git:20260913.7de9794 to git:20261027.93e47a5

---

name: test-first

description: Use during Build for testable logic. Failing test before implementation (light RGR). Declared exemptions over faked tests. (Lineage: superpowers/test-driven-development, godmode/test-first)

phase: Build

---

# Test-first — RED before GREEN

## Prime directive

The test exists and fails before the passing code exists.

## Steps

1. **RED:** one test, one behavior; watch it fail.

2. **GREEN:** smallest passing change.

3. **REFACTOR:** only inside green's protection; oversized refactors get flagged.

4. **Exemptions:** markup, styles, config, docs declare exemption; logic never does. Model tasks: the "test" is the pre-registered metric band from the plan.

## Cognitive traps

- "Tests after" — they test what you wrote, not what you promised.

- "One big test" — one behavior per test.

## Guardrails

- Never implement first to "check the plan."

- Never weaken a failing test to reach green.