Golden Principles

---
name: golden-principles
version: 1.0.0
description: Scan repository for golden principle violations with agent-readable remediation. Enforces GP-001 through GP-008 from .agents/governance/golden-principles.md. Use when auditing compliance, preparing PRs, or running garbage collection scans.
license: MIT
---

# Golden Principles

Scan the repository for violations of mechanically enforced golden principles.
Produces remediation instructions that agents can act on directly.

<!-- vendor-portability: declared. This skill enforces GP-001 through GP-008 defined in .agents/governance/golden-principles.md and cites that document plus .claude/skills/ siblings. The governance file is the upstream rule source; a vendored install without it loses the canonical principle text, while the bundled scanner still applies its built-in GP-001 and GP-003 through GP-006 checks against the consumer's files (GP-002 is enforced elsewhere, not by this scanner). Issue #2050. -->

Inspired by [OpenAI Harness Engineering](https://openai.com/index/harness-engineering/):

> "We started encoding what we call 'golden principles' directly into the repository
> and built a recurring cleanup process."

## Triggers

| Trigger Phrase | Operation |
|----------------|-----------|
| `scan golden principles` | Full principle compliance scan |
| `check principle compliance` | Scan with summary report |
| `golden principle violations` | Scan and list violations |
| `run garbage collection` | Deep scan with fix-up recommendations |
| `audit principles` | Scan specific rules only |

## When to Use

Use this skill when:

- Preparing a PR for submission (catch violations early)
- Running periodic garbage collection scans
- Auditing a domain or directory for compliance
- Adding new files to the repository

Use `taste-lints` instead when:

- Checking code-level invariants only (file size, naming, complexity)
- Running pre-commit checks on staged files

Use `quality-grades` instead when:

- Grading domains across architectural layers
- Producing quality trend reports

## Process

1. Run `python3 .claude/skills/golden-principles/scripts/scan_principles.py` with target
2. Review AGENT_REMEDIATION blocks in output
3. Apply suggested fixes
4. Re-run to confirm compliance

## Usage

```bash
# Scan entire repository
python3 .claude/skills/golden-principles/scripts/scan_principles.py

# Scan specific directory
python3 .claude/skills/golden-principles/scripts/scan_principles.py --directory .claude/skills/

# Scope to a pull request diff (only files changed vs the base branch)
python3 .claude/skills/golden-principles/scripts/scan_principles.py --diff-scope "origin/$BASE_BRANCH"

# Run specific rules only
python3 .claude/skills/golden-principles/scripts/scan_principles.py --rules script-language,skill-frontmatter

# JSON output for tooling
python3 .claude/skills/golden-principles/scripts/scan_principles.py --format json

# Write results to file
python3 .claude/skills/golden-principles/scripts/scan_principles.py --output scan-results.json --format json
```

## Rules

| Rule | Principle | What it checks |
|------|-----------|----------------|
| `script-language` | GP-001 | No new .sh/.bash files |
| `skill-frontmatter` | GP-003 | SKILL.md has required frontmatter fields |
| `agent-definition` | GP-004 | Agent .md files have required sections |
| `yaml-logic` | GP-005 | No inline logic in workflow YAML |
| `actions-pinned` | GP-006 | GitHub Actions pinned to SHA |

GP-002, GP-007, GP-008 are enforced by existing tools (git hooks, taste-lints).

## Exit Codes

| Code | Meaning |
|------|---------|
| 0 | No violations found |
| 1 | Script error (bad arguments, file not found) |
| 10 | Violations detected |

## Scripts

| Script | Purpose | Exit codes |
|---|---|---|
| `scripts/scan_principles.py` | Scan a path (repo, directory, or diff scope) for GP-001..GP-006 violations and emit AGENT_REMEDIATION blocks. Supports `--directory`, `--diff-scope`, `--rules`, `--format`, `--output`. | `0` no violations; `10` violations detected; `1` tool error (bad arguments, file not found). |

## Suppression

Add a comment in the file header to suppress a specific rule:

```python
# golden-principle: ignore script-language
```

Valid rules: `script-language`, `skill-frontmatter`, `agent-definition`, `yaml-logic`, `actions-pinned`

## Verification

After execution, run the bundled validator and require exit 0:

```bash
python3 .claude/skills/golden-principles/scripts/scan_principles.py <path>
echo "exit=$?"   # 0 = clean, 10 = violations found, 1 = tool error
```

- [ ] Exit 0 to pass; exit 10 means violations exist and must be reported with principle ID and remediation
- [ ] Exit 1 (tool error) is a BLOCKED result, not a pass
- [ ] Report lists scanned file count
- [ ] Output format matches --format flag

## References

- [Code Qualities](references/design-code-qualities.md) - Five foundational qualities: cohesion, coupling, non-redundancy, encapsulation, testability
- [SOLID Principles](references/design-solid-principles.md) - SRP, OCP, LSP, ISP, DIP with violation signs and code examples
- [Programming by Intention](references/design-programming-by-intention.md) - Sergeant pattern for expressing intent over implementation
- [Separation of Concerns](references/design-separation-of-concerns.md) - Decomposition at method, class, layer, and service levels
- [DRY Principle](references/design-dry-principle.md) - Single authoritative representation with scope, violations, and when NOT to DRY

## Cross-References

- Golden Principles Document: `.agents/governance/golden-principles.md`
- [Taste Lints](../taste-lints/SKILL.md) for GP-007, GP-008
- [Quality Grades](../quality-grades/SKILL.md) for domain-level grading