askit-build-chain-contract

name	askit-build-chain-contract
description	Creates and improves a plugin's chain contract (agents/_chain-permitted.yaml) to the Advanced Skill Library Standard. Use when a skill or subagent invokes another component and you need to declare the permitted inter-component invocations, or to resolve S4 orphan or phantom findings.
metadata	{"version":"0.1.0","tier":"universal","audience":"advanced"}

askit-build-chain-contract

Purpose

Author a plugin's chain contract: the explicit declaration of which components may invoke which others (Standard sec 3.6). A chain contract is a CONDITIONAL MUST - required if and only if a component invokes another, so a plugin with no inter-component invocation ships no contract (no empty governance files). Two modes: create authors agents/_chain-permitted.yaml (and the optional agents/_pairing.yaml); improve resolves S4 findings. Authoring depth is in references/authoring-chain-contracts.md. Follows the shared builder contract (../../docs/reference/builder-pattern.md).

When to use

When a skill or subagent declares a chain: to another component and you need to permit it, or when evaluate reports an S4 orphan (an invocation not permitted) or phantom (a contract entry naming a missing component).

create mode

1. Scan components for chain: declarations (which caller invokes which callees). Skip the contract entirely if nothing chains (the conditional MUST).
2. Author agents/_chain-permitted.yaml: one entry per caller, listing the components it may invoke. Copy templates/chain-permitted.yaml if none exists.
3. Optionally author agents/_pairing.yaml for recommended (not required) skill plus subagent pairings.
4. Evaluate (node scripts/evaluate.mjs . --json) until S4 is clean: every chain: invocation is permitted (no orphan) and every contract entry names an on-disk component (no phantom).

improve mode

1. Run node scripts/evaluate.mjs . --json and read the S4 findings.
2. For an orphan, add the missing caller: [callee] permission. For a phantom, fix the misspelled name, remove the stale entry, or create the missing component.
3. Re-run to confirm S4 is clean.

Scope

The contract is agent-agnostic: one agents/_chain-permitted.yaml (no per-target form). It binds exactly when there is an invocation to make safe (sec 3.6), so it is a safety mechanism, not ceremony. S4 (chain-contract integrity) flags orphans and phantoms; do not ship an empty contract for a plugin that does not chain.