Pre-flight checklist and post-implementation self-review protocol. Use before generating any code (pre-flight) and after writing code but before verification (self-review) to catch issues early.
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---
name: guardrails
description: Pre-flight checklist and post-implementation self-review protocol. Use before generating any code (pre-flight) and after writing code but before verification (self-review) to catch issues early.
---
# Agent Guardrails Skill
## Purpose
Structured checklists that ensure the agent considers all applicable rules before and after writing code. Catches issues that would otherwise only surface during verification.
## When to Invoke
- **Pre-Flight:** At the start of Phase 2 (Implement), before writing any code
- **Self-Review:** At the end of Phase 2 (Implement), after writing code but before Phase 3/4
---
## Pre-Flight Checklist
Run through this checklist **before writing any code**:
- [ ] Identified all applicable rules from `.agents/rules/`
- [ ] Searched for existing patterns in codebase (Pattern Discovery Protocol from `architectural-pattern.md`)
- [ ] Confirmed project structure alignment (`project-structure.md`)
- [ ] Identified I/O boundaries that need abstraction
- [ ] Determined test strategy (unit/integration/E2E)
- [ ] Reviewed `rule-priority.md` for any potential conflicts
- [ ] Checked for existing structured specs (PRD/SDD/TSD/BDD/Plan) and identified applicable contracts (`CT-*`) and requirements (`REQ-*`)
If any item cannot be checked, **stop and resolve** before proceeding.
---
## Post-Implementation Self-Review
Run through this checklist **after writing code, before verification**:
### Security
- [ ] No hardcoded secrets or configuration values
- [ ] All user input validated at system boundaries
- [ ] Parameterized queries (no string concatenation for SQL)
### Testability
- [ ] All I/O operations behind interfaces/abstractions
- [ ] Business logic is pure (no side effects in calculations)
- [ ] Dependencies injected, not hardcoded
### Observability
- [ ] All public operation entry points logged (start/success/failure)
- [ ] Structured logging with correlation IDs
- [ ] Appropriate log levels (not everything is INFO)
### Error Handling
> For universal error handling principles, see `.agents/rules/error-handling-principles.md`. Below: language-specific patterns only.
- [ ] Error paths handled explicitly (no empty catch blocks)
- [ ] Errors provide context (wrapped with additional info)
- [ ] Resources cleaned up in error paths (defer/finally)
### Testing
- [ ] Tests cover happy path
- [ ] Tests cover at least 2 error paths
- [ ] Tests cover edge cases relevant to the domain
- [ ] If I/O adapters were modified: integration tests exist and pass
- [ ] If UI was modified: E2E tests exist (or Phase 3.5 is planned)
### Consistency
- [ ] Follows existing codebase patterns (>80% consistency)
- [ ] Naming conventions match the codebase
- [ ] File organization matches `project-structure.md`
---
## Language-Specific Self-Review
After completing the universal checklist above, load the relevant language-specific checklist from `code-review/languages/{language}.md`. The language files contain both review anti-patterns and self-review checklists.
> Only load the file for languages you are actively writing. If a language is not listed, skip — but the universal checklist above always applies.
---
## Rule Compliance
This skill enforces:
- All mandates (always-on rules)
- Architectural Patterns @architectural-pattern.md
- Testing Strategy @testing-strategy.md
- Rule Priority @rule-priority.md
