRESS_MANUSCRIPTS" "$PRESS_CURRENT"

After running the setup contract, capture the PRINTING_PRESS_BIN=<abs-path> line from stdout. **Every subsequent printing-press ... invocation in this skill must use that absolute path** (substitute the value, not the literal $PRINTING_PRESS_BIN token) — export PATH above only affects the single Bash tool call it runs in, so later calls open a fresh shell where bare printing-press resolves against the user's default PATH and a stale global can shadow the local build.

After capturing the binary path, check binary version compatibility. Read the min-binary-version field from this skill's YAML frontmatter. Run <PRINTING_PRESS_BIN> version --json and parse the version from the output. Compare it to min-binary-version using semver rules. If the installed binary is older than the minimum, stop immediately and tell the user: "printing-press binary vX.Y.Z is older than the minimum required vA.B.C. Run go install github.com/mvanhorn/cli-printing-press/v4/cmd/printing-press@latest to update."

Current-run state is resolved from $PRESS_RUNSTATE. Published CLIs are resolved from $PRESS_LIBRARY. Archived manuscripts are resolved from $PRESS_MANUSCRIPTS.

Step 1: Parse Arguments

Read the user's input after /printing-press-score. The input is free-form — interpret intent, don't enforce syntax.

Noise words to strip: compare, vs, versus, and, against, with, to

After stripping noise words, count the remaining tokens:

0 tokens → Rescore Current mode

1 token → Score Single mode

2 tokens → Compare mode

Step 2: Resolve CLI Directories

For each CLI identifier, resolve it to a directory path:

If the token contains / or .

Treat it as a path (absolute or relative). Verify the directory exists.

If the token is a plain name

Try these locations in order:

$PRESS_LIBRARY/<name>/ — exact match

$PRESS_LIBRARY/<name>-pp-cli/ — with -pp-cli suffix

If neither exists, Glob $PRESS_LIBRARY/<name>-pp-cli*

If exactly one glob match exists and is a directory, use it

If multiple glob matches exist, present a numbered menu using AskUserQuestion

If neither exists, scan current-run and archived state:

Use Glob to find $PRESS_RUNSTATE/runs/*/state.json files
Read each, look for an output_dir or working_dir value whose basename contains the name
If found and the directory exists, use it

If nothing resolves, report the error: "Could not find CLI ''. Provide a path or check the name."

Rescore Current (0 tokens)

Use Glob to find all $PRESS_CURRENT/*.json files

Read each to get api_name, state_path, and working_dir

Filter to those whose working_dir actually exists on disk

If none are found, Glob $PRESS_LIBRARY/*-pp-cli* and use those directories instead

If exactly one → use it automatically

If multiple → present a numbered menu using AskUserQuestion:

Multiple CLIs found. Which one to score?

1. stripe-pp-cli ($PRESS_LIBRARY/stripe-pp-cli)

2. notion-pp-cli ($PRESS_LIBRARY/notion-pp-cli)

3. linear-pp-cli ($PRESS_LIBRARY/linear-pp-cli)

If none found → report: "No generated CLIs found. Provide a name or path."

Step 3: Find Spec for Tier 2 Scoring

For each resolved CLI directory, find the OpenAPI spec:

Check <cli-dir>/spec.json — the pipeline converts YAML specs to JSON during generation

If not found, scan $PRESS_RUNSTATE/runs/*/state.json files for one matching this CLI's directory. Read its spec_path field. If that file exists on disk, use it.

If no spec found, **proceed without --spec**. Note to the user: "No spec found — spec-derived dimensions will be marked N/A and omitted from the denominator. Provide a spec path for full scoring."

Step 4: Run Scorecard

Single Score Mode

Run the scorecard command:

printing-press scorecard --dir <resolved-path> --json

If a spec was found, add --spec <spec-path>.

Parse the JSON output. The structure is:

{

  "api_name": "...",

  "steinberger": {

    "output_modes": 8,

    "auth": 7,

    "error_handling": 6,

    "terminal_ux": 9,

    "readme": 5,

    "doctor": 10,

    "agent_native": 7,

    "local_cache": 4,

    "breadth": 7,

    "vision": 6,

    "workflows": 3,

    "insight": 5,

    "path_validity": 0,

    "auth_protocol": 0,

    "data_pipeline_integrity": 7,

    "sync_correctness": 6,

    "type_fidelity": 4,

    "dead_code": 3,

    "total": 72,

    "percentage": 72

  },

  "overall_grade": "B",

  "gap_report": ["..."],

  "unscored_dimensions": ["path_validity", "auth_protocol"]

}

If unscored_dimensions is present, those dimensions should be rendered as N/A, not 0/x, and should be described as omitted from the denominator rather than as fixable CLI defects. For backward compatibility, JSON still encodes the numeric fields as 0; consumers must use unscored_dimensions to distinguish N/A from a real zero.

Compare Mode

Run both scorecard commands in parallel using two simultaneous Bash tool calls:

# Call 1:

printing-press scorecard --dir <path1> --spec <spec1> --json

# Call 2:

printing-press scorecard --dir <path2> --spec <spec2> --json

Parse both JSON outputs.

Step 5: Render Output

Single Score Table

Render a rich markdown table. Note: Tier 1 dimensions are all /10. Tier 2 dimensions are /10 except TypeFidelity and DeadCode which are /5.

Scorecard: <api_name>

Infrastructure (Tier 1)

| Dimension      | Score |

|----------------|-------|

| Output Modes   | 8/10  |

| Auth           | 7/10  |

| Error Handling | 6/10  |

| Terminal UX    | 9/10  |

| README         | 5/10  |

| Doctor         | 10/10 |

| Agent Native   | 7/10  |

| Local Cache    | 4/10  |

| Breadth        | 7/10  |

| Vision         | 6/10  |

| Workflows      | 3/10  |

| Insight        | 5/10  |

Domain Correctness (Tier 2)

| Dimension               | Score |

|--------------------------|-------|

| Path Validity            | 9/10  |

| Auth Protocol            | 8/10  |

| Data Pipeline Integrity  | 7/10  |

| Sync Correctness         | 6/10  |

| Type Fidelity            | 4/5   |

| Dead Code                | 3/5   |

**Total: 72/100 — Grade B**

If gap_report is non-empty, list the gaps:

Gaps:

- <gap 1>

- <gap 2>

If unscored_dimensions is non-empty, add a note after the table:

Note: path_validity, auth_protocol were unscored and omitted from the denominator. Provide a spec path for full scoring.

Compare Table

Render a side-by-side table with a delta column. Show the first CLI name and second CLI name as column headers. Calculate delta as (CLI 1 score - CLI 2 score). Show +N for positive, -N for negative, — for zero.

Scorecard Comparison: <name1> vs <name2>

Infrastructure (Tier 1)

| Dimension      | <name1> | <name2> | Delta |

|----------------|---------|---------|-------|

| Output Modes   | 8/10    | 5/10    | +3    |

| Auth           | 7/10    | 7/10    | —     |

| ...            |         |         |       |

Domain Correctness (Tier 2)

| Dimension               | <name1> | <name2> | Delta |

|--------------------------|---------|---------|-------|

| Path Validity            | 9/10    | 6/10    | +3    |

| ...                      |         |         |       |

| **Total**  | **72/100 (B)** | **56/100 (C)** | **+16** |

Error Handling

If the printing-press binary is not on PATH → show install instructions: go install github.com/mvanhorn/cli-printing-press/v4/cmd/printing-press@latest

If the scorecard command fails → report the error with the full stderr output

If a CLI directory doesn't exist → report which name couldn't be resolved

If JSON parsing fails → show the raw output and report the parsing error

printing-press-score