Agent skill · software engineering · aiskillstore
error-handling-gate
Verify errors are handled gracefully with meaningful user feedback. Issues result in WARNINGS.
Why this skill is useful
Provides a structured checklist and templates for error handling that improve user experience and debugging practices.
What it needs
About 4k tokens when loaded. Last updated 2026-08-07. 405 stars on the source repository.
What this skill does
Gate 3: Error Handling Review "Happy path code is easy. Error handling is where senior engineers shine." Purpose This gate ensures the code handles failures gracefully, provides meaningful feedback to users, and doesn't silently swallow errors. Gate Status PASS — Error handling is appropriate WARNING — Issues found that should be addressed --- Gate Questions Question 1: Failure Scenario "What happens if [main operation] fails? Walk me through the user experience." Looking for: Awareness of failure modes User-friendly error messages Recovery options (retry, fallback) No silent failures Example scenarios: Network request fails Database is down Validation fails Third-party API errors Question 2: User Feedback "What does the user see when an error occurs? Would they understand what to do next?" Looking for: Helpful, non-technical messages Actionable guidance ("Try again", "Check your connection") Appropriate error placement in UI Question 3: Error Visibility "How would you debug this in production if something went wrong?" Looking for: Errors are logged Sufficient context in logs No sensitive data in logs Error tracking awareness (Sentry, etc.) --- Error Handling Checklist Async Operations [ ] All async calls wrapped in try/catch or .catch() [ ] No empty catch blocks [ ] Errors include context (what operation, what data) [ ] finally blocks for cleanup (loading states, etc.) User Experience [ ] User-friendly error messages (no technical jargon) [ ] Errors are actionable (what can user do?) [ ] Loading states cleared on error [ ] Retry options where appropriate Logging & Debugging [ ] Errors logged with context [ ] No sensitive data in error logs [ ] Error types/codes for categorization [ ] Stack traces available in development Edge Cases [ ] Empty states handled [ ] Timeout handling [ ] Partial failure handling (some items succeed, some fail) [ ] Concurrent request handling --- Response Templates If PASS If WARNING --- Common Issues to Check 1. Empty Catch Blocks 2. …
How to use it
Reference it in AdaL, Claude Code, Cursor or any coding agent — nothing to install:
@skills aiskillstore/error-handling-gate