name: agent-capability-assessor description: Assesses agent capabilities by analyzing agent files and determining what tasks they can handle. Use when you need to evaluate if an existing agent can handle a task or if a new agent is needed. Reviews agent descriptions, skills, and workflows to determine capability match.
Agent Capability Assessor Skill
Instructions
- Review the agent file(s) to understand capabilities
- Analyze agent description, skills, and workflow
- Compare agent capabilities to task requirements
- Determine if agent can handle the task effectively
- Identify capability gaps or strengths
- Recommend whether to use existing agent or create new one
- Provide capability assessment report
Assessment Process
Step 1: Read Agent File
- Read the agent's markdown file from
.cursor/agents/ - Understand agent's name, description, and purpose
- Review agent's core principles and workflow
- Note agent's available skills and capabilities
Step 2: Analyze Capabilities
- Extract key capabilities from agent description
- Identify what types of tasks the agent handles
- Note any limitations or constraints
- Understand agent's workflow and process
Step 3: Compare to Task Requirements
- Review task description and requirements
- Identify required capabilities for the task
- Match task requirements to agent capabilities
- Note any gaps or mismatches
Step 4: Make Assessment
- Determine if agent can handle task (Yes/No/Partial)
- Assess quality of match (Excellent/Good/Fair/Poor)
- Identify capability gaps
- Recommend action (Use existing / Create new / Enhance existing)
Capability Assessment Criteria
Excellent Match
- Agent's primary purpose aligns with task
- Agent has all required skills
- Agent's workflow fits task requirements
- No significant gaps
Good Match
- Agent can handle task with minor adjustments
- Agent has most required skills
- Agent's workflow mostly fits
- Minor gaps that can be worked around
Fair Match
- Agent can handle task but not ideal
- Agent has some required skills
- Agent's workflow partially fits
- Some gaps that may impact effectiveness
Poor Match
- Agent is not well-suited for task
- Agent lacks key required skills
- Agent's workflow doesn't fit
- Significant gaps that impact effectiveness
No Match
- Agent cannot handle task
- Agent lacks required capabilities
- Task is outside agent's domain
Assessment Output Format
## Agent Capability Assessment
### Agent: [agent-name]
**File**: `.cursor/agents/[agent-name].md`
### Agent Capabilities
- [Capability 1]
- [Capability 2]
- [Capability 3]
### Task Requirements
- [Requirement 1]
- [Requirement 2]
- [Requirement 3]
### Capability Match Analysis
**Overall Match**: [Excellent/Good/Fair/Poor/No Match]
**Strengths**:
- [Strength 1]
- [Strength 2]
**Gaps**:
- [Gap 1]
- [Gap 2]
**Recommendation**: [Use existing / Create new / Enhance existing]
**Rationale**: [Explanation of recommendation]
Examples
Example 1: Good Match
Input: Assess if implementation-engineer can handle "Implement user login API endpoint"
Output:
## Agent Capability Assessment
### Agent: implementation-engineer
**File**: `.cursor/agents/implementation-engineer.md`
### Agent Capabilities
- Implements tasks from scrum-master
- Handles both frontend and backend implementation
- Uses api-implementer skill for API endpoints
- Submits to code review and iterates
- Commits changes when approved
### Task Requirements
- Implement API endpoint
- Handle authentication logic
- Write tests
- Submit for review
### Capability Match Analysis
**Overall Match**: Excellent
**Strengths**:
- Primary purpose is implementation
- Has api-implementer skill for API endpoints
- Handles backend implementation
- Includes review and commit workflow
**Gaps**: None
**Recommendation**: Use existing agent
**Rationale**: Implementation-engineer is perfectly suited for this task. It has the api-implementer skill and handles the full implementation workflow including review and commit.
Example 2: Poor Match
Input: Assess if ui-ux-designer can handle "Set up PostgreSQL database schema"
Output:
## Agent Capability Assessment
### Agent: ui-ux-designer
**File**: `.cursor/agents/ui-ux-designer.md`
### Agent Capabilities
- Creates design specifications
- Focuses on UI/UX design
- Works with design systems
- Creates markdown design specs (not code)
### Task Requirements
- Set up database schema
- Create tables and relationships
- Write SQL migrations
- Configure database
### Capability Match Analysis
**Overall Match**: No Match
**Strengths**: None relevant
**Gaps**:
- Agent focuses on design, not database work
- Agent creates design specs, not code
- Agent has no database-related skills
- Task is outside agent's domain
**Recommendation**: Create new agent or use infrastructure-engineer
**Rationale**: ui-ux-designer is focused on UI/UX design work and cannot handle database schema setup. This task should be handled by infrastructure-engineer or a specialized database agent.
Example 3: Partial Match
Input: Assess if implementation-engineer can handle "Design user dashboard layout"
Output:
## Agent Capability Assessment
### Agent: implementation-engineer
**File**: `.cursor/agents/implementation-engineer.md`
### Agent Capabilities
- Implements tasks from specifications
- Implements design specs from ui-ux-designer
- Handles implementation work
- Does not create design specs
### Task Requirements
- Design dashboard layout
- Create design specifications
- Plan responsive design
- Define component structure
### Capability Match Analysis
**Overall Match**: Poor
**Strengths**:
- Can implement designs once created
- Works with design specifications
**Gaps**:
- Agent does not create design specs
- Agent implements designs, doesn't design them
- Task requires design work, not implementation
**Recommendation**: Use ui-ux-designer instead
**Rationale**: Implementation-engineer implements designs but doesn't create them. This task requires design work, which should be handled by ui-ux-designer. Implementation-engineer would handle the implementation after design is complete.
Multi-Agent Assessment
When assessing multiple agents for a task:
- Assess each agent individually
- Compare assessments
- Rank agents by match quality
- Recommend best agent or combination
## Multi-Agent Capability Assessment
### Task: [task description]
### Agent 1: [agent-name]
**Match**: [Excellent/Good/Fair/Poor]
**Recommendation**: [Use / Don't use]
### Agent 2: [agent-name]
**Match**: [Excellent/Good/Fair/Poor]
**Recommendation**: [Use / Don't use]
### Best Match: [agent-name]
**Rationale**: [Why this agent is best]
Best Practices
- Read Agent Files Thoroughly: Understand full agent capabilities
- Be Specific: Identify exact capability matches and gaps
- Consider Workflow: Agent workflow matters as much as capabilities
- Think About Quality: Match quality affects task success
- Document Gaps: Clear gap identification helps decision making
- Recommend Clearly: Make clear recommendations with rationale