Methodologygeneric

trailmark-summary

Runs a Trailmark summary analysis on a codebase. Returns auto-detected languages, entry point count, and dependency list. Use when vivisect or galvanize needs a quick structural overview. Triggers: trailmark summary, code summary, structural overview.

trailofbits/skills

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Install

npx skills add https://github.com/trailofbits/skills --skill trailmark-summary

Use with your agent

Install the trailmark-summary skill, then use it as build context. Run: npx skills add https://github.com/trailofbits/skills --skill trailmark-summary. Then read the installed skill.md and follow its guidance to build or refactor my project.

Trailmark Summary

Runs trailmark analyze --language auto --summary on a target directory.

When to Use

Vivisect Phase 0 needs a quick structural overview before decomposition
Galvanize Phase 1 needs detected languages and entry point count
Quick orientation on an unfamiliar codebase before deeper analysis

When NOT to Use

Full structural analysis with all passes needed (use trailmark-structural)
Detailed code graph queries (use the main trailmark skill directly)
You need hotspot scores or taint data (use trailmark-structural)

Rationalizations to Reject

Rationalization	Why It's Wrong	Required Action
"I can read the code manually instead"	Manual reading misses parser-based language detection, dependency data, and entry point enumeration	Install and run trailmark
"Language detection doesn't matter"	Wrong language selection produces empty or partial analysis	Use Trailmark's parser-based detection or `--language auto`
"Partial output is good enough"	Missing any of the three required outputs (detected languages, entry points, dependencies) means incomplete analysis	Verify all three are present
"Tool isn't installed, I'll skip it"	This skill exists specifically to run trailmark	Report the installation gap instead of skipping

Usage

The target directory is passed via the args parameter.

Execution

Step 1: Check that trailmark is available.

trailmark analyze --help 2>/dev/null || \
  uv run trailmark analyze --help 2>/dev/null

If neither command works, report "trailmark is not installed" and return. Do NOT run pip install, uv pip install, git clone, or any install command. The user must install trailmark themselves.

Step 2: Detect languages with Trailmark's parse API.

python3 - "{args}" <<'PY'
import json
import sys

from trailmark.parse import detect_languages

print(json.dumps(detect_languages(sys.argv[1])))
PY

If the import fails, rerun the same snippet with uv run python - "{args}". If the result is [], report "Trailmark found no supported languages under target" and return.

Step 3: Run the summary with auto-detection.

trailmark analyze --language auto --summary {args} 2>&1 || \
  uv run trailmark analyze --language auto --summary {args} 2>&1

Step 4: Verify the output.

The output must include ALL THREE of:

Detected languages from Step 2
Entrypoints: line from the summary output
Dependencies: line from the summary output

If any are missing, report the gap. Do not fabricate output.

Return the detected language list plus the full Trailmark summary output.