security-best-practices

Overview of security-best-practices skill

The security-best-practices skill helps you review code for language- and framework-specific security issues and turn that review into secure-by-default guidance. It is best for people who need a focused security audit, a hardening pass, or safer code suggestions for supported stacks like Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, and Go.

What this skill is for

Use the security-best-practices skill when your real job is to spot risky patterns, confirm whether a codebase follows secure defaults, or produce a vulnerability-oriented review with actionable fixes. It is especially useful for a Security Audit workflow where you want evidence-based findings, not generic “use HTTPS” advice.

When it fits best

This skill fits when the repo already has a clear language/framework shape and you want the assistant to read the relevant reference spec before answering. It is strongest for web apps and backend services in supported ecosystems, including Express, Next.js, Django, Flask, FastAPI, React/Vue frontend code, and Go net/http services.

What makes it different

The security-best-practices skill is designed around constraints: it only triggers for explicit security requests and supported languages, and it expects the assistant to identify the stack before reviewing. That makes it more reliable than a broad security prompt because it ties findings to the actual code paths, framework conventions, and audit rules in the repository.

How to Use security-best-practices skill

Install and locate the right files

For security-best-practices install, use the skill manager command from your environment, then open the curated skill folder and start with SKILL.md. From there, read the relevant reference files for the detected stack, plus agents/openai.yaml for the default task framing and any decision cues.

Turn a rough ask into a useful prompt

The best security-best-practices usage starts with a concrete scope: name the repo area, the stack, and the outcome you want. Stronger prompts look like: “Review the Next.js API routes and auth flow for security best practices, and list findings with file paths and minimal fixes.” Weak prompts like “make this secure” leave too much ambiguity about stack, depth, and deliverable.

Suggested workflow for audits

First identify the primary language and framework, then read every matching reference file before commenting. Next inspect the files that handle auth, input validation, sessions, redirects, file uploads, environment variables, and middleware. If the project mixes frontend and backend, review both sides separately so you do not miss security boundaries that only exist server-side.

Practical input that improves results

Give the skill concrete context such as deployment model, auth method, public endpoints, and any known constraints like “must keep session cookies” or “cannot change the API contract.” For a Security Audit, include whether you want passive review, a vulnerability report, or secure-by-default rewrite suggestions, because the output format changes how aggressively the skill should look for issues.

security-best-practices skill FAQ

Is security-best-practices only for audits?

No. The security-best-practices skill supports both audits and secure-by-default implementation help. It can be used to review existing code or to guide new code so insecure patterns are avoided before they land.

What stacks does it cover?

The curated references focus on supported languages and common web stacks, including Go, Django, Flask, FastAPI, Express, Next.js, and several frontend JavaScript/TypeScript patterns. If your stack is outside those areas, the skill may still help at a high level, but the best signal comes from a matching reference file.

When should I not use it?

Do not use it for general debugging, style cleanup, or routine code review when security is not the goal. If you are not asking for security-best-practices guidance, the skill’s trigger conditions are intentionally narrow and another skill or plain prompt may be a better fit.

Is it beginner-friendly?

Yes, if you can describe the app and the outcome you want. Beginners get the best results by asking for a focused review of one boundary at a time, such as auth, cookies, file uploads, or public IDs, rather than the whole repo at once.

How to Improve security-best-practices skill

Provide the stack before the code

The biggest quality boost comes from telling the assistant which framework is actually in play. A prompt like “This is an Express API with cookie sessions and a React frontend” lets the security-best-practices skill load the right reference docs and avoid generic guesses.

Ask for evidence, not just advice

For a Security Audit, ask for findings with file paths, exact patterns, and minimal fixes. That pushes the output toward what matters: whether the issue is real, where it lives, and how to change it safely without breaking auth, sessions, or deployment assumptions.

Share the constraints that shape safe fixes

Tell the skill what cannot change, such as public API shapes, auth provider behavior, proxy settings, or CSRF/session design. This matters because the best fix in theory may be unsafe in your environment, and the skill is designed to prefer production-safe changes over dramatic rewrites.

Iterate on the first pass

If the first pass is too broad, narrow the scope to one subsystem and ask for a second review with more context. The fastest way to improve security-best-practices usage is to feed it the actual code paths you want checked, then refine with the findings that come back, especially where a control might live in infrastructure instead of app code.