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Detects and redirects scope creep during implementation. Catches unrequested features, unnecessary refactoring, and over-engineering.
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Based on SOC occupation classification
Dispatches research agents to find real projects, papers, and documented failures before proposing any feature, architecture, or technology choice. Triggers on creative/design tasks, not on implementation of already-designed specs.
Validates completed work against defined acceptance criteria. Use after completing a task that has specific success criteria defined in issues, specs, or task descriptions.
Generates edge case, failure mode, and spec-driven test cases. Covers boundary values, nil inputs, concurrency, resource exhaustion, malformed data, and requirement-linked traceability tests.
Detects and prevents shortcut rationalization — when the agent is about to skip a step, simplify a requirement, or optimize away a constraint. Triggers proactively when rationalization patterns are noticed.
Provides a persistent cross-session task queue for work that should be done but isn't blocking current tasks. Enables background and future-session work tracking.
Safely integrates commits from parallel agent branches using sequential cherry-pick. Use after parallel work completes in isolated branches or worktrees.
| name | vibe-scope-guard |
| description | Detects and redirects scope creep during implementation. Catches unrequested features, unnecessary refactoring, and over-engineering. |
| user-invocable | true |
The best code is the code you don't write. Stay focused on what was asked.
Watch for these patterns:
| Signal | Example | Response |
|---|---|---|
| Unrequested features | "While I'm here, let me add caching" | Stop. Was caching requested? |
| Premature abstraction | "Let me create a generic helper for this" | Is it used more than once? |
| Gold plating | "Let me add comprehensive error messages for every case" | Only at system boundaries |
| Refactoring drive-by | "This function could be cleaner" | Was refactoring requested? |
| Over-engineering | "Let me make this configurable" | Does anyone need configuration? |
| Documentation creep | "Let me add docstrings to all these functions" | Only to functions you changed |
| Test over-expansion | "Let me test every possible input" | Test the boundaries, not every input |
Three similar lines of code is better than a premature abstraction.
Before adding anything not explicitly requested, ask:
When you detect scope creep:
This skill doesn't produce formal output. It modifies behavior. When triggered explicitly:
Original request: [what was asked] Current work: [what's being done] Scope additions detected: X
| Addition | Requested? | Necessary? | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|---|
| [extra work] | No | No | Remove |
