Guide · Agent skill
How to use the Citations Checklist Auditor agent skill
Updated · written with AI from the project's own documentation and checked against our catalogue data
The citations skill is a checklist that an AI agent follows when reviewing web pages and content to see whether factual claims, data, or quotes are backed by links to reputable external sources such as government, academic, or industry sites. It also tells the agent to check metadata, rendered HTML, structured data and HTTP response headers related to those citations. This guide explains what the skill does, how to install it, how to trigger it, and where its limits are.
Citations Checklist Auditorthedaviddias/Front-End-Checklist · MIT Download the skill Quick start
- 1Download the ZIP. Get the citations skill ZIP from the page where you found this guide.
- 2Unzip into a skills folder. Extract it into ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use or into a project's .claude/skills/ folder for one project.
- 3Or upload in the Claude apps. In the Claude apps, open Settings, go to Capabilities and upload the skill under Skills.
- 4Describe the audit in plain language. Name the page, template or route and say whether you want a content review, a code review or both.
- 5Provide rendered output. Include the rendered HTML or response headers if you want the agent to check what search engines see.
- 6Verify the suggested sources. Check each suggested link yourself for accuracy and currency before publishing.
What the citations skill makes the agent do
An agent skill is a folder of instructions that an AI agent loads when a task matches the skill's description. The citations skill is written for SEO and trust reviews of web content. Its core rule is that citing authoritative sources is a trust signal for E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness), so factual claims should link to reputable sites that can validate them.
When the skill applies, the agent reviews content for factual claims that should have a supporting link, suggests adding external links to reputable websites (for example .gov, .edu or industry leaders), and checks that anchor text is descriptive. For code and templates, it reviews metadata generation, rendered HTML, structured data and response headers, flags the routes or templates where search-facing output breaks the rule, and describes how to verify the final page output.
- Find factual claims, data or quotes that lack a link to an authoritative source
- Check that citations are relevant and add value to the reader
- Use descriptive anchor text for research, studies or official sources
- Review rendered HTML and HTTP response, not only source files
Install the citations skill
Download the ZIP for the citations skill from the page where you found this guide. Then choose one of two routes.
For Claude Code, unzip the download into ~/.claude/skills/ to make it available for you across projects, or into a project's .claude/skills/ folder to make it available only in that project. The unzipped folder should contain SKILL.md and references/rule.md.
In the Claude apps, open Settings, go to Capabilities, and upload the skill as a Skills file.
- Personal install: ~/.claude/skills/
- Project install: .claude/skills/ inside your project
- Claude apps: Settings → Capabilities → Skills
Trigger the skill with natural requests
The skill loads when your request matches its description, which is about auditing metadata, crawlability, structured data or indexability related to citing authoritative external sources. You do not need special syntax. Describe the job in plain language and name the content or files you want reviewed.
Good requests name the scope. Say which article, template or route to check, and whether you want a content review, a code review or both. Mention that you want the final rendered output checked if you care about what search engines see.
- Check this article for factual claims that need an authoritative source link.
- Review our blog post template for citation metadata and rendered HTML problems.
- Audit the /guides routes for external citations that search engines can see.
- Does this page back its statistics with links to government or academic sources?
Example: what a good citation looks like
The reference file includes a simple example. A sentence that cites a statistic links to the publishing organisation with a descriptive anchor, and the link opens in a new tab with rel="noopener noreferrer". The agent can use this pattern as a reference when it suggests fixes.
Use this example as a model for what to look for in your own pages. The agent should point to the specific sentence that needs a source and suggest where the link belongs.
<article>
<p>
According to the latest report from the
<a href="https://www.who.int/publications" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">World Health Organization</a>,
urban air quality has become a primary concern for public health in 2024.
</p>
</article>What the skill needs and its safety notes
The skill lists no required dependencies. It does not run scripts and it does not use the network, so it works by reading the files and content you give the agent. It is a checklist, not a tool that writes content by itself.
Because the skill does not fetch pages, the agent works from the content, templates or outputs you provide. If you want the agent to confirm the final HTML or headers, you must supply that output or check it yourself.
- Requires: nothing listed
- Runs scripts: no
- Uses network: no
Tips for getting useful results
Give the agent the rendered page or its HTML when you care about search-facing output, since the skill asks for verification of the final page rather than source files alone. Ask for a short list of specific sentences that need sources, rather than a general opinion on the article.
Treat suggested links as a starting point. The skill covers whether links exist and are placed well, not whether a cited source is accurate or current. Check each source yourself before publishing.
- Paste rendered HTML or response headers alongside the source template
- Ask for flagged sentences with the exact route or template name
- Verify every suggested source yourself before you publish
What people use it for
- Reviewing a long-form article to find statistics and quotes that lack a link to a government, academic or industry source.
- Checking a blog template to see whether citation links render with descriptive anchor text and correct attributes.
- Auditing a set of guide routes for citation problems in the HTML that search engines receive.
- Preparing content for an E-E-A-T review by listing where sourced claims are missing.
Frequently asked questions
How do I install the citations agent skill?
Download the ZIP from the page where you found this guide and unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use or into a project's .claude/skills/ folder. You can also upload it in the Claude apps under Settings, then Capabilities, then Skills.
Does the citations skill require anything else to run?
The skill lists no required dependencies. It does not run scripts and does not use the network, so it works from the content and files you give the agent.
Is the citations skill free and what is its licence?
The skill is listed under the MIT licence. Check the repository for the full licence text before reusing it.
Does the skill check whether a cited source is accurate?
No. The skill only covers whether links to reputable sources exist and are placed well. You still need to verify that a cited source is accurate and current.
Can the citations skill write articles or add links for me?
No. It is a checklist for reviewing content and pages. It suggests where authoritative links should go, but it does not write the content itself.
Why does the skill ask for rendered HTML instead of just source files?
The skill says to verify the rendered HTML and HTTP response rather than relying only on source files, because the final page output is what search engines see.
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Our verdict
The citations skill suits website owners, content editors, SEO and front-end developers, and teams preparing content for E-E-A-T review who want sourced, verifiable claims. Pick something else if you need to judge whether a cited source is accurate, need formal bibliography styles, or work on a site where outbound links are restricted.
Download the skill