shortcut-hygiene

Audits and fixes Shortcut projects to enforce best practices.

Updated May 8, 2026
One-click install
npx skills add https://github.com/fractionwork/pm-skills --skill shortcut-hygiene
Or copy as Structured Prompt for Agent
Please help me install this Agent Skill.
Skill: shortcut-hygiene
Source: https://github.com/fractionwork/pm-skills/tree/main/skills/shortcut-hygiene
Command: npx skills add https://github.com/fractionwork/pm-skills --skill shortcut-hygiene

SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION & REQUIREMENTS

💡 This Skill requires requests, and includes scripts (resource) and references (resource) components.

What problem does it solve?

Audit and fix a Shortcut project against Fraction best practices. Checks for missing Priority custom field, stories without estimates/owners/types, missing epics, vague titles, empty descriptions, workflow state coverage, and stale Inbox stories (>30 days). Field-strict checks (estimate / story_type / Priority / epic / Iteration) skip Inbox stories — those are deferred until Inbox → Unscheduled promotion. The owner check skips Inbox AND Unscheduled — both are intentionally unassigned per the three-tier rule (ownership lands at sprint planning when a story moves to Started+). Reports gaps with story name + permalink under each non-zero category and offers fixes. Can also enrich the backlog from meeting transcripts, emails, and chat. Always enforces all best practices by default — only skip checks if the user explicitly opts out. Triggers on "clean up shortcut", "audit shortcut project", "fix shortcut board", "standardize shortcut", "shortcut hygiene", "enrich shortcut backlog".

Core Features & Use Cases

  • Audit and fix Shortcut projects to enforce best practices (Priority field presence, estimates/owners/types, epic coverage, and clear titles/descriptions).
  • Produce category-based gap reports with actionable fixes and preserve source attribution for enrichment scenarios.
  • Optional backlog enrichment from transcripts, emails, and chat, while preserving default strict adherence to best practices.

Quick Start

Run the Shortcut Hygiene skill against a project to generate a hygiene report and apply recommended fixes.

Frequently Asked Questions about shortcut-hygiene

High-intent search queries and answers about installing and using this skill.

FAQPage Schema
How do I audit my Shortcut backlog for missing priorities and estimates?

Auditing a Shortcut project involves checking stories against best practices for missing Priority fields, estimates, owners, types, and epic coverage. This skill reads your Shortcut project via MCP, generates a categorized gap report with story names and permalinks, and offers targeted fixes for each issue found.

What is the best way to clean up stale Shortcut Inbox stories?

Cleaning up stale Shortcut Inbox stories requires identifying items older than 30 days and ensuring they have clear titles and descriptions. This skill flags stale Inbox items during its hygiene audit while deferring strict field checks like estimates and ownership until promotion to Unscheduled states.

How do I standardize Shortcut story titles and descriptions?

Standardizing Shortcut story titles and descriptions involves checking each story for vague naming and empty text fields. This skill audits your Shortcut project to identify stories with vague titles or empty descriptions and provides actionable fixes to enrich the backlog.

Can I enrich my Shortcut backlog from meeting transcripts and emails?

Yes, you can enrich your Shortcut backlog from meeting transcripts, emails, and chat. This skill parses those sources to create new stories while preserving source attribution and automatically enforcing default best practices like Priority fields, epic links, and clear descriptions.

Do I need a Shortcut API token to run a project audit?

Yes, a SHORTCUT_API_TOKEN is required to run a project audit. This token authenticates the REST operations in scripts/shortcut_ops.py that read project data, evaluate workflow state coverage, and apply fixes to your Shortcut board.

Why does the hygiene audit skip owner checks for Unscheduled Shortcut stories?

The hygiene audit skips owner checks for Unscheduled Shortcut stories because of a three-tier ownership rule where assignment lands at sprint planning. Stories require an owner when they move to the Started workflow state or higher, leaving Inbox and Unscheduled items intentionally unassigned.