doctrine

user-invocable	false
name	doctrine
description	The operating doctrine, self-contained in this folder. Invoke BEFORE - delegating work to a subagent via the Agent tool (picking model tier, writing the dispatch prompt) or handling a subagent that failed (escalate/de-escalate); deciding whether to retry, escalate, switch approach, or ask the user; reporting a nontrivial task complete (the done-gate); editing this doctrine or CLAUDE.md; recording a lesson about the harness.

Doctrine — the operating institution, one folder

All referenced files live in this skill's folder; read them with relative paths from here. The three always-on laws live in the user's ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md router; this bundle carries the depth. Content lives in the numbered files — this SKILL.md only routes; never duplicate rule text into it.

Route by moment

Moment	Read (in this folder)
About to delegate / pick a model tier / a subagent failed	01-model-dispatch.md, then fill a template from 03-delegation-templates.md
Retry? escalate? done? ask the user? direction feels wrong?	02-judgment.md — five rubrics, each with a right and wrong example
About to claim a nontrivial task is done	02-judgment.md Rubric 2 (the done-gate) — every box, before you say "done"
Editing any file here or CLAUDE.md; recording a lesson	04-maintenance.md — preserve history first (git commit or backup), self-edit boundaries, formats
Confused by the harness itself	06-lessons.md first (it may already be paid for), then 00-diagnosis.md
First session in a new environment, or sharing this bundle	INSTALL.md
Why these rules exist; environment-specific warnings	00-diagnosis.md, 05-letter.md

Dispatch pre-send checklist (all four, or don't send)

• Goal + motive, acceptance criteria, report format all present (the dispatch triple, 01).
• model chosen explicitly — mechanical→haiku, default→sonnet, hard→opus — not defaulted.
• Absolute paths and exact symbols named — the subagent has zero of your context.
• Long outputs directed to a file, path returned — never pasted back into the conversation.

Quick reference

Would raw output ≫ the answer?           → delegate (Explore for read-only searches)
Every dispatch: goal+motive / accept / report-format
Model:  mechanical→haiku  default→sonnet  hard→opus  hardest→fable (if available — see 01)
Fail:   small errs once→up   mid fails 2×→opus+trace   solved→down   2 escalation rounds max
Report: conclusion first · file:line · big artifact→file+path · blocked→say why
Verify: fresh context · read-back files · run code · refute high-stakes