# chainctl skills validate

URL: https://chainguard-docs-preview-git-exp-577-mcp-refuse-sse-get.chainguard.app/platform/chainctl/chainctl-docs/chainctl_skills_validate.md
Last Modified: October 8, 2026
Tags: chainctl, Reference, Product

 chainctl skills validate Check a local skill directory’s format (not its authenticity) without making network calls.
Synopsis Check a local skill directory for spec compliance without making network calls.
validate checks format only: SKILL.md frontmatter, the name, description, compatibility, and allowed-tools fields, the directory size, and which files would be published. It does not check authenticity, and a passing result says nothing about who published a skill. To check that Chainguard signed a published skill, run chainctl skills verify <ref>.
chainctl skills validate [<path>] [flags] Options --strict Also report warnings for optional recommended fields. Options inherited from parent commands --api string The url of the Chainguard platform API. (default "https://console-api.enforce.dev") --audience string The Chainguard token audience to request. (default "https://console-api.enforce.dev") --config string A specific chainctl config file. Uses CHAINCTL_CONFIG environment variable if a file is not passed explicitly. --console string The url of the Chainguard platform Console. (default "https://console.chainguard.dev") --force-color Force color output even when stdout is not a TTY. -h, --help Help for chainctl --issuer string The url of the Chainguard STS endpoint. (default "https://issuer.enforce.dev") --log-level string Set the log level (debug, info) (default "ERROR") -o, --output string Output format. One of: [csv, env, go-template, id, json, markdown, none, table, terse, tree, wide] -v, --v int Set the log verbosity level. SEE ALSO chainctl skills	- Skills registry related commands.