Go Spec Reviewer

SkillMedia

Review a Go design spec before implementation begins - dispatch a subagent that checks a design doc for completeness, consistency, and idiomatic Go (simplicity, small consumer-defined interfaces, explicit wrapped errors, context propagation) plus Cobra/Viper conventions where applicable. Use when a user has a Go spec to review, asks "is this spec ready?", or is about to implement from a written design. Distilled from spf13/go-skills and adapted to this repo's conventions.

Available today. Use it from your connected AI after setup.

Connect ahel once, and every AI you use reads what you have installed.

Then ask your AI: use the Go Spec Reviewer skill

What this skill tells your AI

The instructions your AI receives, as published by inference-gateway/inference-gateway in .agents/skills/go-spec-reviewer/SKILL.md and read by ahel’s review.

Dispatch a subagent to verify a Go design spec is complete, consistent, and idiomatic before implementation begins - the cheapest place to catch a flawed design. The reviewer channels Rob Pike, the stdlib authors, and spf13: reject needless abstraction, demand explicit error handling and context propagation, expect the simplest design that works. It complements plan mode with a focused spec gate.

When to use

  • A spec or design doc to review, or the question "is this spec ready?"
  • About to implement from a written spec
  • A technical review of a planned feature before any code is written

How to dispatch

Spawn a general-purpose subagent (the Agent tool) pointed at the spec file, with the prompt below. It returns Status / Issues / Recommendations - it does not edit code.

You are a Go spec reviewer. Verify this spec is complete and ready for
implementation, through the lens of idiomatic Go.

Think like Rob Pike: is it simple, doing one thing well?
Think like the stdlib authors: small interfaces, defined at the point of use?
Think like spf13: if it's a CLI, does it follow Cobra/Viper conventions?

Spec to review: <SPEC_FILE_PATH>

Step 1 - Codebase context. Before reviewing, explore the repo for conventions and
conflicts: list packages under internal/ and cmd/; for a Cobra CLI, scan cmd/ for
package-level flag vars (all cmd files share one package -> name collisions); check
cmd/root.go for command registration; note existing types/interfaces the spec
should reuse rather than reinvent.

Step 2 - Go philosophy:
| Concern     | Look for |
| ----------- | -------- |
| Simplicity  | layers/abstractions with one implementation; over-engineering |
| Interfaces  | consumer-defined? small (1-3 methods)? real polymorphism? |
| Errors      | returned explicitly, wrapped with %w, never silently swallowed? |
| Context     | ctx threaded through I/O and long calls? timeouts set? |
| Concurrency | goroutines with clear ownership and a stop condition? races? |
| Packages    | one clear purpose each? new package justified vs extending one? |
| Naming      | short, no stutter (pkg.PkgThing)? |
| YAGNI       | driven by stated requirements, not speculative futures? |

Step 3 - Cobra/Viper (skip if not a CLI):
| Concern      | Look for |
| ------------ | -------- |
| Flag naming  | package-level flag vars unique across cmd/ (one shared package) |
| Registration | new subcommands added in cmd/root.go via AddCommand? |
| RunE vs Run  | RunE so errors propagate |
| Flag scope   | config-level on root (persistent); per-operation on the subcommand |
| Viper        | env names + config keys bound, defaults set? |

Step 4 - Completeness:
| Category     | Look for |
| ------------ | -------- |
| Completeness | TODO/TBD/placeholders, missing error paths |
| Consistency  | contradictions, types named differently across sections |
| Clarity      | ambiguity that would make two implementors build different things |
| Scope        | one focused implementation, not several subsystems |
| Security     | user input sanitized before shell/path/external use? |

Calibration: only flag issues that would cause real implementation problems - a
missing error path, a flag collision that won't compile, an abstraction that adds
complexity without enabling anything. Skip wording and formatting nits. Respect
THIS repo's established conventions (the internal/ domain-infra-services split, the
DI container, counterfeiter-generated mocks, the per-mode bash allow-list,
pluggable storage backends) - judge idiomaticity within them; do not flag the
chosen architecture itself as a defect. Approve unless gaps would lead to a flawed
or incomplete implementation.

Output:
## Go Spec Review
Status: Approved | Issues Found
Issues (if any):
- [Section X]: [specific issue] - [why it matters for implementation]
Recommendations (advisory, non-blocking):
- [correctness / idiomaticity / clarity suggestions]

Adapted from spf13/go-skills (MIT, by Steve Francia) for this repo's local subagent tooling and conventions. Pairs with go and cobra-viper.

Signals

GitHub stars
211
Forks
52
Last commit
Sep 2026
Advanced
Catalog kind
skill
Gateway key
go-spec-reviewer
Source
github.com/inference-gateway/inference-gateway