Principles

A principle that more than one skill needs lives here once, so every skill that names it applies the same rule. Read the file for each principle the current step names, not the whole set.

Principle	The rule in one line	File
No comments	The why lives in names, tests, tool config or the owning doc, never in a comment	no-comments.md
Chesterton's Fence	Find out why something exists before removing or changing it	chestertons-fence.md
Proven able to fail	Watch a check go red once before trusting it; prove a test in a temporary worktree, never the working tree	proven-able-to-fail.md
Fix the cause	Remove the state that causes a failure, never guard in front of it	fix-the-cause.md
No transitional architecture	Replace, migrate and remove; never keep the old path alive beside the new	no-transitional-architecture.md
Rules as checks	A mechanical rule is a type, lint, test or hook, not a sentence	rules-as-checks.md
No drift	A change updates what describes, repeats, names or depends on it	no-drift.md
Review report	Every review reports findings in one shape, each fixed, and accepts only when none stands	review-report.md
Verify at the source	Settle each factual claim where it is defined, and cite that place	verify-at-source.md

A principle only one skill uses stays in that skill. It moves here when a second skill needs it.

principles

Principles

See also