contract-validation

name	contract-validation
description	This skill should be used when the user asks to "validate agent contracts", "check contract compliance", "verify agent input/output", "pre-flight check", "debug agent failure", "why did the agent fail", or "check workflow state". Also triggered during OMT workflow when an agent starts or finishes execution. Validates input/output contracts for OMT agents using the Contract-First pattern.

Contract Validation Skill

Validates agent input and output contracts using the Contract-First design pattern. Every OMT agent has a contract in contracts/<agent-name>.json that defines required inputs, outputs, and validation rules.

Core Concepts

Agent Contract Structure

Every agent must define:

1. Input Contract: What the agent needs to start (sources, required fields, validation rules)
2. Output Contract: What the agent must produce (required fields, destinations)
3. Validation Rules: How to verify correctness (see references/validation-rules.md)

Contract Validation Flow

1. Read agent contract: contracts/<agent-name>.json
2. Gather input data from contract's source locations
3. Validate input contract
4. Execute agent logic
5. Validate output contract
6. Update workflow-state.json with results

How to Validate

Step 1: Read the Contract

Use the Read tool to load the agent's contract definition:

Read contracts/dev.json

The contract specifies input_contract.source — a list of file paths to gather input from.

Step 2: Validate Input Before Execution

Before starting agent work:

1. Gather input data — For each source in input_contract.source, use the Read tool to check the file exists and has content:

   • Read outputs/pm.md (requirements from @pm)
   • Read outputs/arch.md (architecture from @arch)
   • Use Glob to find existing files matching patterns (e.g., tests/**/*.test.ts)

2. Check required fields — For each field in input_contract.required:

   • Verify the data exists and is not empty
   • Apply validation rules (e.g., fileExists, minLength:N)
   • If any required field fails: stop and report errors

3. Record validation — Read lib/contract-validator.ts for validation logic, then perform equivalent checks using Read/Glob tools. Log the result.

Step 3: Validate Output After Execution

After completing agent work:

1. Collect output data — Gather all outputs specified in output_contract.required:

   • Use Glob to list created files (e.g., tests/**/*.test.ts, src/**/*.ts)
   • Capture execution results (e.g., test status: "15/15 passed")

2. Check output requirements — For each field in output_contract.required:

   • Verify data exists and meets validation rules
   • Check arrays have minimum items (minItems:N)
   • Check strings match patterns (pattern:REGEX)

3. Update state — Read lib/state-manager.ts for the state structure, then use Write tool to update .agents/.state/workflow-state.json with execution results.

Example: Dev Agent Contract

The contracts/dev.json contract defines:

Input (from @pm and @arch):

• requirements — Requirements document (outputs/pm.md, validation: fileExists)
• architecture — Architecture design (outputs/arch.md, validation: fileExists)
• existing_tests — Optional existing test files

Output (to tests/, src/, outputs/dev.md):

• test_files — Created test files (validation: minItems:1)
• implementation_files — Modified source files (validation: minItems:1)
• tests_status — Test execution status (validation: pattern:^\d+/\d+ passed$)

References

• Validation rules and contract schema: references/validation-rules.md
• Patterns, debugging, and complete examples: references/patterns-and-examples.md
• Contract definitions: contracts/pm.json, contracts/arch.json, contracts/dev.json
• Runtime libraries: lib/contract-validator.ts, lib/state-manager.ts