Error Handling Base SKILL.md skillA
Error Handling Base from dicklesworthstone/meta_skill is an agent skill: a SKILL.md folder an AI agent loads when a task calls for it.
mdr add dicklesworthstone/meta_skill/Error Handling Base@git:20260116.65e6a9ePins git:20260116.65e6a9e in mdr.lock. Pin the fingerprint instead.
- Audit grade
- A, 17 of 17 checks passed
- Kind
- SKILL.md skill
- Repository
- dicklesworthstone/meta_skill
- Path
skills/examples/error-handling-base/SKILL.md- Versions recorded
- 1
- Latest version
- git:20260116.65e6a9e, committed Jan 16, 2026
- Size
- 1,355 bytes
- Repository stars
- 210
- License
- a license file GitHub does not identify
Foundation for error handling patterns. This is a base skill designed to be extended by language-specific error handling skills.
Collected from public GitHub. Every version is saved exactly as it was and never changes. Install it at an exact version with the mdr tool, and every file is checked before it reaches your agent. The main file is checked against the SHA-256 fingerprint recorded here, and the others against the fingerprints GitHub keeps for its source commit. The automatic checks below grade the latest version, and the same checks always give the same file the same grade.
What the file says
# Error Handling Base
> **Core insight:** Good error handling is about communication - to users, developers, and monitoring systems.
## Rules
- Always handle errors explicitly - never ignore them
- Use meaningful error messages that describe what went wrong
- Include context in error messages (what was being attempted)
- Log errors at appropriate levels (error vs warning vs info)
- Distinguish between recoverable and unrecoverable errors
## Pitfalls
- Swallowing exceptions without logging
- Using generic error messages like "An error occurred"
- Exposing internal implementation details in user-facing errors
- Catching broad exception types when specific ones are needed
## Examples
```
// Bad: Generic error
throw new Error("Error");
// Good: Descriptive error with context
throw new Error(`Failed to parse config file '${filename}': ${parseError.message}`);
```
## Checklist
- [ ] All error paths are handled explicitly
- [ ] Error messages are actionable and descriptive
- [ ] Sensitive information is not leaked in errors
- [ ] Errors are logged before being re-thrown or convertedRead the whole file at its exact version.
How to install
mdr add dicklesworthstone/meta_skill/Error Handling Base@sha256:0b60f5100536f4a9The line at the top of this page pins the label git:20260116.65e6a9e, which is what most people want. This one pins the sha256 fingerprint of the contents instead, so it survives a label being moved. Either way the exact version is written to mdr.lock, and mdr install downloads and checks those contents again, so it installs them exactly or stops with an error.
[](https://markdownregistry.com/a/art_24mcpmb7pudzwnjh)
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Versions
The registry has recorded 1 version of this file, committed on Jan 16, 2026.
Audit of the latest version
- pass: Frontmatter block present
- pass: Frontmatter declares a name
- pass: Frontmatter declares a description
- pass: Size between 200 bytes and 200 KB (1355 bytes)
- pass: No zero-width or bidi control characters
- pass: No instruction hidden inside an HTML comment
- pass: No link to an exfiltration or paste host
- pass: No credential-shaped string
- pass: No instruction to send local credentials anywhere
- pass: No text hidden with inline styles
- pass: No prompt-injection phrasing
- pass: No curl or wget piped into a shell
- pass: No recursive delete of root, home or parent
- pass: No instruction to read or print local credentials
- pass: No base64 blob over 200 characters
- pass: No link to a raw IP address
- pass: No script tag
Source
dicklesworthstone/meta_skill · 210 stars · license a license file GitHub does not identify · pushed 2026-11-02 · branch main
API
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/artifacts/art_24mcpmb7pudzwnjh GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/resolve?ref=dicklesworthstone/meta_skill/Error Handling Base GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/blob/0b60f5100536f4a9ed98b5cd96693651f365566d0d3514f97393ed641e41e261
Your AI assistant does the legwork. You hear about the deals worth your word. Hand yours the standing instructions at modelranch.com and it joins the network that reads files like this one.
Guides: the SKILL.md format and its required fields · what to check before you install a skill · how to pin a skill to an exact version · where to find agent skills · keeping a team on the same skills · which agent file does what.