# Review Error Handling Before Release

Unhandled errors create confusing user experiences and weak production diagnostics. This skill guides Claude, Codex, and Claude Code to review failure paths, feedback, logs, cleanup, and edge cases.

## Install

```bash
npx skillstore add danielpodolsky/error-handling-gate
```

## Metadata

- Status: approved
- Slug: danielpodolsky-error-handling-gate
- Skillstore revision: r1
- Version status: missing
- Tree hash: 99964649bbe86cb792988be252dd8282bcbf178ee6119aa4551042a876cb410d
- Author: DanielPodolsky
- GitHub username: DanielPodolsky
- License: MIT
- Repository: https://github.com/DanielPodolsky/mentor-spec/tree/main/.claude/skills/gates/error
- Ref: 34f316ba14ef36c7a620fc09f2676d2429997a77
- Supported tools: Claude, Codex, Claude Code
- Audit status: complete
- Agent install advisory: allowed
- Manual install advisory: allowed
- Artifact signature: available
- Audit attestation: unavailable
- Human verification: not\_verified
- Risk factors: external\_commands
- Quality score: 78
- Quality tier: bronze
- Public page: https://skillstore.pages.dev/skills/danielpodolsky-error-handling-gate
- Manifest: https://skillstore.pages.dev/api/skills/danielpodolsky-error-handling-gate/manifest

## Capabilities

- Checks async operations for try/catch, catch handlers, and cleanup.
- Identifies empty catch blocks and silent failure risks.
- Evaluates user-facing error messages for clarity and next steps.
- Reviews logging guidance for context and sensitive data concerns.
- Provides pass or warning response templates for review results.

## Use Cases

- Check UI Failure States: Review form submissions, loading states, and user messages before a frontend change ships.
- Review Service Failures: Evaluate API, database, and third-party failure paths for logging, recovery, and clear responses.
- Run Release Gate: Apply a consistent warning-based checklist before approving feature work for release.

## Prompt Templates

### Basic Error Review

```
Use the error-handling-gate skill to review this change. Identify missing error handling and explain any warnings in plain language.
```

### User Feedback Check

```
Apply the error-handling-gate skill to the visible error states. Check whether users know what happened and what to do next.
```

### Production Debuggability Review

```
Use the error-handling-gate skill to review logging, sensitive data risks, and debugging context for the main failure paths.
```

### Release Readiness Gate

```
Run the error-handling-gate skill across this feature. Return PASS or WARNING with locations, questions, severity, and recommended fixes.
```

## Limitations

- Does not execute tests or verify runtime behavior.
- Does not replace application-specific monitoring design.
- Requires code context to identify exact failure paths.
- Reports warnings instead of blocking a release.

## Best Practices

- Review the user experience for every likely failure path.
- Pair error logging with context, but exclude secrets and personal data.
- Confirm cleanup paths reset loading, disabled, and pending states.

## Anti Patterns

- Accepting empty catch blocks because the happy path works.
- Showing raw exception messages to end users.
- Treating one generic error as enough for every failure.

## Security Audit

- Audited at: 2026-07-06T09:24:17.545\+00:00
- Summary: All 14 static findings are false positives caused by Markdown code fences and inline examples, not executable shell or Ruby backtick execution. The skill is prose-only review guidance and contains no prompt injection, network access, or command execution instructions. No semantic security findings were found.

## Stats

- Views: 201
- Downloads: 12
- Favorites: 0
- Popularity score: 0