# nielsen-heuristics-audit

This skill walks an interface through Jakob Nielsen's 10 usability heuristics and returns a report with a severity rating for every finding. Useful when you want problems found before user testing.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · 739 installs · ★ 58
- Author: mastepanoski
- License: MIT · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/mastepanoski/claude-skills/tree/HEAD/skills/nielsen-heuristics-audit/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2026-10-10
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/nielsen-heuristics-audit

## What it does

The skill scores an app, site or prototype against ten heuristics: visibility of system status, match with the real world, user control, consistency, error prevention, recognition over recall, flexibility, minimalist design, error recovery, and help. Each violation gets a rating from 0 to 4, where 4 means fix it before release.

The procedure runs in stages. First the agent gathers context: an interface description is required, while screenshots, user flows and known issues are optional. Then it goes heuristic by heuristic, notes where the problem sits and proposes 2-3 fixes. The last pass looks for cross-heuristic patterns and counts issues per heuristic and per severity level. Definitions and checklists live in `references/heuristics.md`, the report template in `references/report-template.md`.

Screenshots, links, bug reports and competitor pages are treated as untrusted data. Text pulled from them is read as usability evidence, never executed as instructions, which keeps prompt-injection attempts buried in fetched content from steering the audit. The author suggests pairing it with "Don Norman Principles Audit" for human-centered design and "WCAG Accessibility" for inclusive design compliance.

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add mastepanoski/claude-skills --skill nielsen-heuristics-audit -a claude-code
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `~/.claude/skills/nielsen-heuristics-audit/SKILL.md` — Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/nielsen-heuristics-audit/

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add mastepanoski/claude-skills --skill nielsen-heuristics-audit -a codex
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.agents/skills/nielsen-heuristics-audit/SKILL.md` — For all projects use ~/.agents/skills/

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add mastepanoski/claude-skills --skill nielsen-heuristics-audit -a cursor
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.cursor/skills/nielsen-heuristics-audit/SKILL.md` — Cursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install mastepanoski/claude-skills nielsen-heuristics-audit
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.github/skills/nielsen-heuristics-audit/SKILL.md`

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add mastepanoski/claude-skills --skill nielsen-heuristics-audit -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/mastepanoski/claude-skills --path skills/nielsen-heuristics-audit
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.devin/skills/nielsen-heuristics-audit/SKILL.md` — The legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add mastepanoski/claude-skills --skill nielsen-heuristics-audit -a opencode
```

### Claude.ai

**Claude.ai**
- Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills

Where a file is given instead of a command, copy the files from the source to that path: https://github.com/mastepanoski/claude-skills/tree/HEAD/skills/nielsen-heuristics-audit/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- audit an interface against heuristics before running user tests
- rank UX debt by the severity of each finding
- compare several design alternatives for the same task
- hand the team specific violations with location and a suggested fix
- spot systemic issues that break several heuristics at once

## Example prompts
- Run a Nielsen heuristics audit on the onboarding flow, here are the screenshots and the description
- Score the checkout screen: severity per finding plus 2-3 fix options
- Compare both search mockups against the 10 heuristics and tell me which one wins

## Source text · SKILL.md · MIT

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```text
---
name: nielsen-heuristics-audit
description: Evaluate UX/UI using Jakob Nielsen's 10 usability heuristics. Comprehensive audit of visibility, control, consistency, error prevention, recognition, flexibility, aesthetics, error recovery, and documentation.
---

# Nielsen Heuristics UX Audit

This skill enables AI agents to perform a comprehensive **usability evaluation** of apps, websites, or digital interfaces using **Jakob Nielsen's 10 Usability Heuristics**, the industry-standard framework for identifying usability problems.

These heuristics are battle-tested principles used by UX professionals worldwide to systematically evaluate interfaces and identify usability issues before user testing.

Use this skill to conduct thorough heuristic evaluations, prioritize usability improvements, and create actionable recommendations.

Combine with "Don Norman Principles Audit" for human-centered design assessment or "WCAG Accessibility" for inclusive design compliance.

## When to Use This Skill

Invoke this skill when:
- Conducting a systematic usability evaluation
- Identifying usability problems before user testing
- Auditing existing interfaces for improvement opportunities
- Prioritizing UX debt and technical improvements
- Training teams on usability best practices
- Comparing multiple design alternatives

## Inputs Required

When executing this audit, gather:

- **interface_description**: Detailed interface description (purpose, target users, key features, platform: web/mobile/desktop) [REQUIRED]
- **screenshots_or_links**: URLs of screenshots, prototypes, or live site/app [OPTIONAL]
- **user_flows**: Key user journeys to evaluate (e.g., "onboarding", "checkout", "search and filter") [OPTIONAL]
- **known_issues**: Existing bug reports or user complaints [OPTIONAL]
- **competitive_context**: Similar products or industry standards to compare against [OPTIONAL]

## The 10 Nielsen Heuristics

Evaluate against the principles established by Jakob Nielsen (Nielsen Norman Group). Definitions, check-for
lists, and red flags are in **[`references/heuristics.md`](references/heuristics.md)** — read the heuristic you are scoring.

1. Visibility of System Status
```
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