np-help-discipline

name	np-help-discipline
description	Use when about to invoke an `np` (nitpicking) command, subcommand, or flag that has not been verified in the current session, or when unsure whether a flag or subcommand exists. Also use as the escape hatch for any `np` activity not covered by another skill (e.g., `np issue reopen`, `np issue undefer`, `np epic close-completed`, `np admin backup`, `np agent name`, `np json update`).

np-help-discipline

Overview

np exposes a large command tree, and only the most common activities have dedicated skills. The single rule that keeps the rest safe is: never fabricate an np command, subcommand, or flag — always run --help first.

The rule

Before invoking any np command, subcommand, or flag whose exact shape is not already known, run --help on the most specific level available. Read the output. Then invoke the real command.

$ np --help                     # top-level commands
$ np rel --help                 # rel subcommands
$ np rel add --help             # rel add usage and flags
$ np json create --help         # required and optional fields, flags
$ np claim --help               # claim modes and flag shapes

--help is the authoritative reference for the CLI surface. Hidden commands and hidden flags are forbidden by project policy, so anything real shows up there.

When this skill applies

• The other np-* skills cover finding work, finishing work, reading issues, creating issues, commenting, labeling, and managing relationships. For anything outside those activities — reopening a closed issue, undeferring a deferred one, batch-closing completed epics, taking a backup, generating an agent name, updating an issue's fields after creation — start here.
• If a covered skill mentions a flag or subcommand without spelling out its full syntax, run --help on that subcommand before guessing.

Examples of activities that route through --help

Activity	Where to start
Reopen a closed issue	np issue reopen --help
Undefer a deferred issue	np issue undefer --help
Batch-close completed epics	np epic close-completed --help
Take a backup before destructive work	np admin backup --help
Generate a stable agent name	np agent name --help
Update fields on a claimed issue	np json update --help
List children of an epic	np epic children --help

What this skill does not do

It does not enumerate every np command (that is what --help is for). It does not replace the dedicated activity skills when one of them applies — prefer the targeted skill, then fall back here.

Common mistakes

• Fabricating a flag from memory. np evolves; flags rename. Verify every time the command is unfamiliar.
• Skipping --help because the command "looks obvious." Subcommands often have non-obvious required flags (e.g., --author, --claim).
• Reading the project rules file as a substitute for --help. The rules file documents conventions; --help documents the current binary.