feat(core): add agentsmd-audit skill files

The previous commit only landed the research-folder rename — a multi-path
git add silently failed and left CONTEXT.md, ADR-0012, and the actual skill
files unstaged. This lands them: the agentsmd-audit skill itself (three
deterministic validators for secrets, structure, and drift against a target
repo's AGENTS.md), its bats test suite, provenance record, and the
CONTEXT.md/ADR entries documenting why this lives in core rather than
kyberforge.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

CONTEXT.md

@@ -60,5 +60,11 @@ The three-stage traceability record linking a skill back to its research inputs:
 ### Bidirectional reference principle
 Files that reference other files should declare those references explicitly. The referencing file carries the forward reference (e.g. content index in `CLAUDE.md`, `references:` in frontmatter). The referenced file carries a `when:` field describing when it is loaded. Both sides should agree — divergence signals staleness. The reverse map ("what files reference this file?") is derived by a reference scanner script, not maintained manually. This principle applies to instruction files, skills, and workflow documents.
 
+### agentsmd-author / agentsmd-audit
+A skill pair in the `core` plugin for writing, updating, and reviewing a target repo's `AGENTS.md` file(s) (the generic open-standard file — see the `AGENTS.md` entry above — not this repo's own). `agentsmd-author` creates/updates AGENTS.md content, supports nested monorepo placement (per the standard's nearest-file-wins precedence), and closes out by invoking `agentsmd-audit` inline. `agentsmd-audit` runs a single combined pass checking three mandatory baselines: secrets/credentials (governance.md hard prohibition — AGENTS.md is committed content), structural completeness (common-sections checklist from the agents.md spec), and accuracy/drift (do referenced commands and paths actually resolve against the repo). `agentsmd-audit` never inspects provider adapter files (see `provider-adapter-author`) — its scope is AGENTS.md content only. Chosen over folding this into `kyberforge` because kyberforge's scope is meta-tooling for the holocron marketplace itself, not generic target-repo documentation; `core` is the intended home for cross-cutting, repo-agnostic utility skills.
+
+### provider-adapter-author
+A companion skill (`core` plugin) that detects a target repo's provider-specific instruction file (`CLAUDE.md`, `.cursor/rules/*.mdc`, `copilot-instructions.md`, etc.) and, where it duplicates content AGENTS.md should own, converts it into a thin adapter that imports AGENTS.md — mirroring this repo's own ADR-0012 pattern. Self-validates via its own bundled deterministic script (`scripts/validate-adapter.sh`: checks for an import reference, no duplicated headings, size threshold) rather than a separate paired audit skill — the check is mechanical, so a script suffices per governance.md's "prefer deterministic code for repeatable tasks." `agentsmd-author` calls this skill via skill composition when it detects an existing provider file with overlapping content.
+
 ### LESSONS.md
 Long-loop feedback log for patterns observed across sessions. Three or more entries on the same pattern graduate to the relevant standing file (e.g. a coding convention, a governance rule). Updated by the session-handoff skill or directly by the human. Lives at the repo root.

docs/adr/0012-agentsmd-tooling-in-core-plugin.md

@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+# AGENTS.md tooling lives in `core`, split into three skills
+
+`kyberforge` is scoped to meta-tooling for building and maintaining the holocron marketplace itself (skills, agents, plugins, marketplace entries) — not to generic capabilities for an arbitrary target repo. Authoring and reviewing a target repo's `AGENTS.md` file is repo-agnostic documentation tooling, closer in kind to `bin:write-docs` or `bin:init` than to `skill-author`/`plugin-author`. Research for this topic was initially placed under `plugins/kyberforge/docs/research/docs/agentsmd/` but has moved to `plugins/core/docs/research/docs/agentsmd/` to keep the provenance chain consistent with the plugin the resulting skills live in.
+
+## Decision
+
+Three skills in the `core` plugin (`core`'s first active skills):
+
+- **`agentsmd-author`** — creates/updates a target repo's `AGENTS.md`, including nested monorepo placement (nearest-file-wins). Closes out by invoking `agentsmd-audit` inline, mirroring the `skill-author`/`skill-audit` pattern. When it detects an existing provider-specific file (`CLAUDE.md`, etc.) with content that duplicates what AGENTS.md should own, it calls `provider-adapter-author` via skill composition.
+- **`agentsmd-audit`** — a single combined pass checking three mandatory baselines against `AGENTS.md` only: secrets/credentials (governance.md hard prohibition), structural completeness (common-sections checklist from the agents.md spec), and accuracy/drift (do referenced commands/paths resolve against the repo). Never inspects provider adapter files.
+- **`provider-adapter-author`** — detects and converts a provider-specific instruction file into a thin adapter that imports `AGENTS.md` (mirroring this repo's own two-tier `CLAUDE.md` pattern). Self-validates via its own bundled deterministic script (`scripts/validate-adapter.sh`) rather than a separate paired audit skill, since the check (import present, no duplicated headings, size threshold) is mechanical.
+
+## Consequences
+
+- `core`'s plugin.json/README will list real skills for the first time.
+- `plugins/kyberforge/docs/research/docs/agentsmd/` moves to `plugins/core/docs/research/docs/agentsmd/` before authoring begins.

plugins/core/skills/agentsmd-audit/README.md

@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+# agentsmd-audit
+
+Audit a target repo's AGENTS.md file(s) for embedded secrets, structural completeness, and drift.
+
+## What it does
+
+Runs a single combined pass across every AGENTS.md file in a repo (root and any nested monorepo files): flags embedded secrets/credentials, checks structure against the agents.md common-sections checklist, and resolves referenced commands/paths against the actual repo to catch stale documentation. Outputs a compact findings report — findings only, grouped by dimension, each with Why and Fix. Never inspects provider-specific adapter files (CLAUDE.md, etc.) and never writes or fixes anything.
+
+## Usage
+
+```
+/agentsmd-audit
+```
+
+Provide the path to the repo root to audit when invoking.
+
+## Files
+
+| File | Purpose |
+|------|---------|
+| `SKILL.md` | Skill instructions for agents |
+| `scripts/validate-secrets.sh` | Scans AGENTS.md files for embedded secrets, API keys, tokens, connection strings |
+| `scripts/validate-structure.sh` | Checks for empty/placeholder content, common-sections checklist, nested-vs-root duplication |
+| `scripts/validate-drift.sh` | Resolves referenced npm/make commands and file paths against the repo |
+| `references/sources.md` | Provenance record — sources that informed this skill and which files each contributed to |
+| `tests/validate-secrets.bats` | Bats test suite for `scripts/validate-secrets.sh` |
+| `tests/validate-structure.bats` | Bats test suite for `scripts/validate-structure.sh` |
+| `tests/validate-drift.bats` | Bats test suite for `scripts/validate-drift.sh` |

plugins/core/skills/agentsmd-audit/SKILL.md

@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+---
+name: agentsmd-audit
+description: >
+  Use when the user wants to review a repo's AGENTS.md file, says "audit this
+  AGENTS.md", "check my AGENTS.md", "is this AGENTS.md any good", or wants to
+  know if AGENTS.md is safe to commit — even if they don't use the word
+  "audit". Also invoke proactively after agentsmd-author creates or updates
+  AGENTS.md, or after a hand-edit made outside agentsmd-author. Audits a
+  target repo's AGENTS.md file(s) — root and any nested monorepo files — for
+  embedded secrets/credentials, structural completeness against the
+  agents.md common-sections checklist, and drift (referenced commands or
+  paths that no longer resolve against the repo). Produces a compact
+  findings report (findings only, no PASS noise) with Why and Fix per
+  finding. Do not use to audit CLAUDE.md, .cursor/rules, or other
+  provider-specific adapter files — that's provider-adapter-author's
+  self-contained concern. Do not use to fix or write AGENTS.md content — use
+  agentsmd-author instead.
+allowed-tools: Bash Read
+metadata:
+  category: docs
+  source_keys:
+    - agents-md-official
+    - context7-websites-agents-md
+    - context7-agentsmd-agents-md
+    - governance-secrets-hard-prohibition
+  version: "0.1.0"
+---
+
+## Gotchas
+
+- Always run all three checks — this skill does a single combined pass, not staged/gated passes. Don't skip structure or drift checks just because a secrets FAIL was found.
+- Never inspect or mention provider-specific adapter files (`CLAUDE.md`, `.cursor/rules/*.mdc`, `copilot-instructions.md`, etc.) — that's out of scope. If one exists and duplicates AGENTS.md content, that's `provider-adapter-author`'s concern, not this skill's.
+- A missing common section (e.g. no "Security" heading) is informational, not a failure — not every repo needs every section from the checklist. Only flag a FAIL when the file is empty, entirely unfilled placeholder text, or contains a real embedded secret/stale reference.
+- Gather findings internally; don't narrate PASS/FAIL per check as you go — surface them only in the final report.
+
+## Step 1 — Run the validators
+
+```bash
+bash scripts/validate-secrets.sh <repo-root>
+bash scripts/validate-structure.sh <repo-root>
+bash scripts/validate-drift.sh <repo-root>
+```
+
+Each script walks the repo for every `AGENTS.md` file (root and nested, excluding `.git`, `node_modules`, `vendor`, and similar) and prints `FAIL`/`INFO`/`SUGGESTION` lines with `Why`/`Fix` (or `Note`) per finding. A nonzero exit means at least one FAIL was found in that dimension. If a script cannot execute (`python3` unavailable, Bash denied), fall back to manual review: scan for real-looking credentials, check common sections are present, and spot-check a few referenced commands/paths by hand.
+
+## Step 2 — Report
+
+Open with a coverage line:
+
+```text
+Checked: secrets · structure · drift
+```
+
+Then output only findings that were found, in this order within a repo: `### Secrets`, `### Structure`, `### Drift`. Omit a dimension heading entirely if it produced nothing — its absence confirms it passed. Report each finding verbatim as emitted by the scripts (they already carry file:line, Why/Fix or Note).
+
+Close with a result block:
+
+```text
+## Result
+
+PASS
+PASS · P info
+PASS (N suggestions) · P info
+FAIL (N fails)
+FAIL (N fails) · P info
+```
+
+INFO and SUGGESTION findings are observational — they never flip PASS to FAIL. Do not fix anything — this skill reports and proposes only. Point the user to `agentsmd-author` to apply fixes.

plugins/core/skills/agentsmd-audit/references/sources.md

@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+# Sources
+
+## agents-md-official
+
+- **URL:** https://agents.md/
+- **Description:** Official agents.md website — format spec, common-sections checklist, precedence rules (nearest-file-wins, no merge across files), monorepo nesting patterns
+- **Research doc:** plugins/core/docs/research/docs/agentsmd/sources.md
+- **Contributing files:** SKILL.md
+- **Status:** `extracted`
+
+## context7-websites-agents-md
+
+- **URL:** context7:/websites/agents_md
+- **Description:** Context7 index of the official agents.md website — overview, governance, cross-tool compatibility, configuration examples
+- **Research doc:** plugins/core/docs/research/docs/agentsmd/sources.md
+- **Contributing files:** SKILL.md
+- **Status:** `extracted`
+
+## context7-agentsmd-agents-md
+
+- **URL:** context7:/agentsmd/agents.md
+- **Description:** Context7 index of the agentsmd/agents.md repository — format spec, nested monorepo patterns, file structure examples
+- **Research doc:** plugins/core/docs/research/docs/agentsmd/sources.md
+- **Contributing files:** SKILL.md
+- **Status:** `extracted`
+
+## governance-secrets-hard-prohibition
+
+- **URL:** (org convention — not a plugin research corpus entry)
+- **Description:** Hard prohibition on placing secrets, API keys, tokens, or credentials in code, config, prompts, or any output. Grounds the secrets/credentials check in `scripts/validate-secrets.sh` and Step 1 of SKILL.md — AGENTS.md is committed content, so an embedded real secret is a hard-prohibition violation, not a style nit.
+- **Research doc:** core/instructions/governance.md (org convention file, not a plugin research corpus entry; content is inlined here since plugins must be self-contained and this file may not exist wherever the plugin is installed)
+- **Contributing files:** SKILL.md
+- **Status:** `extracted`

plugins/core/skills/agentsmd-audit/scripts/README.md

@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+# scripts/
+
+Deterministic validators this skill shells out to instead of relying on LLM judgment for mechanical checks.
+
+| File | Purpose |
+|------|---------|
+| `validate-secrets.sh` | Scans every AGENTS.md file (root + nested) for embedded secrets, API keys, tokens, and connection strings |
+| `validate-structure.sh` | Checks for empty/placeholder content, the common-sections checklist, and nested-vs-root duplication |
+| `validate-drift.sh` | Resolves referenced npm/make commands and file paths against the actual repo state |
+
+All three take a single `<repo-root>` argument, print `FAIL`/`INFO`/`SUGGESTION` findings to stdout, and exit non-zero only on FAIL.

plugins/core/skills/agentsmd-audit/scripts/validate-drift.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,137 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+usage() {
+  cat <<EOF
+Usage: validate-drift.sh <repo-root>
+
+Check every AGENTS.md file in a repo (root and nested) for drift: package
+manager scripts and file paths referenced in the text that no longer exist
+in the repo. Catches the failure mode that matters most in practice — an
+agent running a documented command that was renamed or deleted.
+
+Arguments:
+  repo-root  Path to the repository root to scan.
+
+Exit codes:
+  0  No FAIL findings (INFO may still be printed, e.g. no package.json found)
+  1  One or more FAIL findings
+EOF
+}
+
+if [[ "${1:-}" == "--help" || "${1:-}" == "-h" ]]; then
+  usage
+  exit 0
+fi
+
+if [[ $# -lt 1 ]]; then
+  echo "Error: repo-root is required." >&2
+  echo "" >&2
+  usage >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+python3 -u - "$1" <<'PYTHON'
+import sys
+import os
+import re
+import json
+
+repo_root = os.path.abspath(sys.argv[1])
+if not os.path.isdir(repo_root):
+    print(f"Error: '{repo_root}' is not a directory.", file=sys.stderr)
+    sys.exit(1)
+
+EXCLUDE_DIRS = {".git", "node_modules", "vendor", ".venv", "venv", "dist", "build"}
+
+def find_agents_md(root):
+    results = []
+    for dirpath, dirnames, filenames in os.walk(root):
+        dirnames[:] = [d for d in dirnames if d not in EXCLUDE_DIRS and not d.startswith(".")]
+        for fname in filenames:
+            if fname == "AGENTS.md":
+                results.append(os.path.join(dirpath, fname))
+    return sorted(results)
+
+def load_package_scripts(root):
+    pkg_path = os.path.join(root, "package.json")
+    if not os.path.isfile(pkg_path):
+        return None
+    try:
+        with open(pkg_path, encoding="utf-8") as f:
+            data = json.load(f)
+    except (json.JSONDecodeError, OSError):
+        return None
+    return set(data.get("scripts", {}).keys())
+
+def load_make_targets(root):
+    make_path = os.path.join(root, "Makefile")
+    if not os.path.isfile(make_path):
+        return None
+    with open(make_path, encoding="utf-8", errors="replace") as f:
+        content = f.read()
+    return set(re.findall(r'(?m)^([a-zA-Z0-9_-]+)\s*:(?!=)', content))
+
+NPM_RUN_RE = re.compile(r'\b(?:npm|pnpm|yarn)\s+run\s+([a-zA-Z0-9:_-]+)')
+MAKE_RE = re.compile(r'\bmake\s+([a-zA-Z0-9_-]+)')
+
+# Backticked relative file paths, e.g. `scripts/bootstrap.sh`, `src/index.ts`.
+# Requires a path separator and file extension to avoid matching bare commands/words.
+PATH_RE = re.compile(r'`([A-Za-z0-9_.\-]+(?:/[A-Za-z0-9_.\-]+)+\.[A-Za-z0-9]+)`')
+
+has_fail = False
+
+package_scripts = load_package_scripts(repo_root)
+make_targets = load_make_targets(repo_root)
+
+for fpath in find_agents_md(repo_root):
+    rel = os.path.relpath(fpath, repo_root)
+    with open(fpath, encoding="utf-8", errors="replace") as f:
+        content = f.read()
+
+    for m in NPM_RUN_RE.finditer(content):
+        script_name = m.group(1)
+        if package_scripts is None:
+            print(f"INFO  Cannot verify referenced script '{script_name}' — {rel}")
+            print(f"      Note: AGENTS.md references an npm/pnpm/yarn script, but no package.json was found at the repo root to check it against.")
+            print()
+        elif script_name not in package_scripts:
+            has_fail = True
+            print(f"FAIL  Referenced script '{script_name}' not found in package.json — {rel}")
+            print(f"      Why: AGENTS.md tells agents to run '{script_name}', but package.json has no matching \"scripts\" entry — the command will fail.")
+            print(f"      Fix: Update AGENTS.md to reference an existing script, or add '{script_name}' to package.json's scripts.")
+            print()
+
+    for m in MAKE_RE.finditer(content):
+        target_name = m.group(1)
+        if make_targets is None:
+            print(f"INFO  Cannot verify referenced make target '{target_name}' — {rel}")
+            print(f"      Note: AGENTS.md references a make target, but no Makefile was found at the repo root to check it against.")
+            print()
+        elif target_name not in make_targets:
+            has_fail = True
+            print(f"FAIL  Referenced make target '{target_name}' not found in Makefile — {rel}")
+            print(f"      Why: AGENTS.md tells agents to run 'make {target_name}', but the Makefile has no matching target — the command will fail.")
+            print(f"      Fix: Update AGENTS.md to reference an existing target, or add '{target_name}' to the Makefile.")
+            print()
+
+    file_dir = os.path.dirname(fpath)
+    for m in PATH_RE.finditer(content):
+        candidate = m.group(1)
+        resolved = (
+            os.path.isfile(os.path.join(repo_root, candidate))
+            or os.path.isfile(os.path.join(file_dir, candidate))
+            or os.path.isdir(os.path.join(repo_root, candidate))
+            or os.path.isdir(os.path.join(file_dir, candidate))
+        )
+        if not resolved:
+            has_fail = True
+            print(f"FAIL  Referenced path '{candidate}' does not exist — {rel}")
+            print(f"      Why: AGENTS.md points agents to '{candidate}', but it isn't present in the repo (checked relative to repo root and to the AGENTS.md's own directory).")
+            print(f"      Fix: Update AGENTS.md to reference the correct path, or restore/create '{candidate}'.")
+            print()
+
+if has_fail:
+    sys.exit(1)
+sys.exit(0)
+PYTHON

plugins/core/skills/agentsmd-audit/scripts/validate-secrets.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,120 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+usage() {
+  cat <<EOF
+Usage: validate-secrets.sh <repo-root>
+
+Scan every AGENTS.md file in a repo (root and nested) for embedded secrets,
+API keys, tokens, or connection strings. AGENTS.md is committed content —
+real credentials in it are a hard-prohibition violation, not a style nit.
+Placeholders (<your-key>, \$ENV_VAR, YOUR_TOKEN_HERE, example.com, etc.) are
+not flagged.
+
+Arguments:
+  repo-root  Path to the repository root to scan.
+
+Exit codes:
+  0  No findings
+  1  One or more FAIL findings
+EOF
+}
+
+if [[ "${1:-}" == "--help" || "${1:-}" == "-h" ]]; then
+  usage
+  exit 0
+fi
+
+if [[ $# -lt 1 ]]; then
+  echo "Error: repo-root is required." >&2
+  echo "" >&2
+  usage >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+python3 -u - "$1" <<'PYTHON'
+import sys
+import os
+import re
+
+repo_root = os.path.abspath(sys.argv[1])
+if not os.path.isdir(repo_root):
+    print(f"Error: '{repo_root}' is not a directory.", file=sys.stderr)
+    sys.exit(1)
+
+EXCLUDE_DIRS = {".git", "node_modules", "vendor", ".venv", "venv", "dist", "build"}
+
+def find_agents_md(root):
+    results = []
+    for dirpath, dirnames, filenames in os.walk(root):
+        dirnames[:] = [d for d in dirnames if d not in EXCLUDE_DIRS and not d.startswith(".")]
+        for fname in filenames:
+            if fname == "AGENTS.md":
+                results.append(os.path.join(dirpath, fname))
+    return sorted(results)
+
+PLACEHOLDER_RE = re.compile(
+    r'(?i)(your[_-]|my[_-]|example|xxx+|placeholder|changeme|<[^>]+>|\$\{|\$[A-Z_][A-Z0-9_]*|\.\.\.|redacted)'
+)
+
+PATTERNS = [
+    ("AWS access key ID", re.compile(r'AKIA[0-9A-Z]{16}')),
+    ("Private key block", re.compile(r'-----BEGIN [A-Z ]*PRIVATE KEY-----')),
+    ("GitHub token", re.compile(r'gh[pousr]_[A-Za-z0-9]{36,}')),
+    ("Slack token", re.compile(r'xox[baprs]-[A-Za-z0-9-]{10,}')),
+    ("GitLab token", re.compile(r'glpat-[A-Za-z0-9_-]{20,}')),
+    ("Generic API-style secret token", re.compile(r'\bsk-[A-Za-z0-9]{20,}\b')),
+    (
+        "Credential-bearing connection string",
+        re.compile(r'[a-zA-Z][a-zA-Z0-9+.-]*://[^:@/\s]+:[^@/\s]+@[^\s\'"]+'),
+    ),
+    (
+        "Assigned secret/password/token literal",
+        re.compile(
+            r'(?i)\b(api[_-]?key|secret|token|password|passwd|pwd|access[_-]?key)\b'
+            r'\s*[:=]\s*[\'"]?([A-Za-z0-9+/_.\-]{12,})[\'"]?'
+        ),
+    ),
+]
+
+findings = []
+
+def emit_fail(desc, fpath, lineno, why, fix):
+    findings.append((desc, fpath, lineno, why, fix))
+
+for fpath in find_agents_md(repo_root):
+    rel = os.path.relpath(fpath, repo_root)
+    with open(fpath, encoding="utf-8", errors="replace") as f:
+        lines = f.readlines()
+    for i, line in enumerate(lines, start=1):
+        if PLACEHOLDER_RE.search(line):
+            continue
+        for label, pattern in PATTERNS:
+            m = pattern.search(line)
+            if not m:
+                continue
+            # Re-check placeholder allowlist against just the matched value, in case
+            # the placeholder marker sits outside the regex's own match span.
+            value = m.group(0)
+            if PLACEHOLDER_RE.search(value):
+                continue
+            emit_fail(
+                f"Possible {label}",
+                f"{rel}:{i}",
+                i,
+                "AGENTS.md is committed content; this line matches a real-looking credential pattern rather than a placeholder.",
+                "Remove the embedded credential and replace it with an environment variable reference or placeholder (e.g. $API_KEY, <your-token>).",
+            )
+            break
+
+if not findings:
+    sys.exit(0)
+
+for desc, fpath, _lineno, why, fix in findings:
+    print(f"FAIL  {desc} — {fpath}")
+    print(f"      Why: {why}")
+    print(f"      Fix: {fix}")
+    print()
+
+sys.exit(1)
+PYTHON

plugins/core/skills/agentsmd-audit/scripts/validate-structure.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,118 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+usage() {
+  cat <<EOF
+Usage: validate-structure.sh <repo-root>
+
+Check every AGENTS.md file in a repo (root and nested) for structural
+completeness against the agents.md spec's common-sections checklist
+(setup/build, code style, testing, security, commit/PR conventions).
+Missing individual sections are informational (not every repo needs every
+section) — only an empty or entirely unfilled file is a hard failure.
+
+Arguments:
+  repo-root  Path to the repository root to scan.
+
+Exit codes:
+  0  No FAIL findings (INFO/SUGGESTION may still be printed)
+  1  One or more FAIL findings
+EOF
+}
+
+if [[ "${1:-}" == "--help" || "${1:-}" == "-h" ]]; then
+  usage
+  exit 0
+fi
+
+if [[ $# -lt 1 ]]; then
+  echo "Error: repo-root is required." >&2
+  echo "" >&2
+  usage >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+python3 -u - "$1" <<'PYTHON'
+import sys
+import os
+import re
+
+PLACEHOLDER_RE = re.compile(r'(?i)FILL IN:|TODO:\s*write|lorem ipsum')
+
+COMMON_SECTIONS = [
+    ("setup/build commands", re.compile(r'(?im)^#{1,3}\s*(setup|install|build|getting started)')),
+    ("code style", re.compile(r'(?im)^#{1,3}\s*(code style|style guide|conventions)')),
+    ("testing instructions", re.compile(r'(?im)^#{1,3}\s*(test|testing)')),
+    ("security considerations", re.compile(r'(?im)^#{1,3}\s*security')),
+    ("commit/PR conventions", re.compile(r'(?im)^#{1,3}\s*(commit|pr|pull request)')),
+]
+
+repo_root = os.path.abspath(sys.argv[1])
+if not os.path.isdir(repo_root):
+    print(f"Error: '{repo_root}' is not a directory.", file=sys.stderr)
+    sys.exit(1)
+
+EXCLUDE_DIRS = {".git", "node_modules", "vendor", ".venv", "venv", "dist", "build"}
+
+def find_agents_md(root):
+    results = []
+    for dirpath, dirnames, filenames in os.walk(root):
+        dirnames[:] = [d for d in dirnames if d not in EXCLUDE_DIRS and not d.startswith(".")]
+        for fname in filenames:
+            if fname == "AGENTS.md":
+                results.append(os.path.join(dirpath, fname))
+    return sorted(results)
+
+has_fail = False
+file_contents = {}  # rel path -> content, for the duplication pass below
+
+for fpath in find_agents_md(repo_root):
+    rel = os.path.relpath(fpath, repo_root)
+    with open(fpath, encoding="utf-8", errors="replace") as f:
+        content = f.read()
+    file_contents[rel] = content
+
+    if not content.strip():
+        has_fail = True
+        print(f"FAIL  AGENTS.md is empty — {rel}")
+        print("      Why: An empty file provides no instructions and gives agents nothing to act on.")
+        print("      Fix: Add at least a project overview and setup/test commands, per the agents.md common-sections checklist.")
+        print()
+        continue
+
+    if PLACEHOLDER_RE.search(content):
+        has_fail = True
+        print(f"FAIL  Unfilled placeholder content — {rel}")
+        print("      Why: A 'FILL IN:' or template stub left in place means the file has no repo-specific instructions yet.")
+        print("      Fix: Replace the placeholder with real, repo-specific content.")
+        print()
+        continue
+
+    for label, pattern in COMMON_SECTIONS:
+        if not pattern.search(content):
+            print(f"INFO  No {label} section — {rel}")
+            print(f"      Note: The agents.md common-sections checklist includes {label}; not every repo needs every section, but confirm this omission is deliberate.")
+            print()
+
+# --- Nested-vs-root duplication check ---
+root_content = file_contents.get("AGENTS.md")
+if root_content:
+    root_lines = {ln.strip() for ln in root_content.splitlines() if ln.strip()}
+    for rel, content in file_contents.items():
+        if rel == "AGENTS.md":
+            continue
+        nested_lines = [ln.strip() for ln in content.splitlines() if ln.strip()]
+        if not nested_lines:
+            continue
+        overlap = sum(1 for ln in nested_lines if ln in root_lines)
+        ratio = overlap / len(nested_lines)
+        if ratio >= 0.7:
+            print(f"SUGGESTION  Nested AGENTS.md largely duplicates the root file — {rel}")
+            print(f"      Why: {ratio:.0%} of this file's content lines already appear in the root AGENTS.md; per the spec's nearest-file-wins precedence, nested files don't inherit from the root, but they also shouldn't just restate it.")
+            print(f"      Fix: Trim {rel} down to only what's specific to this package/directory.")
+            print()
+
+if has_fail:
+    sys.exit(1)
+sys.exit(0)
+PYTHON

plugins/core/skills/agentsmd-audit/tests/README.md

@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+# tests/
+
+Test files for scripts bundled with this skill.
+
+## Dependencies
+
+Tests require [bats-support](https://github.com/bats-core/bats-support) and
+[bats-assert](https://github.com/bats-core/bats-assert). The test files load
+helpers from the repo root's `tests/test_helper/`.
+
+From the repo root:
+
+```bash
+git clone https://github.com/bats-core/bats-support tests/test_helper/bats-support
+git clone https://github.com/bats-core/bats-assert tests/test_helper/bats-assert
+```
+
+Run all tests for this skill (from the repo root):
+
+```bash
+bats plugins/core/skills/agentsmd-audit/tests/
+```
+
+## Files
+
+| File | Purpose |
+|------|---------|
+| `validate-secrets.bats` | Bats test suite for `scripts/validate-secrets.sh` |
+| `validate-structure.bats` | Bats test suite for `scripts/validate-structure.sh` |
+| `validate-drift.bats` | Bats test suite for `scripts/validate-drift.sh` |

plugins/core/skills/agentsmd-audit/tests/validate-drift.bats

@@ -0,0 +1,105 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bats
+
+setup() {
+    REPO_ROOT="$(cd "$BATS_TEST_DIRNAME/../../../../../" && pwd)"
+    load "$REPO_ROOT/tests/test_helper/bats-support/load"
+    load "$REPO_ROOT/tests/test_helper/bats-assert/load"
+
+    SCRIPT="$(cd "$BATS_TEST_DIRNAME/../scripts" && pwd)/validate-drift.sh"
+    TMPDIR="$(mktemp -d)"
+}
+
+teardown() {
+    rm -rf "$TMPDIR"
+}
+
+@test "fails when AGENTS.md references a stale npm script" {
+    cat > "$TMPDIR/package.json" <<'EOF'
+{
+  "scripts": {
+    "test": "jest"
+  }
+}
+EOF
+    cat > "$TMPDIR/AGENTS.md" <<'EOF'
+# AGENTS.md
+
+## Testing
+- Run `pnpm run e2e` before committing.
+EOF
+    run bash "$SCRIPT" "$TMPDIR"
+    assert_failure
+    assert_output --partial "e2e"
+}
+
+@test "passes when the referenced npm script exists" {
+    cat > "$TMPDIR/package.json" <<'EOF'
+{
+  "scripts": {
+    "test": "jest"
+  }
+}
+EOF
+    cat > "$TMPDIR/AGENTS.md" <<'EOF'
+# AGENTS.md
+
+## Testing
+- Run `npm run test` before committing.
+EOF
+    run bash "$SCRIPT" "$TMPDIR"
+    assert_success
+}
+
+@test "fails when AGENTS.md references a stale make target" {
+    cat > "$TMPDIR/Makefile" <<'EOF'
+build:
+	echo building
+EOF
+    cat > "$TMPDIR/AGENTS.md" <<'EOF'
+# AGENTS.md
+
+## Setup
+Run `make deploy` to ship.
+EOF
+    run bash "$SCRIPT" "$TMPDIR"
+    assert_failure
+    assert_output --partial "deploy"
+}
+
+@test "emits INFO instead of FAIL when there is no package.json to verify an npm script against" {
+    cat > "$TMPDIR/AGENTS.md" <<'EOF'
+# AGENTS.md
+
+## Testing
+Run `pnpm run e2e` before committing.
+EOF
+    run bash "$SCRIPT" "$TMPDIR"
+    assert_success
+    assert_output --partial "INFO"
+    assert_output --partial "e2e"
+}
+
+@test "fails when a referenced file path does not exist" {
+    cat > "$TMPDIR/AGENTS.md" <<'EOF'
+# AGENTS.md
+
+## Setup
+See `scripts/bootstrap.sh` for environment setup.
+EOF
+    run bash "$SCRIPT" "$TMPDIR"
+    assert_failure
+    assert_output --partial "scripts/bootstrap.sh"
+}
+
+@test "passes when the referenced file path exists" {
+    mkdir -p "$TMPDIR/scripts"
+    : > "$TMPDIR/scripts/bootstrap.sh"
+    cat > "$TMPDIR/AGENTS.md" <<'EOF'
+# AGENTS.md
+
+## Setup
+See `scripts/bootstrap.sh` for environment setup.
+EOF
+    run bash "$SCRIPT" "$TMPDIR"
+    assert_success
+}

plugins/core/skills/agentsmd-audit/tests/validate-secrets.bats

@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bats
+
+setup() {
+    REPO_ROOT="$(cd "$BATS_TEST_DIRNAME/../../../../../" && pwd)"
+    load "$REPO_ROOT/tests/test_helper/bats-support/load"
+    load "$REPO_ROOT/tests/test_helper/bats-assert/load"
+
+    SCRIPT="$(cd "$BATS_TEST_DIRNAME/../scripts" && pwd)/validate-secrets.sh"
+    TMPDIR="$(mktemp -d)"
+}
+
+teardown() {
+    rm -rf "$TMPDIR"
+}
+
+@test "passes on AGENTS.md with no secrets, only placeholders" {
+    cat > "$TMPDIR/AGENTS.md" <<'EOF'
+# AGENTS.md
+
+## Setup
+- Set `export API_KEY=$API_KEY`
+- Token: <your-token-here>
+- DB: postgres://user:changeme@localhost/db
+EOF
+    run bash "$SCRIPT" "$TMPDIR"
+    assert_success
+    assert_output ""
+}
+
+@test "fails on a real-looking AWS access key" {
+    cat > "$TMPDIR/AGENTS.md" <<'EOF'
+# AGENTS.md
+
+## Setup
+- AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=AKIAABCDEFGHIJKLMNOP # gitleaks:allow (synthetic fixture — this test verifies validate-secrets.sh catches exactly this pattern)
+EOF
+    run bash "$SCRIPT" "$TMPDIR"
+    assert_failure
+    assert_output --partial "AWS access key ID"
+    assert_output --partial "AGENTS.md:4"
+}
+
+@test "fails on a credential-bearing connection string" {
+    cat > "$TMPDIR/AGENTS.md" <<'EOF'
+# AGENTS.md
+
+## Setup
+- DB: postgres://svc_user:h8x2Klm9pQrT@db.internal:5432/prod
+EOF
+    run bash "$SCRIPT" "$TMPDIR"
+    assert_failure
+    assert_output --partial "connection string"
+}
+
+@test "detects secrets in a nested AGENTS.md, not just root" {
+    mkdir -p "$TMPDIR/packages/api"
+    cat > "$TMPDIR/AGENTS.md" <<'EOF'
+# AGENTS.md
+Clean root file.
+EOF
+    cat > "$TMPDIR/packages/api/AGENTS.md" <<'EOF'
+# API package
+- token: ghp_1234567890abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz01 # gitleaks:allow (synthetic fixture)
+EOF
+    run bash "$SCRIPT" "$TMPDIR"
+    assert_failure
+    assert_output --partial "packages/api/AGENTS.md"
+}

plugins/core/skills/agentsmd-audit/tests/validate-structure.bats

@@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bats
+
+setup() {
+    REPO_ROOT="$(cd "$BATS_TEST_DIRNAME/../../../../../" && pwd)"
+    load "$REPO_ROOT/tests/test_helper/bats-support/load"
+    load "$REPO_ROOT/tests/test_helper/bats-assert/load"
+
+    SCRIPT="$(cd "$BATS_TEST_DIRNAME/../scripts" && pwd)/validate-structure.sh"
+    TMPDIR="$(mktemp -d)"
+}
+
+teardown() {
+    rm -rf "$TMPDIR"
+}
+
+@test "fails on an empty AGENTS.md" {
+    : > "$TMPDIR/AGENTS.md"
+    run bash "$SCRIPT" "$TMPDIR"
+    assert_failure
+    assert_output --partial "empty"
+}
+
+@test "fails on an unfilled placeholder AGENTS.md" {
+    cat > "$TMPDIR/AGENTS.md" <<'EOF'
+# AGENTS.md
+
+## Setup
+FILL IN: describe setup commands here.
+EOF
+    run bash "$SCRIPT" "$TMPDIR"
+    assert_failure
+    assert_output --partial "placeholder"
+}
+
+@test "passes with INFO on real content missing an optional section" {
+    cat > "$TMPDIR/AGENTS.md" <<'EOF'
+# AGENTS.md
+
+## Setup commands
+- Install deps: `pnpm install`
+- Run tests: `pnpm test`
+
+## Code style
+- TypeScript strict mode, single quotes, no semicolons.
+EOF
+    run bash "$SCRIPT" "$TMPDIR"
+    assert_success
+    assert_output --partial "INFO"
+    assert_output --partial "security"
+}
+
+@test "suggests trimming a nested AGENTS.md that duplicates the root file" {
+    mkdir -p "$TMPDIR/packages/api"
+    cat > "$TMPDIR/AGENTS.md" <<'EOF'
+# AGENTS.md
+
+## Setup commands
+- Install deps: `pnpm install`
+- Run tests: `pnpm test`
+- Lint: `pnpm lint`
+- Build: `pnpm build`
+EOF
+    cat > "$TMPDIR/packages/api/AGENTS.md" <<'EOF'
+# AGENTS.md
+
+## Setup commands
+- Install deps: `pnpm install`
+- Run tests: `pnpm test`
+- Lint: `pnpm lint`
+- Build: `pnpm build`
+EOF
+    run bash "$SCRIPT" "$TMPDIR"
+    assert_success
+    assert_output --partial "SUGGESTION"
+    assert_output --partial "packages/api/AGENTS.md"
+}