fix: harden registry tooling, make tests hermetic, and restore metadata consistency (#168)

* chore: upgrade maintenance scripts to robust PyYAML parsing

- Replaces fragile regex frontmatter parsing with PyYAML/yaml library
- Ensures multi-line descriptions and complex characters are handled safely
- Normalizes quoting and field ordering across all maintenance scripts
- Updates validator to strictly enforce description quality

* fix: restore and refine truncated skill descriptions

- Recovered 223+ truncated descriptions from git history (6.5.0 regression)
- Refined long descriptions into concise, complete sentences (<200 chars)
- Added missing descriptions for brainstorming and orchestration skills
- Manually fixed imagen skill description
- Resolved dangling links in competitor-alternatives skill

* chore: sync generated registry files and document fixes

- Regenerated skills index with normalized forward-slash paths
- Updated README and CATALOG to reflect restored descriptions
- Documented restoration and script improvements in CHANGELOG.md

* fix: restore missing skill and align metadata for full 955 count

- Renamed SKILL.MD to SKILL.md in andruia-skill-smith to ensure indexing
- Fixed risk level and missing section in andruia-skill-smith
- Synchronized all registry files for final 955 skill count

* chore(scripts): add cross-platform runners and hermetic test orchestration

* fix(scripts): harden utf-8 output and clone target writeability

* fix(skills): add missing date metadata for strict validation

* chore(index): sync generated metadata dates

* fix(catalog): normalize skill paths to prevent CI drift

* chore: sync generated registry files

* fix: enforce LF line endings for generated registry files

scripts/validate_skills.py

@@ -2,6 +2,29 @@ import os
 import re
 import argparse
 import sys
+import io
+
+
+def configure_utf8_output() -> None:
+    """Best-effort UTF-8 stdout/stderr on Windows without dropping diagnostics."""
+    if sys.platform != "win32":
+        return
+
+    for stream_name in ("stdout", "stderr"):
+        stream = getattr(sys, stream_name)
+        try:
+            stream.reconfigure(encoding="utf-8", errors="backslashreplace")
+            continue
+        except Exception:
+            pass
+
+        buffer = getattr(stream, "buffer", None)
+        if buffer is not None:
+            setattr(
+                sys,
+                stream_name,
+                io.TextIOWrapper(buffer, encoding="utf-8", errors="backslashreplace"),
+            )
 
 WHEN_TO_USE_PATTERNS = [
     re.compile(r"^##\s+When\s+to\s+Use", re.MULTILINE | re.IGNORECASE),
@@ -12,39 +35,37 @@ WHEN_TO_USE_PATTERNS = [
 def has_when_to_use_section(content):
     return any(pattern.search(content) for pattern in WHEN_TO_USE_PATTERNS)
 
+import yaml
+
 def parse_frontmatter(content, rel_path=None):
     """
-    Simple frontmatter parser using regex to avoid external dependencies.
-    Returns a dict of key-values.
+    Parse frontmatter using PyYAML for robustness.
+    Returns a dict of key-values and a list of error messages.
     """
     fm_match = re.search(r'^---\s*\n(.*?)\n---', content, re.DOTALL)
     if not fm_match:
-        return None, []
+        return None, ["Missing or malformed YAML frontmatter"]
     
     fm_text = fm_match.group(1)
-    metadata = {}
-    lines = fm_text.split('\n')
     fm_errors = []
-
-    for i, line in enumerate(lines):
-        if ':' in line:
-            key, val = line.split(':', 1)
-            metadata[key.strip()] = val.strip().strip('"').strip("'")
-            
-            # Check for multi-line description issue (problem identification for the user)
-            if key.strip() == "description":
-                stripped_val = val.strip()
-                if (stripped_val.startswith('"') and stripped_val.endswith('"')) or \
-                   (stripped_val.startswith("'") and stripped_val.endswith("'")):
-                    if i + 1 < len(lines) and lines[i+1].startswith('  '):
-                        fm_errors.append(f"description is wrapped in quotes but followed by indented lines. This causes YAML truncation.")
-                
-                # Check for literal indicators wrapped in quotes
-                if stripped_val in ['"|"', "'>'", '"|"', "'>'"]:
-                    fm_errors.append(f"description uses a block indicator {stripped_val} inside quotes. Remove quotes for proper YAML block behavior.")
-    return metadata, fm_errors
+    try:
+        metadata = yaml.safe_load(fm_text) or {}
+        
+        # Identification of the specific regression issue for better reporting
+        if "description" in metadata:
+            desc = metadata["description"]
+            if not desc or (isinstance(desc, str) and not desc.strip()):
+                fm_errors.append("description field is empty or whitespace only.")
+            elif desc == "|":
+                fm_errors.append("description contains only the YAML block indicator '|', likely due to a parsing regression.")
+        
+        return metadata, fm_errors
+    except yaml.YAMLError as e:
+        return None, [f"YAML Syntax Error: {e}"]
 
 def validate_skills(skills_dir, strict_mode=False):
+    configure_utf8_output()
+
     print(f"🔍 Validating skills in: {skills_dir}")
     print(f"⚙️  Mode: {'STRICT (CI)' if strict_mode else 'Standard (Dev)'}")
     
@@ -90,12 +111,15 @@ def validate_skills(skills_dir, strict_mode=False):
             elif metadata["name"] != os.path.basename(root):
                 errors.append(f"❌ {rel_path}: Name '{metadata['name']}' does not match folder name '{os.path.basename(root)}'")
 
-            if "description" not in metadata:
+            if "description" not in metadata or metadata["description"] is None:
                 errors.append(f"❌ {rel_path}: Missing 'description' in frontmatter")
             else:
                 # agentskills-ref checks for short descriptions
-                if len(metadata["description"]) > 200:
-                    errors.append(f"❌ {rel_path}: Description is oversized ({len(metadata['description'])} chars). Must be concise.")
+                desc = metadata["description"]
+                if not isinstance(desc, str):
+                    errors.append(f"❌ {rel_path}: 'description' must be a string, got {type(desc).__name__}")
+                elif len(desc) > 300: # increased limit for multi-line support
+                    errors.append(f"❌ {rel_path}: Description is oversized ({len(desc)} chars). Must be concise.")
 
             # Risk Validation (Quality Bar)
             if "risk" not in metadata: