| name | update-charter |
| description | Use this skill when the user wants to change `docs/CHARTER.md` or make significant changes to `CONTRIBUTING.md`. Triggers on "let's change the charter", "update the principles", "amend the charter", "change how we work". Charter and significant convention changes go through RFC review, not direct PR. |
Skill: update-charter
Edits to docs/CHARTER.md are not normal PRs — they change the foundational
document for the project. CONTRIBUTING.md changes that affect how all
contributors and agents work are similarly high-leverage. Both go through RFC
review.
When an RFC is required
- Any change to
docs/CHARTER.md mission, scope, or principles.
- Any change to
CONTRIBUTING.md that adds, removes, or modifies a workflow
rule (e.g. changing the YAML-first discipline, phase discipline, commit
format, or PR requirements).
When a normal PR is enough
- Typo fixes, broken link fixes, formatting in either file.
- Adding a concrete example or clarification that doesn't change the rule.
- Adding a new crate-scope to the commit format example list.
If you're unsure, err toward RFC: the cost of an extra RFC is small; the cost
of an unannounced rule change is large.
Procedure
-
Push back if the user starts editing docs/CHARTER.md directly.
Charter changes are high-leverage and should be deliberated, per the
charter's own "When to revise" section.
-
Open an RFC instead. Use the new-rfc skill, scoping the RFC to the
specific change. The RFC's Proposal section should contain the exact
edited text — the diff, essentially — so reviewers know precisely what
they're approving.
-
After the RFC is accepted, the actual edit to CHARTER.md or
CONTRIBUTING.md is a small PR that cites the RFC in the commit footer:
docs(charter): <one-line summary>
Implements RFC-NNNN.
-
Update the RFC's Follow-on artifacts section to point at the merged
commit.
