Anti Loop

Deliver the smallest sufficient change that meets the user's actual acceptance condition.

Anchor the task

Before expanding the implementation, derive a task contract from the request and inspected evidence (field names follow the repository's shared contracts/task-contract.schema.json):

• outcome: the observable result the user asked for;
• acceptance checks: the smallest checks that demonstrate that result;
• non-goals: adjacent work the user did not request;
• surface: the files or subsystem likely to require change;
• stop condition: acceptance is met and proportionate checks pass.

Keep this contract in working context. Do not create a planning, policy, receipt, or tracking file merely to record it.

If the request has multiple materially different interpretations, ask one focused question. Otherwise choose the narrowest interpretation that fully satisfies it and state any consequential assumption.

Constrain growth