Code Quality Standards

Non-negotiable code quality standards. These are not preferences — they are requirements.

The Problem

AI agents produce code that works but diverges. Each session picks slightly different names, nesting patterns, and error handling approaches — not by design, but by independence. Over time this drift compounds: the codebase accumulates three ways to handle errors, four naming conventions, and scattered magic numbers that almost-but-don't-quite match. These standards collapse that divergence to zero so refactoring stays small and infrequent.

Consumption

• Builders: Read ## Builder Checklist before writing code. Reference narrative sections when a checklist item is ambiguous.
• Refactorers: Use ## Enforced Rules as your issue list. Read narrative sections for fix guidance.
• Both: Narrative sections are the authoritative standard. Checklist and rules table are compressed views of the same content.

Test-Driven Development: 4-Layer Validation Framework

Layer 1 — Unit Tests (does the logic work?)