artifact-coherence

name	artifact-coherence
description	Use when decisions span multiple artifacts and drift risk is high. Keep source-of-truth and downstream outputs synchronized.

Artifact coherence

Trigger conditions

Use this skill when at least one is true:

• upstream strategy or plan artifacts exist and downstream execution artifacts are being edited
• numeric values, constraints, or decision rationale changed during implementation
• output quality depends on cross-artifact consistency

Core rule

Treat source-of-truth artifacts as infrastructure. Update them when downstream work changes the underlying decision.

Run coherence checks inline. Do not invoke task, slash commands, or subagents from this gate. If another agent would be useful, return a scoped handoff to the caller instead of launching it.

Workflow

1. Identify source-of-truth artifacts in scope.
2. Identify downstream artifacts that consume or reference those decisions.
3. Compare key facts, constraints, and rationale across artifacts.
4. Record drift severity: none, minor, or material.
5. Apply updates in coherence-preserving order, upstream first.
6. Verify references and values are synchronized after updates.

Output contract

Return:

1. Artifact map: upstream and downstream files.
2. Drift findings: mismatch, severity, and impact.
3. Update order: exact sequence to restore coherence.
4. Verification: checks proving synchronization.

Anti-patterns

• updating downstream artifacts while leaving upstream source-of-truth stale
• changing decision meaning in one artifact without propagating it
• declaring coherence without explicit cross-file verification