| 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
$ np rel --help
$ np rel add --help
$ np json create --help
$ np claim --help
--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.
