enforce-ide

name	enforce-ide
description	Write a baseline .editorconfig and (opt-in) .vscode/ settings + extensions aligned with the project's formatter and linter — the editor layer between keystroke and commit. Detects stack via file extensions; merges keys conservatively, never overwrites a user value. Pairs with enforce-precommit and the guardrails bundle.
triggers	{"paths":[".editorconfig",".vscode/settings.json",".vscode/extensions.json",".octopus.yml"],"keywords":["enforce ide","editorconfig","vscode settings","guardrails ide","editor consistency"]}

IDE Configuration Enforcement

Overview

Three of the four enforcement layers (loop-level hooks, pre-commit, CI) catch drift after a keystroke. The IDE layer catches it during — format-on-save, lint-inline, EOL/indent conventions that are wrong from the moment a character lands in the buffer.

This skill writes the IDE-level baseline so a developer's local editor matches what pre-commit and CI will enforce. It is intentionally conservative — IDE preferences are politically charged, and the goal is project consistency, not personal-preference override.

When to Engage

Engage when:

• The user adds guardrails to .octopus.yml for the first time.
• A new stack is added and .editorconfig does not yet cover it.
• The team standardizes on VS Code or its forks (Cursor, Windsurf, Code-OSS) and wants .vscode/ opinions versioned.

Do not engage when:

• The user explicitly opts out via enforce-ide.local.md (e.g., team policy: "editor configs are personal, do not version").
• The project is library-only with no contributors beyond the original author.

Protocol

Step 1 — Detect stacks

Reuse the stack-detection logic from enforce-precommit (file extension count + canonical manifests). If enforce-precommit ran recently, its detected set is the truth.

Step 1.5 — Resolve the workspace template

Before generating, resolve the .editorconfig source with this precedence (highest wins):

1. Project-local — an existing .editorconfig in the repo, or enforce-ide.local.md directives. Intentional repo choices; preserved and merged on top (Step 2's conservative merge).
2. Workspace template — if the manifest sets workspace: and <workspace>/templates/ide/<stack>.editorconfig exists, use it as the canonical base, taking precedence over the generated default below. This lets a fleet manager curate one editor standard (see fleet-bootstrap).
3. Generated default — Step 2's stack-inferred baseline; the fallback when the workspace provides no template.

When a workspace template is used, Step 2 merges the repo's existing sections on top of it rather than the built-in baseline.

Step 2 — .editorconfig (always)

Write or merge .editorconfig with universal baseline plus per-stack overrides:

root = true

[*]
indent_style = space
indent_size = 2
end_of_line = lf
charset = utf-8
trim_trailing_whitespace = true
insert_final_newline = true

[*.{py}]
indent_size = 4

[*.{go}]
indent_style = tab

[Makefile]
indent_style = tab

Merge semantics: preserve every existing section and key; only add sections that do not yet exist. Never change an existing value.

Step 3 — .vscode/extensions.json (opt-in)

Default: skip unless enforce_ide_vscode: true in .octopus.yml or the repo already has a .vscode/ directory.

When written, recommend extensions per active stack:

Stack	Recommended extensions
TypeScript / JavaScript	biomejs.biome OR esbenp.prettier-vscode + dbaeumer.vscode-eslint (match project choice)
Python	charliermarsh.ruff
C# / .NET	ms-dotnettools.csharp
Go	golang.go
Rust	rust-lang.rust-analyzer
Universal	editorconfig.editorconfig

Merge semantics: append to recommendations array; never remove an existing entry.

Step 4 — .vscode/settings.json (opt-in, narrow)

Default: skip. When enforce_ide_vscode: true, write only project-scoped formatter selection and format-on-save:

{
  "editor.formatOnSave": true,
  "editor.codeActionsOnSave": {
    "source.fixAll": "explicit"
  },
  "[typescript]": { "editor.defaultFormatter": "biomejs.biome" },
  "[python]":     { "editor.defaultFormatter": "charliermarsh.ruff" }
}

Per-stack defaultFormatter only when the project unambiguously declares the formatter (e.g., biome.json present → biome; otherwise do not write the key).

Never write personal-preference keys (font, theme, window, terminal, keybindings, telemetry).

Step 5 — Verify

• Confirm .editorconfig parses (no syntax errors).
• Confirm .vscode/*.json is valid JSON with comments stripped (use JSONC parser).
• Log what was written and what was preserved.

Output

[ok]   Detected stacks: TypeScript, Python
[ok]   Wrote .editorconfig (2 new sections, 4 preserved)
[skip] .vscode/ — enforce_ide_vscode not enabled, no existing .vscode/ found
[info] To enable .vscode/ defaults, set `enforce_ide_vscode: true` in .octopus.yml

Anti-Patterns

• Writing personal-preference keys (font, theme, window layout) to .vscode/settings.json — that is personal config, not project config.
• Overwriting .editorconfig values the user set deliberately.
• Recommending extensions for stacks not present in the repo.
• Generating .idea/, .fleet/, or other IDE-specific directories — out of scope for this skill (separate skills would be required and the same political concerns apply).
• Auto-installing extensions (that is the developer's decision).

Integration with Other Skills

• guardrails bundle — loads this skill alongside enforce-precommit.
• enforce-precommit — shares stack-detection. The formatter selected here matches what pre-commit will enforce.
• audit-config — periodically reviews whether .editorconfig drifted from rules/common/coding-style.md.

References

• EditorConfig: https://editorconfig.org/
• VS Code settings reference: https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/getstarted/settings