| name | change-safety |
| description | Blast-radius protocol before code changes — name the surface, list coupled neighbors, run paired checks, and smoke UI/chrome/messengers that unit tests miss. Use when implementing, fixing, refactoring, reviewing risk, or when the user says don't break anything / check neighbors / change safety.
|
| version | 1.0.0 |
| author | Remedy |
| tags | ["quality","regression","safety","coding","review"] |
Change-safety (blast radius)
Ship gates catch red tests. This skill catches “fixed A, broke B.”
Run this before multi-file work (and again before commit/ship).
When to use
- Implement / fix / refactor / “don't break X”
- Desktop shell, messengers, browser embed, settings, concurrent chat
- Any monorepo or multi-surface app (desktop + web, agent + gateway)
Steps (always)
1. Name the change
One sentence: what user- or API-visible behavior changes?
2. Classify the surface
Pick primary (+ secondary): chat/ReAct · messengers/gateway · desktop chrome ·
workspace rails (browser/terminal) · settings/secrets · docs-only · release/packaging.
3. Blast-radius questions
- Same SPA / shared frontend? UI change may need rebuild + server restart for WebUI.
- Two processes? Sidecar + UI, dual pollers, dual port owners — avoid fights.
- Cross-path? Desktop stream vs messenger vs legacy chat — session provider/model.
- OS / Windows-only? Paths, secrets, WebView2, installers — reason about those.
- Hard to unit-test? Title bar, tray, embedded browser, live bots → manual smoke.
- Known failure class? Prefer architecture that removes the class (e.g. OS window
decorations for min/max/close; exclusive poll lock for Telegram) over another patch.
4. Paired checks
| If you touch… | Also verify… |
|---|
| Gateway / Telegram | Single poller; inbound + outbound; no 409 thrash |
| Session stream / LLM | Provider switch isolation; messenger uses session LLM |
| SSE / messages UI | No force-reload mid-stream |
| Window chrome | OS min/max/close; tray; close-to-tray; quit |
| Browser rail | Load works; popout chrome clickable; external open |
| Settings / secrets | Save + reconnect; no secrets in plain config |
| Docs | Sync/check scripts the project uses |
| Version / release | All version surfaces aligned |
5. Manual smoke (when chrome / messengers / browser touched)
One clean instance: launch → short chat → window controls → browser rail →
messenger round-trip (if enabled) → full quit → relaunch (no dual serve).
6. Neighbor rule before commit
List files you did not edit that couple to this change and confirm tested or
safe. If unsure: targeted test or commit note Risk: … / Smoke: ….
7. What CI does not prove
CI does not click title bars, drive Telegram, or exercise multiwebview on a real
GPU. Green CI is necessary, not sufficient for those zones.
After implementation
- Targeted tests for behavior you changed
- Full suite when shipping or when user asked “test everything”
- For ship/release, also activate project-etiquette (gate chain)
Anti-patterns
- “Tests pass” without smoke for the surface you changed
- Patching a recurring class of bug without changing architecture
- Shipping desktop UI without WebUI rebuild/restart when SPA is shared
- Dual processes fighting a single bot token or port
