gold-standards

name	gold-standards
description	Kailash gold standards: imports, param passing, error handling, Tier 2/3 NO mocking, security, docs, workflow design.

Kailash Gold Standards - Mandatory Best Practices

These are required patterns that prevent bugs, ensure consistency, and maintain code quality.

When to Use

Use gold-standards when asking about best practices, standards, gold standards, mandatory rules, required patterns, absolute imports, testing policy, error handling standards, security best practices, documentation standards, or workflow design standards. Covers absolute imports, parameter passing, error handling, Tier 2/3 testing with real infrastructure (NO mocking per rules/testing.md), workflow design, custom node development, security, documentation, and test creation.

Sub-File Index

Code Organization

• gold-absolute-imports - ALWAYS absolute, NEVER relative
  • from kailash.workflow.builder import WorkflowBuilder (not from ..workflow import builder)
• gold-parameter-passing - 4-parameter connections + dict result access
  • workflow.add_connection(source_id, source_param, target_id, target_param)
  • results["node_id"]["result"] (not results["node_id"].result)

Testing

• gold-mocking-policy - Real infrastructure in Tiers 2-3
  • Mocking ONLY in Tier 1 unit tests; Tiers 2-3 use real databases, APIs, infrastructure
• gold-testing - 3-tier strategy, deterministic tests, resource cleanup
• gold-test-creation - TDD, one assertion focus, AAA pattern
• Release-blocking regression tier (W33b) — every public km.* surface has a fingerprint test + an e2e execute(...) pattern that round-trips from workflow → node → engine → registry. See skill 34-kailash-ml for the exact contract. Release PRs block on this tier independently of unit/integration status.

Error Handling

• gold-error-handling - Explicit handling, no silent swallowing, actionable messages, cleanup in finally

Workflow & Node Design

• gold-workflow-design - Always .build() before execute, string-based node API, single responsibility
• gold-custom-nodes - Extend BaseNode, validate inputs, consistent output format

Security & Documentation

• gold-security - No hardcoded secrets, env vars for credentials, input validation, injection prevention
• gold-documentation - Document all public APIs, include examples, explain WHY not just WHAT

Quick Reference

All workflow patterns follow the canonical 4-parameter pattern from /01-core-sdk.

Standard	Correct	Wrong
Imports	from kailash.workflow.builder import WorkflowBuilder	from ..workflow.builder import WorkflowBuilder
Connections	workflow.add_connection("n1", "result", "n2", "input_data")	workflow.add_connection("n1", "n2")
Execution	runtime.execute(workflow.build())	runtime.execute(workflow)
Results	results["node_id"]["result"]	results["node_id"].result
Secrets	os.environ["API_KEY"]	api_key = "sk-..."
Testing	Real DB in Tier 2-3	Mock(spec=DataFlow) in Tier 2-3
Errors	except WorkflowExecutionError as e: logger.error(...)	except: pass
Development	Write test first, then implement	Implement first, add tests later

Before Every Commit

• All imports absolute
• All connections use 4 parameters
• .build() called before execute
• No hardcoded secrets
• Error handling present
• Tests written (TDD)
• No mocking in Tier 2-3 tests
• Documentation updated

Related Skills

• 16-validation-patterns - Validation tools
• 31-error-troubleshooting - Error patterns
• 12-testing-strategies - Testing strategies
• 01-core-sdk - Core patterns

Support

• gold-standards-validator - Automated compliance checking
• pattern-expert - Pattern validation
• testing-specialist - Testing compliance