# AGENTS.md — working on this skill suite Guidance for any agent (Claude Code or otherwise) editing this folder. ## What this is A lean spec-driven flow: `tiny-spec-create` → `tiny-spec-plan` → `tiny-spec-tasks` → `tiny-spec-build`, anchored by a strong **constitution** (`constitution.md`) and a per-task loop of **plan → implement → review → commit** with an *independent* reviewer. In front of it sit **two optional planning on-ramps** — `tiny-spec-prd` (idea → `PRD.md`) and `tiny-spec-breakdown` (PRD → stories, `BREAKDOWN.md`). Both write a **project-root, regenerable** file, **not** a `.spec/` artifact, and neither scaffolds `.spec/` or touches the constitution. See [README.md](README.md) for the shape and [CONTRACTS.md](CONTRACTS.md) for the formats and rules of record. ## North star — earned ceremony This suite is deliberately small. Do **not** grow it back into waves, `owns:` contracts, a checkpoint matrix, autonomous budgets, or validators. `tiny-spec-run` is the one router, and it earns that only by owning nothing — no artifact, no state file — and stopping before `build`. Before adding a skill, agent, artifact, format field, or knob, the bar is: *does it clearly pay for itself, or is it ceremony?* When in doubt, leave it out. A change that makes this bigger needs a strong reason; a change that makes it smaller usually doesn't. Two structural choices are **intended**, not drift — don't "simplify" them away: the **per-ticket namespacing** under `.spec//` with a shared `constitution.md`/`memory.md` spine (the suite works one ticket at a time against an external platform), and the **richer SPEC/PLAN templates** whose extra sections are all marked optional (``) so they add shape without forcing ceremony. Keep new template sections optional unless a section truly must always be filled. ## ⚠️ After making changes — validate (don't skip) Editing a `SKILL.md` or agent file is editing a **prompt**, not code — bugs are silent (no compiler, no test will catch a misleading instruction). So: 1. **Keep the contract consistent — by hand.** There are *no* Python validators by design. A format or rule change must land in **all three**: `CONTRACTS.md` (rules of record), the matching skeleton in the **owning skill's** `templates/` folder, and **every** skill or agent that reads/writes that artifact. Grep for the artifact name and the token you changed; reconcile every hit. The artifacts split **project-wide vs per-ticket** (see `CONTRACTS.md` §3): `constitution.md` and `memory.md` are **shared** at the `.spec/` root; `SPEC.md`, `PLAN.md`, `tasks.md`, `decisions.md` live under `.spec//`, resolved by branch match — the dir whose slug matches the current git branch (`CONTRACTS.md` §1). `decisions.md` has no template on purpose — it's an append-only log with a fixed inline skeleton (`CONTRACTS.md` §3.6). Each template has exactly one owning skill that copies it: `tiny-spec-prd` (PRD), `tiny-spec-breakdown` (BREAKDOWN), `tiny-spec-create` (SPEC + constitution), `tiny-spec-plan` (PLAN), `tiny-spec-tasks` (tasks), `tiny-spec-build` (memory). **Commits are Conventional Commits** (`CONTRACTS.md` §4.1) — the format lives in `tiny-spec-build` and `CONTRACTS.md`; reconcile both if you change it. 2. **Dry-run in a throwaway sandbox** (`/tmp/...`, `git init`). A **new** skill or agent can't be invoked the session it's added (both load at startup). Validate one of three ways: follow the `SKILL.md` **verbatim** yourself; dispatch a built-in stand-in (`Explore` for read-only, `general-purpose` for writing) with the same prompt; or — once installed — dispatch the real agents (`tiny-spec-build-executor`, `tiny-spec-build-reviewer`) directly. Confirm the instructions, followed exactly, produce contract-conforming output. 3. **Runtime-verify — never static-only.** The core belief here: **unit-green ≠ working.** A passing test suite is necessary, not sufficient. The whole reason `tiny-spec-build-reviewer` runs the real gate end-to-end and exercises the acceptance is to catch this — so when you change the build loop, prove it on a real task, don't infer it from the prose reading correctly. 4. **Trip the safeguards on purpose** when you touch the build/executor/reviewer machinery. These must stay caught: - a task that **passes a narrow self-check but fails the gate / acceptance** → the reviewer must return `FAIL`, and `tiny-spec-build` must loop back (not tick); - an executor that hits a real **blocker** → it must STOP and report `blocked` (never hack past), and `tiny-spec-build` must leave the task `[ ]` and route upstream; - **convergence bound:** a task that stays red past 2 fix attempts must become a blocker, not an infinite grind; - **memory round-trip:** an operational lesson surfaced during a build must land as a curated `memory.md` entry and be injected into the *next* executor/reviewer prompt — not re-learned; - **completed-work guardrail:** an upstream change that touches a `[x]` task must **uncheck** it and log it for review. 5. **Clean up.** Remove the sandbox. Never commit a `.spec/` from a test run or any build artifacts into this folder. ## Portability — no absolute paths This suite must run for **anyone on any machine**. So: - **No hardcoded absolute paths** (no `/Users/...`, no machine-specific dirs). Each skill is **self-contained**: it carries its templates in its own `templates/` folder and references them by **relative** path ("this skill's `templates/`"). A skill folder works wherever it's installed. - **No shared parent required at runtime.** `CONTRACTS.md` is a maintainer reference only — the skills do not read it when they run; each `SKILL.md` is self-sufficient. Keep it that way: if you add a rule a skill needs, inline it in the skill, don't make the skill depend on reading `CONTRACTS.md`. - **The two agents are referenced by name** (`tiny-spec-build-executor`, `tiny-spec-build-reviewer`), not by path — they must be installed in `~/.claude/agents/` for `tiny-spec-build` to dispatch them. - **Project root vs skill** — `.spec/` and the user's code live in the user's cwd (the project root); it is **never** created inside a skill's directory. ## Install / discovery Skills install to `~/.claude/skills/` and agents to `~/.claude/agents/` (**copied**, so each install is self-contained — see [README.md](README.md) for the commands). If a skill name collides with one already installed, rename these or install only one set at a time. New skills/agents load at startup — restart the session after installing. ## Commits One commit per logical change, in **Conventional Commits** format (`(): `), ending with the trailer: ``` Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 ``` This is the same format the suite itself now emits (`CONTRACTS.md` §4.1) — use it for work *on* the suite too (e.g. `feat(commits): adopt conventional commits`, `docs: add INTEGRATIONS.md`). Only commit work once it's validated per the checklist above.