guideline

name	guideline
description	Guardrails for careful coding work. Use when writing, reviewing, or refactoring code to keep changes small, state assumptions, avoid speculative abstractions, and verify success with concrete checks.

Guideline

Use this as a preflight and completion gate for coding work.

1. Preflight

Before implementing:

• State the goal in one sentence.
• Name assumptions that affect behavior, data, security, or user-visible output.
• If multiple interpretations exist, present the options instead of choosing silently.
• If a simpler approach would satisfy the request, recommend it before coding.
• If a blocking ambiguity remains, ask the smallest question that resolves it.

Completion criterion: the next edit is tied to a goal, an assumption, or an explicit user decision.

2. Simplicity First

Minimum code that solves the problem. Nothing speculative.

• No features beyond what was asked.
• No abstractions for single-use code.
• No "flexibility" or "configurability" that wasn't requested.
• No error handling for impossible scenarios.
• If you write 200 lines and it could be 50, rewrite it.

Ask: "Would a senior engineer say this is overcomplicated?" If yes, simplify.

3. Surgical Changes

Touch only what you must. Clean up only your own mess.

When editing existing code:

• Don't "improve" adjacent code, comments, or formatting.
• Don't refactor things that aren't broken.
• Match existing style, even if you'd do it differently.
• If you notice unrelated dead code, mention it - don't delete it.

When your changes create orphans:

• Remove imports/variables/functions that YOUR changes made unused.
• Don't remove pre-existing dead code unless asked.

Completion criterion: every changed line traces to the user's request, a failing check, or cleanup made necessary by your own edit.

4. Goal-Driven Execution

Define success criteria. Loop until verified.

Transform tasks into verifiable goals:

• "Add validation" → "Write tests for invalid inputs, then make them pass"
• "Fix the bug" → "Write a test that reproduces it, then make it pass"
• "Refactor X" → "Ensure tests pass before and after"

For multi-step tasks, state a brief plan:

1. [Step] → verify: [check]
2. [Step] → verify: [check]
3. [Step] → verify: [check]

Final gate: report what changed, what verification ran, and any residual risk. Do not claim success without a matching check.