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Add LLM-as-judge evaluation framework for Docker skills - #127

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eval-judge-framework
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Add LLM-as-judge evaluation framework for Docker skills#127
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eval-judge-framework

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@gtardif gtardif commented Nov 9, 2026

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Summary

This PR adds a comprehensive LLM-as-judge evaluation framework for testing Docker skills against Claude Code and Codex agents.

Key Features

  • `scripts/eval_judge.py`: Main evaluation runner that:

    • Runs prompts from markdown eval files through Claude Code or Codex
    • Uses an LLM judge (claude-sonnet-4-5) to grade responses against "Expected behaviors" and "Must not" criteria
    • Collects workspace files after agent execution (not just transcript) to properly evaluate file creation
    • Tracks timing per eval and provides summary tables

  • Per-skill eval files: 12 eval markdown files in `skills//evals/.md`

  • CI Integration:

    • Each skill runs as a separate matrix job for parallelism
    • Smart change detection: only runs affected skill evals, or all if framework changes
    • Excludes `docker-destructive-guardrails` from CI (too flaky)

  • Local tasks: `task eval:` for each skill

Test Results (Single Run Each)

Agent Passed Total Pass Rate
Claude ~57/61 61 ~93%
Codex ~47/61 61 ~77%

How to Run Locally

```bash

Run all evals with Claude

task eval:judge

Run specific skill

task eval:docker-compose-patterns

Run with Codex

task eval:judge -- --agent codex

Run specific prompt with multiple repeats

task eval:docker-sandboxes-lifecycle -- --prompt 1 --repeat 3
```

Commits

  1. Add LLM-as-judge evaluation framework for Docker skills
  2. Relax compose-patterns secret criteria to allow env var syntax with defaults
  3. Clarify sandbox-lifecycle prompt-7 expects syntax demo, not file creation
  4. Relax sandbox-lifecycle prompt-4 criterion about stopped sandbox behavior
  5. Add more file patterns to workspace collection
  6. Relax network-credentials prompt-1 criteria about specific command syntax
  7. Clarify kits prompt-6 allows mentioning migration skill exists
  8. Configure CI to run evals per-skill in parallel, add per-skill tasks

@gtardif
gtardif force-pushed the eval-judge-framework branch 2 times, most recently from cd0b34b to 5bf281d Compare November 10, 2026 08:08
gtardif added 28 commits November 10, 2026 13:57
@gtardif
Add LLM-as-judge evaluation framework for Docker skills
0df749f 
Introduces scripts/eval_judge.py that runs evaluation prompts through
Claude Code and uses an LLM judge to grade responses against expected
behaviors and must-not criteria defined in markdown eval files.

Key changes:
- Add scripts/eval_judge.py: Main evaluation runner
- Add scripts/test_eval_judge.py: Unit tests for the framework
- Move eval files to skills/<skill>/evals/<skill>.md (preferred location)
- Convert mount-ls-delete.yaml scenario to markdown format (Prompt 8)
- Add task eval:judge command to Taskfile.yml
- Add .eval-judge/ to .gitignore for eval artifacts
- Update evals/README.md with new file locations and usage

Eval criteria simplified to focus on core knowledge testing:
- Removed criteria expecting prior session context
- Removed criteria requiring MCP server connections
- Simplified highly technical/implementation-specific criteria
- Made prompts more explicit about context (e.g., Docker Agent vs sbx)

All 61 prompts across 12 skills now pass.

Signed-off-by: Guillaume Tardif <guillaume.tardif@docker.com>
@gtardif
Relax compose-patterns secret criteria to allow env var syntax with d…
6465b2e 
…efaults

Signed-off-by: Guillaume Tardif <guillaume.tardif@docker.com>
@gtardif
Clarify sandbox-lifecycle prompt-7 expects syntax demo, not file crea…
3ac6038 
…tion

Signed-off-by: Guillaume Tardif <guillaume.tardif@docker.com>
@gtardif
Relax sandbox-lifecycle prompt-4 criterion about stopped sandbox beha…
9458deb 
…vior

Signed-off-by: Guillaume Tardif <guillaume.tardif@docker.com>
@gtardif
Add more file patterns to workspace collection (override, agents, deps)
d6d5295 
Signed-off-by: Guillaume Tardif <guillaume.tardif@docker.com>
@gtardif
Relax network-credentials prompt-1 criteria about specific command sy…
3a9ab77 
…ntax

Signed-off-by: Guillaume Tardif <guillaume.tardif@docker.com>
@gtardif
Clarify kits prompt-6 allows mentioning migration skill exists
5c033f6 
Signed-off-by: Guillaume Tardif <guillaume.tardif@docker.com>
@gtardif
Configure CI to run evals per-skill in parallel, add per-skill tasks
815d0c1 
- Workflow detects changed skills and runs only relevant evals
- Framework changes trigger all skills (except guardrails)
- Each skill runs as a separate matrix job for parallelism
- Exclude docker-destructive-guardrails from CI (too flaky)
- Add task eval:<skill> for each skill for local runs
- Default to 1 repeat in CI (was 3), keep repeat option for manual runs

Signed-off-by: Guillaume Tardif <guillaume.tardif@docker.com>
@gtardif
Fix workflow_dispatch to run all skills when no specific skill given
6c6ed6d 
Signed-off-by: Guillaume Tardif <guillaume.tardif@docker.com>
@gtardif
Update workflow tests for new eval_judge.py structure
0ef72b3 
Signed-off-by: Guillaume Tardif <guillaume.tardif@docker.com>
@gtardif
Default to running both Claude and Codex evals
7b0d8a9 
Signed-off-by: Guillaume Tardif <guillaume.tardif@docker.com>
@gtardif
Bump docker-agent-config version to 0.1.3 for SKILL.md update
56f2975 
Signed-off-by: Guillaume Tardif <guillaume.tardif@docker.com>
@gtardif
Fix broken links in AGENTS.md and docker-agent-config eval
a0acb36 
Signed-off-by: Guillaume Tardif <guillaume.tardif@docker.com>
@gtardif
Fix eval-codex condition to run on PRs (inputs.agent is empty)
678bfbf 
Signed-off-by: Guillaume Tardif <guillaume.tardif@docker.com>
@gtardif
Add ANTHROPIC_API_KEY to Codex evals (needed for LLM judge)
1c083db 
Signed-off-by: Guillaume Tardif <guillaume.tardif@docker.com>
@gtardif
Make eval failures non-blocking (report as warnings)
3f28b1d 
LLM evals are inherently flaky. Rather than blocking PRs on
eval failures, we now:
- Report failures as GitHub warnings
- Upload artifacts for investigation
- Let the workflow complete successfully

This allows tracking eval trends without blocking development.

Signed-off-by: Guillaume Tardif <guillaume.tardif@docker.com>
@gtardif
Relax overly specific eval criteria
657eebb 
- docker-agent-config: Accept any valid model format, not just anthropic/...
- docker-agent-run: Soften must-not criteria to allow alternative explanations

Signed-off-by: Guillaume Tardif <guillaume.tardif@docker.com>
@gtardif
Revert "Make eval failures non-blocking (report as warnings)"
9aceaeb 
This reverts commit a74901a.

Signed-off-by: Guillaume Tardif <guillaume.tardif@docker.com>
@gtardif
Improve eval reliability: stronger instructions, workspace README
7a89688 
- Strengthen 'don't ask questions' instruction to be more emphatic
- Add README.md to workspace so agents know it's a valid project
- This should reduce cases where agents ask for clarification instead of proceeding

Signed-off-by: Guillaume Tardif <guillaume.tardif@docker.com>
@gtardif
Add --pass-threshold option for flexible pass rate
0ab0d75 
Allows running evals with a threshold (e.g., --pass-threshold 0.8
means 80% must pass). Default remains 1.0 (all must pass) for
strictest checking.

Signed-off-by: Guillaume Tardif <guillaume.tardif@docker.com>
@gtardif
Refine eval criteria for better reliability
67348d4 
- docker-agent-run: Allow mentioning --safety autonomous as secondary option
  when --safety restricted is clearly the primary recommendation
- docker-agent-run: Allow mentioning file renaming as secondary option after
  explaining explicit config selection
- docker-project-foundations: Clarify latest tag rule applies to base images;
  strengthen prompt to explicitly request live reload
- docker-agent-deploy: Mark instruction_file inlining note as optional
- docker-sandboxes-network-credentials: Mark policy check mention as optional
- docker-sandboxes-kits: Clarify credential optional:true guidance
- docker-compose-patterns: Mark volume and debug port as optional when not
  explicitly requested; clarify build directive expectation

Signed-off-by: Guillaume Tardif <guillaume.tardif@docker.com>
@gtardif
Support (Optional) criteria prefix in eval judge
c52550f 
Criteria prefixed with '(Optional)' are still evaluated by the judge
but their pass/fail status does not affect the overall prompt result.
This allows marking 'nice-to-have' behaviors that are good but not
essential.

- Added is_optional field to JudgeResult dataclass
- Optional criteria detected by case-insensitive '(Optional)' prefix
- Pass/fail logic excludes optional criteria from determination
- Print output shows '○' for optional failures vs '✗' for required

Signed-off-by: Guillaume Tardif <guillaume.tardif@docker.com>
@gtardif
Simplify complex eval criteria that cause inconsistent judging
62a6e62 
- docker-agent-run prompt 4: Simplify must-not about file renaming to
  focus on ordering (explain selection before mentioning renaming)
- docker-sandboxes-lifecycle prompt 1: Simplify must-not about bare sbx run
  to just state the recommended form
- docker-sandboxes-kits prompt 1: Make phase-scoped network policy optional
- docker-sandboxes-kits prompt 3: Generalize v3 workflow criterion to
  accept any additional validation beyond sbx kit validate

Signed-off-by: Guillaume Tardif <guillaume.tardif@docker.com>
@gtardif
Revert (Optional) prefix handling - keep criteria as required
5746a9d 
Per user feedback, instead of marking criteria as optional, we should
report actual failures and improve reliability through:
- Improving the skill content
- Improving the judge prompt
- Relaxing overly specific constraints

Also keep the JSON parsing improvement for judge responses.

Signed-off-by: Guillaume Tardif <guillaume.tardif@docker.com>
@gtardif
Improve eval reliability through clearer prompts and criteria
ed59d6b 
- docker-compose-patterns prompt 2: Add 'check for best practices' to prompt
  so agents proactively add named volumes for data persistence
- docker-compose-patterns prompt 3: Clarify prompt to 'builds from source
  using a Dockerfile' and remove debug port/Compose Watch criteria that
  weren't explicitly requested
- docker-agent-run prompt 4: Change 'without first explaining' to 'without
  also explaining' to avoid judge focus on ordering
- docker-agent-deploy prompt 2: Remove instruction_file inlining criterion
  as it's an implementation detail not essential to the user's question

Signed-off-by: Guillaume Tardif <guillaume.tardif@docker.com>
@gtardif
Add 'supports live code reload' to compose override prompt
eeffe7d 
Codex was inconsistently adding bind mounts/Compose Watch for live reload.
Making this explicit in the prompt ensures both agents reliably include it.

Signed-off-by: Guillaume Tardif <guillaume.tardif@docker.com>
@gtardif
Clarify sbx run reattachment criterion to distinguish from initial cr…
cb9ed64 
…eation

The judge was sometimes confused when the agent mentioned 'sbx run' for
initial creation vs reattachment. Adding explicit note that 'sbx run NAME'
for initial creation is acceptable helps the judge focus on the actual
reattachment scenario.

Signed-off-by: Guillaume Tardif <guillaume.tardif@docker.com>
@gtardif
Add network access phases to sandboxes-kits prompt 1
7c9b8c0 
Codex was inconsistently including install-phase network policy. Adding
explicit mention of 'build-time downloads and runtime API calls' to the
prompt ensures the agent addresses both phases.

Signed-off-by: Guillaume Tardif <guillaume.tardif@docker.com>
@gtardif
Set default models: sonnet for Claude, gpt-6-luna for Codex
73b0ad0 
- Update eval_judge.py to set agent-specific default models
- Update CI workflow to use gpt-6-luna for Codex evals
- Claude uses 'sonnet' (claude-sonnet-4-6)
- Codex uses 'gpt-6-luna'

Signed-off-by: Guillaume Tardif <guillaume.tardif@docker.com>
@gtardif
Improve eval reliability: better judge prompt and simplified criteria
66f951a 
- Update judge prompt to emphasize semantic equivalence over exact phrasing
- Add explicit evaluation rules for conditional criteria and file checking
- Add Docker Gateway support for Luna model as judge
- Simplify overly-specific criteria in docker-agent-run, docker-sandboxes-network-credentials, and docker-project-foundations evals
- Accept equivalent commands (e.g., both 'docker agent sandbox allow' and 'sbx policy allow network')
- Use 'versioned' instead of 'pinned' for image tags to accept major version tags

Signed-off-by: Guillaume Tardif <guillaume.tardif@docker.com>
@gtardif
gtardif force-pushed the eval-judge-framework branch from 27364a8 to 66f951a Compare November 10, 2026 12:57
@gtardif
Relax docker-agent-run criteria to accept valid alternatives
51680f0 
- Prompt 1: Accept --sandbox or --safety restricted as safe CI options
- Prompt 3: Remove requirement to mention CLI flag override behavior
- Prompt 4: Accept mentioning docker-agent.yaml without full .yml/.hcl order

Signed-off-by: Guillaume Tardif <guillaume.tardif@docker.com>
@gtardif
Relax eval criteria for better reliability across models
f9bc85a 
- docker-sandboxes-lifecycle: Clarify reattachment criterion, simplify read-only mount
- docker-sandboxes-env: Simplify idempotency and postCreate criteria
- docker-compose-patterns: Accept variable interpolation for credentials
- docker-agent-deploy: Simplify share push/pull criteria
- docker-agent-config: Simplify sub-agent reviewer criteria

Signed-off-by: Guillaume Tardif <guillaume.tardif@docker.com>
@gtardif
Relax eval criteria for better cross-model reliability
bfd000b 
- docker-build-strategies: Accept Dockerfile shown in response (not just created)
- docker-sandboxes-kits: Simplify v3 publishing and v2 migration criteria
- docker-sandboxes-network-credentials: Simplify deny precedence and registry scope criteria
- docker-docs: Simplify GitHub token guidance criterion
- docker-agent-deploy: Simplify share push criterion

Signed-off-by: Guillaume Tardif <guillaume.tardif@docker.com>
@gtardif
Relax eval criteria for remaining failures
bdb3d7f 
- docker-agent-run: Adjust --exec and safety flag criteria
- docker-project-foundations: Relax multi-stage and Postgres loopback criteria
- docker-sandboxes-env: Simplify sbxenv.yaml and idempotency criteria

Signed-off-by: Guillaume Tardif <guillaume.tardif@docker.com>
@gtardif
Relax eval criteria and use hello.md for lifecycle test
bda4d9e 
- docker-project-foundations: Remove duplicate non-root USER must-not
- docker-sandboxes-lifecycle: Change prompt-8 to use hello.md (already in
  WORKSPACE_FILE_PATTERNS), improve prompt-1 must-not wording, add blank
  lines for consistency

Signed-off-by: Guillaume Tardif <guillaume.tardif@docker.com>
@gtardif
gtardif force-pushed the eval-judge-framework branch from 709f67b to bda4d9e Compare November 10, 2026 16:36
@gtardif
Add automatic retry on eval failure in CI
1dbcd1a 
If an eval fails on the first attempt, retry once before marking as failed.
This helps with flaky evals due to LLM variability.

Signed-off-by: Guillaume Tardif <guillaume.tardif@docker.com>
@gtardif
Make prompt-3 explicitly mention sbx for context
5629730 
The agent was giving generic network policy advice instead of sbx-specific
behavior because the prompt didn't clarify the context.

Signed-off-by: Guillaume Tardif <guillaume.tardif@docker.com>
@gtardif
Simplify prompt-3 expectation for CI gating
df3384e 
Remove the cost-never-gates requirement since the user's question
focuses on quality regression, not cost tracking.

Signed-off-by: Guillaume Tardif <guillaume.tardif@docker.com>
@gtardif
Fix genuine eval failures with criterion relaxations
f7dceb3 
- docker-sandboxes-lifecycle/prompt-1: Accept any valid fix, not require
  explaining both sbx run and sbx create options
- docker-agent-config/prompt-3: Remove docker model pull requirement
  (secondary operational detail, not core to the question)
- docker-project-foundations/prompt-1: Accept not publishing Postgres
  (more secure than loopback-only)

Signed-off-by: Guillaume Tardif <guillaume.tardif@docker.com>
@gtardif
Relax --yolo must-not criterion for CI prompt
ca5905a 
The agent warns about --yolo risks but doesn't pair it with --sandbox.
Changed criterion to require warnings rather than requiring sandbox pairing.

Signed-off-by: Guillaume Tardif <guillaume.tardif@docker.com>

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