Workflow Write Integration Test

---
name: workflow-write-integration-test
description: '[Workflow] Use when writing integration tests spec-first, converting test specs into test code, or adding coverage to untested code.'
disable-model-invocation: false
---

> Codex compatibility note:
> - Invoke repository skills with `$skill-name` in Codex; this mirrored copy rewrites legacy Claude `/skill-name` references.
> - Task tracker mandate: BEFORE executing any workflow or skill step, create/update task tracking for all steps and keep it synchronized as progress changes.
> - User-question prompts mean to ask the user directly in Codex.
> - Ignore Claude-specific mode-switch instructions when they appear.
> - Strict execution contract: when a user explicitly invokes a skill, execute that skill protocol as written.
> - Subagent authorization: when a skill is user-invoked or AI-detected and its protocol requires subagents, that skill activation authorizes use of the required `spawn_agent` subagent(s) for that task.
> - Do not skip, reorder, or merge protocol steps unless the user explicitly approves the deviation first.
> - For workflow skills, execute each listed child-skill step explicitly and report step-by-step evidence.
> - If a required step/tool cannot run in this environment, stop and ask the user before adapting.
<!-- CODEX:PROJECT-REFERENCE-LOADING:START -->
## Codex Project-Reference Loading (Hook-Independent)

Claude and Codex use static project-reference loading as the authority; hooks may accelerate discovery but never replace the explicit read.
When coding, planning, debugging, testing, or reviewing, open project docs explicitly using this routing.

**Always read:**
- `docs/project-config.json` (project-specific paths, commands, modules, and workflow/test settings)
- `docs/project-reference/docs-index-reference.md` (routes to the full `docs/project-reference/*` catalog)
- `docs/project-reference/lessons.md` (always-on guardrails and anti-patterns)

**Missing/stale context route:** If `docs/project-config.json`, the docs index, `lessons.md`, `CLAUDE.md`, `AGENTS.md`, or any task-required reference doc is missing or stale, auto-run `$project-init` or the narrow setup route (`$project-config`, `$docs-init`, `$scan-all`, `$scan --target=<key>`, `$claude-md-init`) before ordinary project-specific work. If Codex mirrors or `AGENTS.md` are missing/stale, ask the user to run `$sync-codex`; do not auto-run it.

**Situation-based docs:**
- Project structure/architecture/tech-stack/deployment/setup (any layer — backend, frontend, or infra): `project-structure-reference.md`
- Backend/CQRS/API/domain/entity changes: `backend-patterns-reference.md`, `domain-entities-reference.md`
- Frontend/UI/styling/design-system: `frontend-patterns-reference.md`, `scss-styling-guide.md`, `design-system/README.md`
- Spec authoring, `docs/specs/` pathing, or TC format: `feature-spec-reference.md`, `spec-system-reference.md`, `spec-principles.md`
- Behavior/public-contract changes or spec-test-code sync: `workflow-spec-test-code-cycle-reference.md` plus the spec docs above
- Derived spec indexes/ERDs/reimplementation guides: `spec-system-reference.md` and source Feature Specs under `docs/specs/`
- Integration test implementation/review: `integration-test-reference.md`
- E2E test implementation/review: `e2e-test-reference.md`
- Code review/audit work: `code-review-rules.md` plus domain docs above based on changed files

Do not read all docs blindly. Start from `docs-index-reference.md`, then open only relevant files for the task.
<!-- CODEX:PROJECT-REFERENCE-LOADING:END -->

<!-- PROMPT-ENHANCE:STEP-TASK-ANCHOR:START -->

> **[BLOCKING]** Execute skill steps in declared order. NEVER skip, reorder, or merge steps without explicit user approval.
> **[BLOCKING]** Before each step or sub-skill call, update task tracking: set `in_progress` when step starts, set `completed` when step ends.
> **[BLOCKING]** Every completed/skipped step MUST include brief evidence or explicit skip reason.
> **[BLOCKING]** If Task tools are unavailable, create and maintain an equivalent step-by-step plan tracker with the same status transitions.

<!-- PROMPT-ENHANCE:STEP-TASK-ANCHOR:END -->

## Quick Summary

**Goal:** Write or update spec-first integration tests from canonical TCs, review them through seven quality gates, and prove the relevant suite passes twice consecutively without DB reset.

**Summary:** Investigate domain logic → author/update Section 8 TCs → generate real-use-case integration tests → review seven gates → verify the whole relevant suite twice without DB reset → sync docs and close. **MUST ATTENTION** use real domain paths and runner output.
- **Testability contract:** resolve Unit/Integration/System/E2E applicability from runner/config evidence; record owner/root/data, copy-ready full + focused commands, zero-match behavior, CI/simple-Windows entry, unique run/data identity, and repeat proof; unresolved applicable fields block handoff, while non-applicable tiers require evidence-backed `N/A`.

**Absorbed use cases:** converting existing TC specs into integration test code (former test-to-integration — specs already exist, so `$spec [mode=tests]` runs in UPDATE/verify mode instead of authoring from scratch) and stability verification of existing suites (former test-verify — the `$integration-test-verify` step's 2-consecutive-run gate). For spec-only authoring with no test code, use the `$spec [mode=tests]` skill directly.

**Workflow:**

1. **Detect** — classify request scope and target artifacts.
2. **Execute** — apply required steps with evidence-backed actions.
3. **Verify** — confirm constraints, output quality, and completion evidence.

**Ordered route:** `$investigate` → `$spec [mode=tests]` → `$why-review` → `$artifact-review --type=spec-tests` → `$integration-test` → `$integration-test-review` → `$integration-test-verify` → `$spec [mode=sync]` → `$docs-update` → `$workflow-end` → `$watzup`.

**Key Rules:**

- MUST ATTENTION keep claims evidence-based (`file:line`) with confidence >80% to act.
- MUST ATTENTION keep task tracking updated as each step starts/completes.
- MUST ATTENTION when creating/reviewing specs or tests, name `Business Intent / Invariant Guarded` or the protected business intent/invariant and ensure the test would fail if that intent breaks.
- MUST ATTENTION define success criteria before execution and loop until observable verification passes.
- MUST ATTENTION require integration tests to protect a named business rule/invariant and fail if that intent breaks.
- MUST ATTENTION arrange integration-test data through real use cases or valid seeded fixtures; never create impossible state through repository hacks.
- MUST ATTENTION verify integration suites with 2 consecutive passing runs without DB reset before declaring done.
- NEVER skip mandatory workflow or skill gates.

**IMPORTANT MANDATORY Steps:** $investigate -> $spec [mode=tests] -> $why-review -> $artifact-review --type=spec-tests -> $integration-test -> $integration-test-review -> $integration-test-verify -> $spec [mode=sync] -> $docs-update -> $workflow-end -> $watzup

> **[BLOCKING]** Each step MUST ATTENTION invoke its skill invocation — marking a task `completed` without skill invocation is a workflow violation. NEVER batch-complete validation gates.

> **[CRITICAL] Understand Domain First Gate:** The `$investigate` step is MANDATORY before `$spec [mode=tests]` and `$integration-test`. You MUST read the handler/entity/event source to understand WHAT fields change, WHAT entities are created/updated/deleted, WHAT event handlers fire. Assertions written without reading the handler source are guaranteed to be wrong or smoke-only.

> **Goal Contract propagation (workflow-owned):** At workflow start, resolve the active Goal Contract per `SYNC:goal-contract-satisfaction-loop` (active plan `goal.md` → `plans/goals/{YYMMDD-HHmm}-{slug}/goal.md` → create from the test request). Each generated test maps to a saved goal invariant/criterion — a test protecting NO saved invariant needs a recorded justification. After `$integration-test-verify`, append the verification evidence (pass/fail counts, runner command, report path) to the goal file's Iteration Log and emit the Goal Satisfaction matrix (PASS/FAIL/BLOCKED) before `$workflow-end`.

Activate the `workflow-write-integration-test` workflow. Run `$start-workflow workflow-write-integration-test` with the user's prompt as context.

**Steps:** $investigate → $spec [mode=tests] → $why-review → $artifact-review --type=spec-tests → $integration-test → $integration-test-review → $integration-test-verify → $spec [mode=sync] → $docs-update → $workflow-end → $watzup

## Test Architecture Contract Handoff

Before `$integration-test`, `$investigate` must emit one evidence-backed contract record for the test scope and pass it unchanged through the existing delegated order:

- `applicability`: record Unit/Integration/System/E2E as `APPLICABLE` only with runner/configuration evidence; otherwise record `N/A — <evidence>`.
- `owner`: identify the delegated setup, writer, reviewer, verifier, and documentation owner for each applicable tier; do not duplicate their gates in the wrapper.
- `fullCommand` and `focusedCommand`: copy-ready configured commands, their zero-match/invalid-selection non-zero behavior, CI gate, and simple/Windows entry point when required.
- `runIdentity` and `dataStrategy`: unique run identity and business-data suffix, valid public-use-case setup, explicit target/additive seed mode, and isolated mutable data for parallel workers.
- `repeatProof`: exact counts and exit status for the focused run, repeat/parallel evidence, and two consecutive no-reset full runs for every applicable persistent-state suite.

`$integration-test` consumes the setup and command fields; `$integration-test-review` verifies command validity, data identity/accumulation, and isolation alongside its existing quality gates; `$integration-test-verify` executes the configured scopes and returns the exact evidence for `$spec [mode=sync]` and `$docs-update`. This handoff adds data to the route and does not duplicate, reverse, or weaken any existing review, approval, or verification gate.

> **[STEP PURPOSES]** Every step has a distinct purpose — NEVER deduplicate or batch:
>
> **`$investigate`** — Find target command/handler files; locate existing integration tests in the same service for pattern matching. Output: list of target files + existing test examples.
> **`$investigate`** — Read handler/entity/event source. Map: fields written, entities created/updated/deleted, event handlers fired, validation rules. Output: domain logic summary to use as assertion blueprint.
> **`$spec [mode=tests]`** — Write/update `TC-{FEATURE}-{NNN}` specs in feature doc Section 8. CREATE mode for new tests, UPDATE mode for changed behavior. Output: TC mapping list (TC code -> covering test method name(s) or annotation filter).
> **`$artifact-review --type=spec-tests`** — Validate spec quality: GIVEN/WHEN/THEN completeness, happy path + validation failure + auth paths covered, no collisions with existing TC codes.
> **`$integration-test`** — Generate test files from TC specs using FROM-PROMPT or FROM-CHANGES mode. Non-negotiable: real use-case/valid-seeder data setup, async polling/retry for all DB assertions, unique data generators for all test data, test-spec annotation on every test method (adapt annotation syntax to your framework).
> **`$integration-test-review`** — 7-gate quality check (assertion value, data state, repeatability, domain logic, traceability, three-way sync, change coverage). Gate 7: every behavior-changing production file in the change set maps to a covering test (integration-first; unit fallback needs justification) AND a spec TC. Validate findings, fix only validated findings that block the current round, then restart the full integration-test review after fixes. Round 1 blocks on every validated severity; from round 2 onward CRITICAL/HIGH/MEDIUM remain blocking and LOW-only findings are recorded/deferred without another fix/review round. NEVER proceed with a blocking finding or failed binary gate outstanding; never relabel a material finding LOW to exit.
> **`$integration-test-verify`** — Run tests via `quickRunCommand` from `docs/project-config.json` for 2 consecutive runs without DB reset. Report exact pass/fail counts with test runner output. NEVER mark complete without real output.
> **`$spec [mode=sync]`** — Sync §8 TCs ↔ executing test code (`docs/specs/`). Update each TC's `CoveredBy` field with **all** covering `{File}::{MethodName}` links (one TC → many tests, 1:N; a test-filter expression when the set is large). Coverage = ≥1 annotation-tagged test; never force one test per TC.
> **`$docs-update`** — Update feature doc evidence fields, version history, and changelog if test coverage changed materially.
> **`$workflow-end`** + **`$watzup`** — Close workflow state, then summarize and run the final `$understand` handoff.

---

**IMPORTANT MANDATORY Steps:** $investigate -> $spec [mode=tests] -> $why-review -> $artifact-review --type=spec-tests -> $integration-test -> $integration-test-review -> $integration-test-verify -> $spec [mode=sync] -> $docs-update -> $workflow-end -> $watzup

<!-- SYNC:integration-test-execution-discipline -->

> **Integration Test Execution Discipline** — How the integration-test family (write · review · verify) runs, diagnoses, and clears a suite. Binds `$integration-test`, `$integration-test-review`, and `$integration-test-verify` identically.
>
> 1. **Verify the WHOLE system passes — not a hand-picked subset.** `$integration-test-verify` must prove the full relevant suite is green (every test in the system the change can touch), not one cherry-picked test. "All pass" is only true with actual runner output (Passed/Failed/Skipped counts + names) and only after 2 consecutive green runs without a DB reset.
> 2. **Drive state through real use-case paths — NEVER hack seed data.** Set up every precondition exactly as a real user would: real commands, queries, production consumers/messages, or valid idempotent seeders. NEVER create or mutate domain data by direct repository writes — that fabricates states a user could never reach and hides the real workflow bug. Hacking seed data to force a green run is forbidden.
> 3. **On ANY failure → `$debug-investigate` the root cause BEFORE any fix.** Do not guess, do not patch the symptom site. Trace the failure end-to-start and classify whose fault it is: test code (wrong assertion/setup), source/production code (real defect), or environment/infrastructure/data. Then route: test-code fault → `$integration-test-review` to fix the test at the root (never weaken assertions or add skips); source-code fault → fix the production defect at the owning layer and report it; environment fault → mark BLOCKED and point at the startup script. NEVER change a test to match broken code.
> 4. **60-second runtime cap — a slow test is a RED FLAG, not a tuning knob.** Local integration tests run fast. If any single test (or a stalled suite) exceeds ~60s, STOP and treat the slowness itself as a defect signal — deadlock, missing `await`, infinite poll/retry, a real network/external call, or an unbounded query. `$debug-investigate` the cause; NEVER paper over it by raising the timeout or extending the wait.
> 5. **Loop until the whole suite is green.** After fixing the validated root cause, restart the full 2-run verification from run 1. Done means the entire relevant suite passes repeatably — never green-once, never a subset.

<!-- /SYNC:integration-test-execution-discipline -->

<!-- SYNC:ai-mistake-prevention -->

> **AI Mistake Prevention** — Failure modes to avoid on every task:
>
> **Re-read files after context changes.** Context compaction, resume, or long-running work can make memory stale; verify current files before acting.
> **Verify generated content against source evidence.** AI hallucinates APIs, names, claims, and document facts. Check the relevant source before documenting or referencing.
> **Check downstream references before deleting or renaming.** Removing an artifact can stale docs, generated mirrors, configs, and callers; map references first.
> **Trace the full impact chain after edits.** Changing a definition can miss derived outputs and consumers. Follow the affected chain before declaring done.
> **Verify ALL affected outputs, not just the first.** One green check is not all green checks; validate every output surface the change can affect.
> **Assume existing values are intentional — ask WHY before changing OR flagging one as a defect.** Before changing or reporting a constant, limit, flag, cutoff, wording, or pattern, read nearby context and history, the CALLER's ordering, and 2+ sibling call sites of the same convention. A doc stating WHAT without WHY is missing rationale, not proof of a missing guard.
> **Surface ambiguity before acting — don't pick silently.** Multiple valid interpretations require an explicit question or stated assumption with risk.
> **Assert the outcome your system owns, not the intermediate state your infrastructure owns.** When verifying async work, assert the final business state — never the delivery/retry bookkeeping held in shared infrastructure that any co-running process can write. Such a check passes when run alone and flakes the moment anything else shares that infrastructure.
> **Keep shared guidance role-relevant.** Universal guidance must help every receiving skill or agent; code-specific obligations belong only in code-specific protocols.

<!-- /SYNC:ai-mistake-prevention -->

<!-- SYNC:nested-task-creation -->

> **Nested Task Expansion Contract** — For workflow-step invocation, the `[Workflow] ...` row is only a parent container; the child skill still creates visible phase tasks.
>
> 1. Call the current task list first. If a matching active parent workflow row exists, set `nested=true` and record `parentTaskId`; otherwise run standalone.
> 2. Create one task per declared phase before phase work. When nested, prefix subjects `[N.M] /skill-name — phase`.
> 3. When nested, link the parent with `TaskUpdate(parentTaskId, addBlockedBy: [childIds])`.
> 4. Orchestrators must pre-expand a child skill's phase list and link the workflow row before invoking that child skill or sub-agent.
> 5. Mark exactly one child `in_progress` before work and `completed` immediately after evidence is written.
> 6. Complete the parent only after all child tasks are completed or explicitly cancelled with reason.
>
> **Blocked until:** the current task list done, child phases created, parent linked when nested, first child marked `in_progress`.

<!-- /SYNC:nested-task-creation -->

<!-- SYNC:project-reference-docs-guide -->

> **Project Reference Docs Gate (static JIT)** — Run after task-tracking bootstrap and immediately before target/source file reads, grep, edits, tests, or analysis. Project docs override generic framework assumptions; hooks may remind or accelerate this gate, but never prove that it ran.
>
> 1. Identify scope: file types, domain area, and operation.
> 2. **Read `docs/project-config.json` first — the project's machine-readable map.** It is the single source of truth for THIS repo (modules/paths, framework + search keywords, test/E2E/integration run-commands, design system, architecture rules, workflow patterns); ground exact paths, run-commands, and conventions on it **before investigating, planning, or coding** — never assume framework defaults (`CLAUDE.md` + reference docs are derived from it). If it — or the docs index, `lessons.md`, `CLAUDE.md`, `AGENTS.md`, or any required reference doc — is missing or stale, auto-run `$project-init` or the narrow route (`$project-config`, `$docs-init`, `$scan-all`, `$scan --target=<key>`, `$claude-md-init`) first; if Codex mirrors or `AGENTS.md` are stale, ask the user to run `$sync-codex` (never auto-run it).
> 3. Required docs by trigger: always `docs/project-reference/lessons.md`; doc lookup `docs-index-reference.md`; review `code-review-rules.md`; backend/CQRS/API `backend-patterns-reference.md`; domain/entity `domain-entities-reference.md`; frontend/UI `frontend-patterns-reference.md`; styles/design `scss-styling-guide.md` + `design-system/design-system-canonical.md`; integration tests `integration-test-reference.md`; E2E `e2e-test-reference.md`; feature docs/specs `feature-spec-reference.md` + `spec-system-reference.md` + `spec-principles.md`; behavior/public-contract/spec-test-code sync `workflow-spec-test-code-cycle-reference.md`; derived spec index/ERD/reimplementation guides `spec-system-reference.md` + source Feature Specs under `docs/specs/`; architecture/new area `project-structure-reference.md`.
> 4. Read every required doc, then before target work state: `Reference docs read: ... | Not applicable: ...`. After compaction, resume, delegation, or a material context change, repeat the route and restate the set; prior conversation and hook output are not proof of current loading.
>
> **Ready when:** scope evaluated, `docs/project-config.json` consulted, required docs checked/read or setup route completed, `lessons.md` confirmed, citation emitted.

<!-- /SYNC:project-reference-docs-guide -->

<!-- SYNC:task-tracking-external-report -->

> **Task Tracking & External Report Persistence** — Bootstrap this before execution; then run project-reference doc prefetch before target/source work.
>
> 1. Create a small task breakdown before target file reads, grep, edits, or analysis. On context loss, inspect the current task list first.
> 2. Mark one task `in_progress` before work and `completed` immediately after evidence; never batch transitions.
> 3. For plan/review work, create `plans/reports/{skill}-{YYMMDD}-{HHmm}-{slug}.md` before first finding.
> 4. Append findings after each file/section/decision and synthesize from the report file at the end.
> 5. Final output cites `Full report: plans/reports/{filename}`.
>
> **Blocked until:** task breakdown exists, report path declared for plan/review work, first finding persisted before the next finding.

<!-- /SYNC:task-tracking-external-report -->

<!-- SYNC:critical-thinking-mindset -->

> **Critical Thinking Mindset** — Apply critical thinking, sequential thinking. Every claim needs traced proof, confidence >80% to act.
> **Anti-hallucination:** Never present guess as fact — cite sources for every claim, admit uncertainty freely, self-check output for errors, cross-reference independently, stay skeptical of own confidence — certainty without evidence root of all hallucination.

<!-- /SYNC:critical-thinking-mindset -->

<!-- SYNC:incremental-persistence -->

> **Incremental Result Persistence** — MANDATORY for all sub-agents or heavy inline steps processing >3 files.
>
> 1. **Before starting:** Create report file `plans/reports/{skill}-{date}-{slug}.md` and record Run ID, Task ID, Attempt ID, target scope, and target fingerprint.
> 2. **After each file/section reviewed:** Append findings, evidence, changed paths, and gaps immediately — never hold them in memory.
> 3. **Delegated return:** A sub-agent emits only the structured `SYNC:subagent-return-contract` envelope with exact totals, salient Critical/High findings (maximum ten), current attempt, and `Full report:` path. **Inline user-facing output:** Preserve the skill's requested explanation or teaching, with links to the persisted evidence; the delegated transport limit does not replace that deliverable. Do not paste a full review report into an envelope.
> 4. **Parent synthesis:** The main agent reads the full report for synthesis, acceptance, deduplication, and repair planning — not only when a named blocker exists. It preserves all severities beyond the transport cap.
> 5. **Read-only boundary:** A read-only leaf may write its report/repair proposal but MUST NOT edit source, generated output, or user data; the parent/owner performs repairs after acceptance.
> 6. **Advancement gate:** The parent records `ACCEPTED` for the current Attempt ID only after reconciling target, totals, gaps, and changed paths; stale or late attempts cannot advance dependent work.
>
> **Why:** Context cutoff mid-execution loses ALL in-memory findings. Each disk write survives compaction. Partial results are better than no results, while explicit identity prevents a late result from being mistaken for the current run.
>
> **Report naming:** `plans/reports/{skill-name}-{YYMMDD}-{HHmm}-{slug}.md`

<!-- /SYNC:incremental-persistence -->

<!-- SYNC:subagent-return-contract -->

> **Sub-Agent Return Contract** — When this skill spawns a sub-agent, the sub-agent MUST return ONLY the structured envelope below. Main agent reads the envelope first, then opens the referenced report for synthesis, acceptance, deduplication, or repair planning; a full report is never pasted inline.
>
> ```markdown
> ## Sub-Agent Result: [skill-name]
>
> Status: ✅ PASS | ⚠️ PARTIAL | ❌ FAIL
> Confidence: [0-100]%
> Run ID: [stable run identifier]
> Task ID: [parent task or phase identifier]
> Attempt ID: [monotonic attempt/revision identifier]
> Target: [exact files/paths or scope] @ [target fingerprint/commit]
> Changed paths: [none | exact paths]
> Finding totals: Critical=[n] | High=[n] | Medium=[n] | Low=[n]
> Acceptance: PENDING | ACCEPTED | REJECTED — parent records the decision
>
> ### Findings (Critical/High surfaced — max 10 bullets)
>
> - [severity] [file:line] [finding]
>
> ### Gaps / Unverified
>
> - [missing host, runtime, coverage, or evidence limitation]
>
> ### Actions Taken
>
> - [file changed] [what changed]
>
> ### Blockers (if any)
>
> - [blocker description, or `none`]
>
> Full report: plans/reports/[skill-name]-[date]-[slug].md
> ```
>
> The ten-bullet limit is a transport limit, not a visibility limit: the full report may contain more than ten Medium/Low findings when no named blocker exists, and the parent MUST read it when synthesizing or deduplicating. The parent MUST reject a stale, duplicate, or superseded `Attempt ID` and MUST accept the current attempt before advancing a dependent step. Read-only leaves write repair proposals/reports only; they do not edit source, generated carriers, or user files.
>
> **Context budget** — the return payload is a SUMMARY, not a transcript: no raw file contents / full diffs / verbatim logs inline, no re-pasted source. Everything beyond the envelope lives in the incrementally-written report. A sub-agent that would exceed the summary shape MUST persist the detail and return only the pointer; bounded transport must never become bounded visibility.

<!-- /SYNC:subagent-return-contract -->

<!-- SYNC:test-architecture-execution-contract -->

> **Test Architecture & Execution Contract** — Treat testability as a setup/architecture acceptance condition. For every potentially applicable tier — Unit, Integration/System, E2E, and Performance/Scale (warranted at `T1+`/`B2+`) — record `APPLICABLE` only with evidence of its runner/framework/configuration; otherwise record `N/A — <evidence>` and never fabricate coverage.
>
> 1. **Matrix before implementation:** Record applicability, owner, runner/framework, test root, fixture/data strategy, full command, focused/partial command, zero-match behavior, CI gate, a simple/Windows entry point (a `.cmd` when the project needs one), the **host-mode AND container-mode commands** where the project supports both, and the **environment reach** (which of local / CI / production-shaped this tier can target).
> 2. **Runnable scopes:** Full and focused commands must be copy-ready, fail on invalid or zero-match selections, report exact counts and exit status, and be safe to repeat. E2E uses only configured browser/service commands.
> 3. **Fresh valid state:** Each run/test owns a unique run identity and business-data suffix, arranges through supported public paths, and uses realistic valid data. Reference setup is count-before-create, idempotent, and restart-safe. Intentional accumulation is additive, keyed, and integrity-checked; never hide contamination with destructive reset.
>    Run-scoped cleanup, when supported, is opt-in and idempotent: after evidence capture it may remove only ephemeral resources owned by the current run; it must never delete persistent/additive data or another run's data, reset shared state, or replace no-reset proof.
> 4. **Isolation and fidelity:** Isolate mutable roots and parallel workers; share only immutable/reference data. Preserve real actor pacing and observable arrange barriers. Do not widen retries or weaken assertions to make a scenario pass.
> 5. **Evidence gate:** Report command, scope, identity, seed/accumulation mode, exact result, and repeat proof. For each applicable persistent-state suite, require two consecutive no-reset full runs. Treat line coverage as diagnostic only; use meaningful property/invariant, mutation, change, and behavior coverage signals.
> 6. **Execution modes and environment reach:** A tier claiming two run modes must have **BOTH exercised** — the bare-host command and the fully-containerized command, driven from ONE source of truth for config and topology; record which mode CI exercises, because an unexercised mode rots silently and a claimed-but-rotten mode is worse than one never claimed. The SAME suite must reach local, CI and (where warranted) a production-shaped target, **parameterized by configuration, never by forked test code** — only one fork ever stays maintained, so forking guarantees divergence. A target lacking a required capability reports `ENVIRONMENT-BLOCKED`, never a silent pass. Tests unsafe against production are excluded by an **ENFORCED** mechanism whose absence fails loudly, not by a convention someone must remember; *"runs in prod"* means a safe, declared, **NON-MUTATING** subset. Reproducibility underwrites all of it — pinned toolchain, locked dependencies, declared external prerequisites — which is the difference between a suite that passes anywhere and one that passes on its author's machine. Depth → `SYNC:engineering-foundation-gate` **F1/F2/F3**.
>
> **Ownership:** Architecture/harness defines the matrix; scaffold/workflow makes it runnable; test writers implement tier-specific cases; reviewers verify the contract; the runner reports; seed-data owners preserve uniqueness, idempotency, realism, and accumulation integrity. Missing required evidence blocks setup completion.

<!-- /SYNC:test-architecture-execution-contract -->

<!-- SYNC:severity-rubric -->

> **Severity Rubric** — Classify every finding by consequence, not by effort, reviewer preference, or how annoying the fix is. One scale applies to every review, skill, agent, workflow, and host so a tier has the same meaning everywhere. Choose the highest credible consequence supported by evidence; do not lower a tier to make a round pass.
>
> **Finding vs observation (required):** An observation becomes a finding only when it names the affected user/system/data/contract, the shipped consequence, the evidence location, and the normalized tier. `INFO`, advice, preference, duplicate wording, or an unsubstantiated concern is not a finding and must not reopen a loop. If the concern might affect a required behavior or gate but evidence is incomplete, emit `NOT VERIFIABLE` with the missing evidence and keep it unresolved; never silently convert uncertainty into LOW.
>
> | Severity | Action | Definition and examples |
> | --- | --- | --- |
> | CRITICAL | Block immediately; escalate | Immediate material risk if shipped: authentication/authorization or safety bypass; secrets/PII exposure; irreversible destructive action; data loss/corruption; or a silent failure on a critical path. A failed binary gate that makes the result untrustworthy is represented as a separate synthetic blocker by the executable policy (not as an ordinary severity judgment). |
> | HIGH | Must fix before PASS/merge | Material correctness or contract risk: wrong behavior on a supported path; violated business/data invariant; meaningful privacy or authority gap; breaking API/schema/compatibility change; likely harm to users/downstream systems; or a missing proof for a behavior-changing fix. |
> | MEDIUM | Must clear the current round; escalate if the fix needs an owner decision | Bounded but consequential risk: an edge case, resilience/observability/testability/maintainability gap, credible future defect, or local architectural drift whose impact is real but not immediate material loss. An explicit follow-up records the escalation/residual risk; it does not make an open MEDIUM a clean pass. |
> | LOW | Record and defer; never open another fix/re-review round from round 2 onward | Non-blocking polish with no credible present correctness, security, privacy, authority, availability, or data-integrity impact: wording/formatting, minor documentation or convention drift, optional defensive cleanup, or a cosmetic/refinement suggestion. |
>
> **Consequence decision tree (apply in order):** (1) Is a binary gate failed? Keep it as a separate hard blocker (the executable helper represents it as synthetic CRITICAL); do not use the ordinary severity label to hide what failed. Otherwise, would shipping permit immediate material security/safety/authority harm, irreversible destruction, data loss/corruption, or a critical-path silent failure? → **CRITICAL**. (2) Otherwise, does a supported path, invariant, public contract, privacy/authority boundary, compatibility promise, or behavior-changing proof fail with material user/downstream impact? → **HIGH**. (3) Otherwise, is there a bounded but consequential edge, resilience, observability, testability, maintainability, or architectural gap with a credible impact? → **MEDIUM**. (4) Otherwise, is the evidence sufficient to show only non-blocking polish with no credible present material impact? → **LOW**. (5) If the evidence needed to choose between steps 1–4 is missing, → **NOT VERIFIABLE**, not LOW. When multiple tiers fit, select the highest credible consequence; effort, implementation cost, reviewer discomfort, frequency alone, and proximity to the round cap never decide the tier.
>
> **Boundary examples (normalize before applying the round predicate):** an auth bypass, exposed secret/PII, destructive command without an authority gate, or failed required test/generation/parity gate is **CRITICAL**; a wrong supported response, broken invariant/API/schema, meaningful privacy/authority defect, or unproven behavior-changing fix is **HIGH**; a bounded retry/timeout/alert/testability gap or credible maintainability drift is **MEDIUM**; a typo, formatting inconsistency, optional cleanup, or cosmetic suggestion proven not to affect present behavior is **LOW**. A missing fact about any of those boundaries is **NOT VERIFIABLE** until evidence or an explicitly documented residual-risk decision exists.
>
> **Classification procedure (required for every finding):** (1) state the affected user, system, data, contract, or gate; (2) assess consequence if the issue ships; (3) assess exposure/likelihood and reversibility/detectability; (4) select the highest tier justified by those facts; (5) cite `file:line` or equivalent evidence and a confidence percentage. Effort, implementation cost, reviewer discomfort, and proximity to the round cap are never severity inputs. `NOT VERIFIABLE` is a pending evidence state, not one of the four tiers and never a LOW escape hatch: if the unresolved claim could affect required behavior, security, privacy, authority, availability, data integrity, or a binary gate, it remains an open evidence blocker until resolved or explicitly owner-accepted with documented residual risk. Classify an item LOW only when evidence supports the absence of credible present material impact.
>
> **Hard-gate rule:** Binary gates (tests, required artifacts, security must-fix checks, generated parity, policy compliance) are not ordinary severity-rated findings. The executable helper records a failed gate as a synthetic CRITICAL blocker solely so one predicate can carry it; the report must still name the gate and failure evidence. A failed gate blocks at every round, including when all ordinary findings are LOW; never disguise a failed gate as LOW.
>
> **Score-based skills** map their numeric scale onto these tiers — do not invent a parallel vocabulary:
>
> - **0-2 criterion scoring** (e.g. production-readiness-review): `0` = CRITICAL/HIGH (criterion unmet, blocks readiness), `1` = MEDIUM (partial, consequential gap), `2` = pass (no finding). If the criterion is only polish, use LOW rather than forcing a `0`.
> - **Two-axis scoring** (e.g. performance-review, impact × likelihood): high impact + high exposure → CRITICAL/HIGH; material impact with bounded exposure → HIGH/MEDIUM; low impact and low exposure → LOW. Record the axes and why the selected tier is the highest credible consequence.
> - **Scorecards / `/20` grades** (e.g. architecture-scalability-review): the aggregate score and verdict band are separate from finding severity. A sub-80 area is evidence to investigate, not an automatic CRITICAL/HIGH/MEDIUM/LOW label; classify each underlying gap by the consequence decision tree and keep advisory score deductions separate from blocking findings.
>
> **Domain-vocabulary normalization (mandatory):** Specialized skills may keep a local reporting vocabulary, but it MUST feed this same four-tier round predicate — never a second severity system:
>
> - `BLOCKED`, `HARD FAIL`, or `FAIL` is a blocking local verdict, not an automatic CRITICAL label. Classify the underlying consequence as CRITICAL when it is an immediate material risk or failed binary gate; otherwise classify it as HIGH or MEDIUM with evidence, while preserving the local block until the owning gate is satisfied.
> - `WARN` is not permission to ignore a finding. Map it to MEDIUM when the gap is consequential, to LOW only when evidence supports no credible present material impact, or upward to HIGH/CRITICAL when the consequence warrants it. `PASS`/compliant is not a finding.
> - UI `P0`/`P1`/`P2`/`P3`/`P4` map to CRITICAL/HIGH/MEDIUM/LOW/LOW respectively as a starting point; override upward only when the evidence shows a higher shipped consequence. A P0/P1 accessibility or task-completion floor remains a blocking gate even when a local UI report calls it a priority rather than a severity.
> - Numeric SRE/readiness or impact/likelihood scores are evidence inputs, not replacement tiers. Emit the score, the consequence, and the normalized CRITICAL/HIGH/MEDIUM/LOW tier together. `INFO`/advisory observations are not findings unless the evidence shows a material consequence.
>
> A finding's tier drives the gate: CRITICAL/HIGH/MEDIUM remain actionable and blocking under the round policy; LOW may be tracked as a follow-up and, from round 2, does not by itself justify another fix/re-review. An owner decision may explain or schedule an open MEDIUM but does not turn it into a clean pass; owner acceptance never makes a failed binary gate pass and must record scope, rationale, and residual risk.

<!-- /SYNC:severity-rubric -->

<!-- SYNC:critical-thinking-mindset:reminder -->

**MUST ATTENTION** apply critical + sequential thinking — every claim needs appropriate traced evidence (`file:line` for repo/code claims; source URL or artifact section for research, product, content, and docs claims); confidence >80% to act, <60% DO NOT recommend. Anti-hallucination: never present guess as fact, admit uncertainty freely, cross-reference independently, stay skeptical of own confidence.

<!-- /SYNC:critical-thinking-mindset:reminder -->

<!-- SYNC:ai-mistake-prevention:reminder -->

**MUST ATTENTION** apply AI mistake prevention — verify generated content against evidence, trace downstream references before deleting or renaming, verify all affected outputs, re-read files after context loss, and surface ambiguity before acting.

<!-- /SYNC:ai-mistake-prevention:reminder -->

<!-- SYNC:task-tracking-external-report:reminder -->

- **MANDATORY** Bootstrap task tracking before target work; transition one task at a time.
- **MANDATORY** Persist plan/review findings to `plans/reports/` incrementally and synthesize from disk.

<!-- /SYNC:task-tracking-external-report:reminder -->

<!-- SYNC:project-reference-docs-guide:reminder -->

- **MANDATORY** Before investigating, planning, or coding, read `docs/project-config.json` (the project map: modules/paths, run-commands, conventions, architecture/workflow rules) + the required project-reference docs, and cite `Reference docs read: ...`.
- **MANDATORY** Load detail just in time immediately before the first target read/grep/edit/test; hooks may provide a pointer, but a hook event or prior turn is never evidence that the current files were read.
- **MANDATORY** Always include `lessons.md`; project config + conventions override generic framework defaults.
- **MANDATORY** If project config, root instruction files, or any required reference doc is missing or stale, auto-run `$project-init` or the narrow lower-level route before ordinary project-specific work. On compaction, resume, delegation, or a context change, re-read the required docs and restate the route before continuing.

<!-- /SYNC:project-reference-docs-guide:reminder -->

<!-- SYNC:nested-task-creation:reminder -->

- **MANDATORY** Parent workflow rows do not replace child phase tracking; expand phases and link the parent when nested.
- **MANDATORY** Orchestrators pre-expand child skill phases before invocation; use `[N.M] /skill-name — phase` prefixes and one-`in_progress` discipline.

<!-- /SYNC:nested-task-creation:reminder -->

<!-- SYNC:goal-contract-satisfaction-loop:reminder -->

- **MANDATORY** Resolve the active Goal Contract BEFORE work (active plan `goal.md` → `plans/goals/{YYMMDD-HHmm}-{slug}/goal.md` → create from current request) and read saved success criteria before editing.
- **MANDATORY** Append iteration evidence after execution; emit a Goal Satisfaction matrix (PASS/FAIL/BLOCKED) before reporting PASS; loop on validated FAIL; escalate repeated no-progress or blockers. NEVER store secrets in goal files.

<!-- /SYNC:goal-contract-satisfaction-loop:reminder -->

<!-- SYNC:project-protocol-overlay -->

> **Project Protocol Overlay** — Before executing this skill, resolve any PROJECT overlay rules layered onto it: match this skill's name against the `Target` column of the project's skill-protocol index (`docs/project-reference/skill-protocols-reference.md` by default; a `referenceDocs` entry in `docs/project-config.json` overrides the path), taking the most specific matching tier ONLY — exact name > glob > `*`. **That precedence orders overlays against EACH OTHER, never against this skill.** Read ONLY the matched bodies, resolved as `<protocols-dir>/<Name>.md`; a row's Body link is display text, never a read path. A matched body that is missing or malformed is REPORTED and skipped — never reconstructed from the index Description. No index, or no match -> proceed with no overlay, silently. Full contract: `.claude/skills/project-skill-protocol/references/registry.md`.
>
> Overlays are **ADDITIVE ONLY**: they ADD rules on top of this skill's own protocol and NEVER replace, override, disable, or reinterpret a rule it already states — removing every overlay must return this skill to exactly its documented behavior. An overlay is a BRIEF, not an authority escalation: it can NEVER waive a workflow gate, git discipline, a review gate, or a user-confirmation gate. A genuine overlay-vs-skill conflict, or two equally-specific overlays that directly contradict -> surface both to the user; NEVER resolve silently.

<!-- /SYNC:project-protocol-overlay -->

<!-- SYNC:project-protocol-overlay:reminder -->

**MUST ATTENTION** resolve project protocol overlays for this skill BEFORE executing — most specific matching tier only (exact > glob > `*`, which ranks overlays against each other, NEVER against this skill), read only matched bodies at `<protocols-dir>/<Name>.md`; a missing or malformed body is reported, never reconstructed. Overlays are ADDITIVE ONLY (they never replace this skill's own rules) and are a brief, NEVER an authority escalation; an equal-specificity contradiction goes to the user.

<!-- /SYNC:project-protocol-overlay:reminder -->

<!-- SYNC:test-architecture-execution-contract:reminder -->

**MUST ATTENTION** Before implementation, record evidence-backed Unit/Integration/System/E2E **and Performance/Scale** (`T1+`/`B2+`) applicability (or explicit N/A), copy-ready full + focused commands, zero-match behavior, a simple/Windows entry point, **the host-mode AND container-mode commands where both are supported, plus each tier's environment reach (local / CI / production-shaped)**, unique run identity, realistic valid data, idempotent/restart-safe reference setup, intentional additive accumulation, parallel isolation, exact results, and two no-reset full runs for each applicable persistent-state suite. **Both claimed run modes must be EXERCISED** (an unexercised mode rots; a claimed-but-rotten mode is worse than one never claimed), the same suite reaches every target **parameterized by config, never by forked test code**, a missing capability reports `ENVIRONMENT-BLOCKED` rather than passing silently, and *"runs in prod"* means a safe, declared, **NON-MUTATING** subset excluded by an enforced mechanism, not by convention.

<!-- /SYNC:test-architecture-execution-contract:reminder -->

<!-- SYNC:severity-rubric:reminder -->

- **MANDATORY** Classify every finding Critical/High/Medium/Low by consequence using the affected asset, shipped impact, exposure, reversibility, evidence location, and confidence; Critical/High/MEDIUM remain actionable under the round bar, while LOW is recorded/deferred from round 2 onward.
- **MANDATORY** Keep binary gates separate from severity: a failed test, security must-fix, required artifact, or parity check blocks at every round and is never relabeled LOW.
- **MANDATORY** Score-based skills (sre 0-2, perf two-axis) map onto the same four tiers — no parallel severity vocabulary.

<!-- /SYNC:severity-rubric:reminder -->

## Closing Reminders

**IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION** Testability contract: resolve evidence-backed Unit/Integration/System/E2E rows, copy-ready full/focused commands, zero-match failures, owner/root/data, CI/simple-Windows entry, unique run identity, and repeat proof before claiming setup, review, or test completion.
**IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION Goal:** Write or update spec-first integration tests from canonical TCs, review them through seven quality gates, and prove the relevant suite passes twice consecutively without DB reset.

**IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION Main steps:** `$investigate` (read domain source first) → `$spec [mode=tests]` → `$why-review` → `$artifact-review --type=spec-tests` → `$integration-test` → `$integration-test-review` → `$integration-test-verify` (whole relevant suite, two runs, no DB reset) → `$spec [mode=sync]` → `$docs-update` → `$workflow-end` → `$watzup`. **NEVER** write smoke-only tests, bypass real-use-case setup, or declare verification without runner output.

**Protocols in force (concise digest of the SYNC/shared blocks this skill carries):** MUST ATTENTION honor every protocol below — each is a signpost to its canonical body above.

- **AI Mistakes:** holistic-first debug, fix at responsible layer, surgical diff, verify all outputs.
- **Nested Tasks:** expand child phases, link parent workflow row when nested.
- **Project Reference Docs:** read required docs first, cite, `lessons.md` always.
- **Task Tracking:** bootstrap tasks; persist plan/review findings to disk incrementally.
- **Critical Thinking:** traced `file:line` proof, confidence >80%, never guess.
- **Incremental Persistence:** append findings per file to report; never hold in memory.
- **Sub-Agent Return Contract:** sub-agents return summary-only with `Full report:` pointer.

**IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION** break work into small todo tasks using task tracking BEFORE starting
**IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION** read handler source BEFORE writing ANY assertion — domain logic first, test code second
**IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION** NEVER write smoke-only tests — every test MUST assert specific field values in the database
**IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION** ALWAYS wrap DB assertions in the project's async polling helper — no exceptions
**IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION** cite `file:line` evidence for every claim (confidence >80% to act)
**IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION** add a final review todo task to verify work quality

**[TASK-PLANNING]** Before acting, analyze task scope and systematically break it into small todo tasks and sub-tasks using task tracking.

> **[IMPORTANT]** Analyze how big the task is and break it into many small todo tasks systematically before starting — this is very important.

<!-- CODEX:SYNC-PROMPT-PROTOCOLS:START -->
## Static Prompt Protocol Mirror (Auto-Synced)

Source: `.claude/.ck.json` + `.claude/skills/shared/sync-inline-versions.md` (`:full` blocks) + `.claude/scripts/lib/hookless-prompt-protocol.cjs` (legacy filename; static protocol composer)

## [WORKFLOW-EXECUTION-PROTOCOL] [BLOCKING] Workflow Execution Protocol — MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST CRITICAL. Do not skip for any reason.

**Generic portability boundary:** Reusable skills and protocol text stay project-neutral; project-specific conventions are discovered from docs/project-config.json and docs/project-reference/. Apply shared AI-SDD from `shared/sdd-artifact-contract.md`. Read `docs/project-config.json` and `docs/project-reference/docs-index-reference.md`, then open the project reference docs named there immediately before the first target read, grep, edit, test, or analysis. For spec, test-case, behavior-change, public-contract, or `docs/specs/` work, route through the local spec docs named by the docs index: `feature-spec-reference.md`, `spec-system-reference.md`, `spec-principles.md`, and `workflow-spec-test-code-cycle-reference.md` when specs/tests/code must stay synchronized. If either file or a required reference doc is missing or stale, auto-run `$project-init` (or the narrow lower-level route such as `$project-config`, `$docs-init`, `$scan-all`, or `$scan --target=<key>`) before ordinary project-specific work. After compaction, resume, delegation, or a material context change, re-read the required docs and state `Reference docs read: ... | Not applicable: ...`; a hook reminder or prior conversation is not proof that the files are loaded. Any supported AI tool may execute when this shared context and local docs are available.

1. **DETECT:** If the prompt starts with an explicit slash skill/workflow command, execute it directly. Otherwise match the prompt against the workflow catalog and skill list.
2. **ANALYZE:** Choose the best option: execute directly, invoke a skill, activate a standard workflow, or compose a custom step combination.
3. **AUTO-SELECT:** Pick the best option yourself. Do not ask the user to choose between direct execution, skill, standard workflow, or custom workflow.
4. **ACTIVATE:** For a selected workflow, call `$start-workflow <workflowId>`; for a selected skill, invoke that skill; for a custom workflow, sequence custom steps directly; for direct execution, proceed with the task.
5. **CREATE TASKS:** task tracking for ALL workflow/skill/custom steps before execution when the selected path has multiple steps.
6. **PARALLELIZE:** Before executing the task list, tag each task `PAR` (independent inputs + write set disjoint from every other `PAR` task) or `SEQ` (name the blocking dependency), group `PAR` tasks into waves, declare the wave plan, and spawn each wave's sub-agents in ONE message — all-return barrier per wave, fan-out one level deep unless a sub-agent's own definition authorizes further fan-out. Sequential-by-default is a defect when tasks are independent; do not parallelize shared write targets, output-consuming tasks, trivial single-file work, ordering a skill or workflow explicitly fixes, or user-approval gates.
7. **EXECUTE:** Advance per the **Workflow Step Advancement & Parallel Phases** rule in your context instructions — model-driven; a sub-agent completion advances a step identically to an inline call; a parallel-phase group is an all-return barrier (advance only after ALL members return, never serialize it)
## Shared AI-SDD Protocol Markers

Source: `.claude/skills/shared/sync-inline-versions.md`

## SYNC:ai-sdd-artifact-contract

> **AI-SDD Artifact Contract** — Shared spec-driven development rules stay portable and source-owned.
>
> 1. Keep reusable AI-SDD principles in `.claude`; put repository-specific paths, commands, owners, products, and formats in project config/reference docs.
> 2. Preserve cycle: `spec -> plan -> tasks -> implement -> verify -> update spec/docs`.
> 3. Trace every requirement or invariant through decision, task, TC/test, source evidence, and docs/spec update.
> 4. Treat code-to-spec extraction as reference-only until accepted by the canonical spec owner.
> 5. Any supported AI tool may plan, implement, review, or verify with synced context; using multiple tools is optional.
> 6. Update `.claude` source first, then sync generated mirrors; do not manually edit `.agents`, `.codex`, or `AGENTS.md`. — why: mirrors are generated artifacts; hand-edits are overwritten on the next sync
> 7. If `docs/project-config.json`, root instruction files, or a required project-reference doc is missing or stale, auto-run `$project-init` or the narrow lower-level route before ordinary project-specific work.
>
> **Active reference:** `shared/sdd-artifact-contract.md` in the active skills root.

---

## SYNC:ai-sdd-artifact-contract:reminder

- **MANDATORY** Apply `shared/sdd-artifact-contract.md`; keep reusable AI-SDD in `.claude` and local rules in project docs.
- **MANDATORY** Code-to-spec extraction is reference-only until canonical acceptance; any supported AI tool may execute with synced context.
- **MANDATORY** Update `.claude` source before syncing generated mirrors; do not manually edit `.agents`, `.codex`, or `AGENTS.md`.
- **MANDATORY** Missing or stale project config, root instruction files, or required reference docs route project-specific work through `$project-init` or the narrow setup route automatically.
**[TASK-PLANNING] [MANDATORY]** BEFORE executing any workflow or skill step, create/update task tracking for all planned steps, then keep it synchronized as each step starts/completes.
## [LESSON-LEARNED-REMINDER] [BLOCKING] Task Planning & Continuous Improvement — MANDATORY. Do not skip.

Break work into small tasks (task tracking) before starting. Add final task: "Analyze AI mistakes & lessons learned".

**Extract lessons — ROOT CAUSE ONLY, not symptom fixes:**
1. Name the FAILURE MODE (reasoning/assumption failure), not symptom — "assumed API existed without reading source" not "used wrong enum value".
2. Generality test: does this failure mode apply to ≥3 contexts/codebases? If not, abstract one level up.
3. Write as a universal rule — strip project-specific names/paths/classes. Useful on any codebase.
4. Consolidate: multiple mistakes sharing one failure mode → ONE lesson.
5. **Recurrence gate:** "Would this recur in future session WITHOUT this reminder?" — No → skip `$learn`.
6. **Auto-fix gate:** "Could `$code-review`/`$code-simplifier`/`$security-review`/`$lint` catch this?" — Yes → improve review skill instead.
7. BOTH gates pass → ask user to run `$learn`.
**[CRITICAL-THINKING-MINDSET]** Apply critical thinking, sequential thinking. Every claim needs traced proof, confidence >80% to act.
**Anti-hallucination principle:** Never present guess as fact — cite sources for every claim, admit uncertainty freely, self-check output for errors, cross-reference independently, stay skeptical of own confidence — certainty without evidence root of all hallucination.
**AI Attention principle (Primacy-Recency):** Put the 3 most critical rules at both top and bottom of long prompts/protocols so instruction adherence survives long context windows.
**Goal-driven execution:** Define success criteria first, loop until verified, and stop only when observable checks pass.
**Tests verify intent:** Tests must protect business rules/invariants and fail when the protected intent breaks, not only mirror current behavior.
## Common AI Mistake Prevention (System Lessons)

- **Re-read files after context compaction.** Edit requires prior Read in same context; compaction wipes read state. Re-read before editing.
- **Grep for old terms after bulk replacements.** AI over-trusts find/replace completeness. Grep full repo after bulk edits for missed refs in docs/configs/catalogs.
- **Check downstream references before deleting.** Deletions cascade doc/code staleness. Map referencing files before removal.
- **After memory loss, check existing state before creating new.** Compaction wipes prior-work memory. Query current state to resume — never blindly duplicate.
- **Verify AI-generated content against actual code.** AI hallucinates APIs, class names, method signatures. Grep to confirm existence before documenting/referencing.
- **Trace full dependency chain after edits.** Changing a definition misses downstream consumers. Trace the full chain.
- **When renaming, grep ALL consumer file types.** Some file types silently ignore missing refs (no compile error). Search code, templates, configs, generated files.
- **Trace ALL code paths when verifying correctness.** Code existing ≠ code executing. Trace early exits, error branches, conditional skips — not just happy path.
- **Update docs that embed canonical data when source changes.** Docs inlining derived data (workflows, schemas, configs) go stale silently. Update all embedding docs alongside source.
- **Verify sub-agent results after context recovery.** Background agents may finish while parent compacted — grep-verify output, don't trust assumed completion.
- **Cross-check full target list against sub-agent assignments.** Parallel sub-agents by category miss boundary items. Reconcile union of assignments against target list before proceeding.
- **Sub-agents inherit knowledge only from their agent .md definition — use custom agent types, not built-in Explore.** Tool adoption = permission + knowledge + enforcement (numbered workflow step).
- **Persist sub-agent findings incrementally, not as a final batch.** Long sub-agents hit cutoffs before final write — findings lost. Instruct append-per-section to report file.
- **When debugging, ask "whose responsibility?" before fixing.** Trace caller (wrong data) vs callee (wrong handling). Fix at responsible layer — never patch symptom site.
- **Test failure → record a provisional verdict before trace/edit, then investigate.** Use the full five-way taxonomy: SOURCE-WRONG (production violates intent), TEST-WRONG (assertion/setup is stale), TEST-NOT-OPTIMAL (valid but fragile or low-signal test), ENVIRONMENT-BLOCKED (external state prevents a verdict), or AMBIGUOUS (intent/evidence cannot choose safely). Then trace root cause and triangulate against the governing spec (`docs/specs/**` if one exists) AND source. NEVER weaken an assertion, add a skip, relax a timeout, or change source merely to force green.
- **Grep ALL removed names after extraction/refactoring.** Primary file "done" ≠ secondary files clean. Grep entire scope for every removed symbol before declaring complete.
- **Assume existing values are intentional — ask WHY before changing OR flagging one as a defect.** Pattern-matching as "wrong" skips context. Before changing or reporting any constant/limit/flag/cutoff: read comments, git blame, the CALLER's ordering (the guarantee that makes the value correct usually lives in code running immediately BEFORE the cited line), and 2+ sibling call sites of the same convention. A doc stating WHAT without WHY is missing rationale, not proof of a missing guard — and in a validation pass, an accurate `file:line` citation proves the transcription, never the defect.
- **Verify ALL affected outputs, not just the first.** One build green ≠ all green. Multi-stack changes (backend/frontend/tests/docs) require verifying EVERY output.
- **Evaluate fit before copying a nearby pattern.** Closest example ≠ matching preconditions — verify the new context shares the same constraints, base classes, scope, lifetime.
- **Holistic-first debugging — resist nearest-attention trap.** Don't dive into first plausible cause. List EVERY precondition (config, env vars, paths, DB, endpoints, creds, versions, DI, data). Verify each against evidence (grep/query — not reasoning). Ask "what would falsify this?" — if nothing, it's not a hypothesis. Most expensive failure: going deeper in "obvious" layer while bug sits in layer never questioned.
- **Surgical changes — apply the diff test (context-aware).** Two modes: (1) Bug fix → every line traces to the bug; no restyling; orphan cleanup only for imports YOUR changes made unused. (2) Review/enhancement → implement improvements AND announce as "Enhancement beyond main request: [what]". Never silently scope-creep. Diff test: "Would this line exist if I wasn't asked to do X?" — if no, delete or announce.
- **Surface ambiguity before coding — don't pick silently.** Multiple valid interpretations → present each with effort: "[Request] could mean (1) [N h], (2) [N h]. Which matters?" List scope/format/volume/constraints assumptions first. If simpler path exists, say so. Never silently pick.
- **[MANDATORY FIRST ACTION] ALWAYS activate a suitable skill or workflow BEFORE responding.** Match task against workflow catalog + skill list; invoke via skill invocation or `$start-workflow <workflowId>`. NEVER answer or write code before checking. Skip = protocol violation.
- **Why-Review adversarial mindset — apply when reviewing any plan, decision, or design.** Default SKEPTIC not VALIDATOR: steel-man a rejected alternative, invert each stated reason ("what does it sacrifice?"), stress-test top 2-3 assumptions, run pre-mortem ("ships, fails in 3 months — what breaks?"), surface 1-2 alternatives author missed. Section presence ≠ quality; quality = causal reasoning + concrete mitigations + evidence, not "it's better" or "monitor closely".
- **Front-load report-write in sub-agent prompts for large reviews.** Many-file sub-agents hit budget before final write — findings lost. Design prompts so: (1) report-write is first explicit deliverable, (2) append per-file/section (not batched), (3) scope bounded so reads don't exhaust budget. Truncated mid-sentence with no report file → spawn narrower scope, don't retry same prompt.
- **After context compaction, re-verify all prior phase outcomes before continuing.** Summaries describe intent, not environment state (git index, filesystem, processes). On resume, FIRST audit: git status, re-read modified files, verify filesystem. Every "completed" claim is an untested hypothesis until evidence confirms.
- **OOM/memory: check row count before row size.** Triage: (1) Unbounded query — no DB filter for trigger? Push filter to DB; eliminates OOM. (2) Large rows? Projection reduces proportionally. Row reduction > projection in ROI.
- **Assert the outcome your system OWNS, never the intermediate state your INFRASTRUCTURE owns.** When testing anything asynchronous (queue/broker delivery, retries, background jobs, caches, replication), assert the final business/entity state. NEVER assert the delivery bookkeeping — consume/send status, attempt counts, last-error, row existence or counts in a broker, scheduler, or outbox/inbox table. That bookkeeping lives in shared infrastructure that ANY co-running process (a peer worker, a second replica, a leftover local container) can write, usually under a deterministic shared key, so the assertion silently tests the developer's environment instead of the system: green when run alone, flaky the instant anything else shares that broker + database. Gate question for every assertion: "would this hold no matter WHICH process did the work?" — if no, assert the converged data state instead. Corollary: process-local fault injection and in-process telemetry cannot gate work any process may perform — use them as stress amplifiers (arm → bounded window → disarm → assert convergence), never as preconditions.
- **Keep domain concepts out of generic/shared/infrastructure layers.** Reusable layer (shared library, framework, infra module) must reference NO consumer-specific domain concept — tenant/customer/product IDs, business entities, feature rules. Leak compiles + runs → passes review silently while coupling the "reusable" layer to one consumer. Keep shared type domain-free; push domain fields/logic down into the consumer via subclass/composition. — why: a layer coupled to one consumer's domain is no longer reusable.

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