What causes "This module should not be run directly." in anthropics/skills?

Use the driver script that imports this validator for command-line validation

anthropics/skills · info · RuntimeError

This module should not be run directly.

Error message

This module should not be run directly.

What it means

pptx.py is a library module of the office validators package; the __main__ guard raises RuntimeError if it is executed directly. Its slide/notes-slide validation logic runs only when imported by the validation driver.

Source

Thrown at skills/xlsx/scripts/office/validators/pptx.py:441

                for slide_name, rels_file in references:
                    errors.append(f"    - {rels_file.relative_to(self.unpacked_dir)}")

        if errors:
            print(
                f"FAILED - Found {len([e for e in errors if not e.startswith('    ')])} notes slide reference validation errors:"
            )
            for error in errors:
                print(error)
            print("Each slide may optionally have its own slide file.")
            return False
        else:
            if self.verbose:
                print("PASSED - All notes slide references are unique")
            return True


if __name__ == "__main__":
    raise RuntimeError("This module should not be run directly.")

View on GitHub (pinned to f6656c1256)

Solutions

Use the driver script that imports this validator for command-line validation
Import the module when you need its classes programmatically
Mark the validators directory as non-executable in IDE run configurations / CI globs

Example fix

# before
python skills/xlsx/scripts/office/validators/pptx.py deck.pptx
# after
python skills/xlsx/scripts/office/validate.py deck.pptx  # driver imports pptx validator

Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Try / catch

# Usage error, not a runtime failure — call the driver that imports the pptx validator.

Prevention

Invoke the package's validation entry point for command-line use
Import, don't execute, validator modules during exploration

When it happens

Trigger: `python skills/xlsx/scripts/office/validators/pptx.py` directly; IDE run action; CI glob-execute harness reaching into the validators directory.

Common situations: Developer opening the validator file and hitting Run; automation that treats all .py files as scripts.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of anthropics/skills@f6656c1256 (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/07c613535b05731b. Report an issue: GitHub.