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Critical Request Chains Auditor

Finds and fixes long chains of dependent requests that delay page rendering

Source Download skill
Repository
thedaviddias/Front-End-Checklist
Stars
74,632
Licence
MIT
Files
2 files

What it does

This skill teaches an AI agent to audit how a web page loads. It looks for long sequences of requests where each file has to wait for another to download before it can start, which delays the first visible paint. The agent is told to confirm the real bottleneck with tools like Lighthouse, WebPageTest, or field data before suggesting changes, and to recommend fixes such as inlining critical CSS or adding preload hints.

Great for

  • Front-end developers trying to speed up a slow-loading page
  • Teams reviewing a site's performance before launch
  • People who want a second opinion on Lighthouse or WebPageTest results

Skip it if

  • Simple static sites with few assets, where the gain will be negligible
  • Anyone expecting the agent to measure the site itself: the skill only gives guidance and does not run tests, so the user must supply the measurements (the skill is rated advanced, and advice applied without measurement can make things worse)

Try asking

  • “Audit my product page for critical request chains and tell me what's blocking first paint”
  • “Review my index.html and CSS loading order and suggest where to add preload hints”
  • “Here is my Lighthouse report; explain the request chain warnings and propose fixes”
Step-by-step guide: how to use Critical Request Chains AuditorInstall, first run, examples, tips and FAQs

Install in 3 steps

  1. 1

    Download the skill

    The ZIP contains the 2 original files, the MIT licence and an attribution note.

    critical-request-chains.zip
  2. 2

    Add it to your agent

    Claude Code (all projects)

    mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && unzip critical-request-chains.zip -d ~/.claude/skills/

    Claude Code / Agent SDK (this project only)

    mkdir -p .claude/skills && unzip critical-request-chains.zip -d .claude/skills/

    Claude apps (web/desktop): Settings → Capabilities → Skills → Upload skill, and choose the ZIP.

  3. 3

    Ask for the task

    No special command needed — the agent reads the skill's description and loads it when your request matches. Try one of the prompts above.

Get better results

  • Paste real measurement output (Lighthouse or DevTools waterfall) so the agent can verify the bottleneck instead of guessing.
  • Ask for exact file names and request URLs in the review so the suggestions are actionable.
  • Test any inlining or preload change again afterwards to confirm it helped.

What's inside

  • references/rule.md
  • SKILL.md

Redistributed unmodified from thedaviddias/Front-End-Checklist under the MIT licence. The assessment was drafted with AI from the skill's files on 2026-10-29. Skills can instruct your agent to run code — read SKILL.md and any scripts before installing.