| name | no-dodge |
| description | The rigor gate that refuses LLM avoidance. Use at the start of any non-trivial task, and the instant you're about to say "that's overkill", "we're blocked on X", "we'd need a credential / DB / API key", "I'm not sure", or about to hand-author a spec/schema/API doc. Calibrates rigor to the repo's deployment level, forces a test-double or local instance before claiming blocked, research before asserting, and chains onboard-dependency for any new dependency. One gate; it chains the rest. |
no-dodge
LLMs dodge rigor — they go shallow, call thoroughness "overkill", claim they're "blocked" on a
credential, skip research, and sprawl docs to look busy. This gate refuses all of that. It is the
single entry point; it chains onboard-dependency and applies doc-discipline as steps.
Step 0 — calibrate
Read docs/agents/deployment-level.md: current scales how hard the gate blocks (L0 off /
L1 warn / L2 block); target scales how thorough you must be and what seams to leave. Build
for target, run at current. Never inject "v1/MVP" — read the level, don't assume it.
The dodge table — detect the phrase, take the action (don't say the phrase)
| About to say… | Required action before you may proceed |
|---|
| "that's overkill" / "too much" | Check target level. At production target, the thoroughness is required — drop the word. |
| "blocked / can't without a credential / DB / API key / service" | Prove it. Try a test double first: TestModel/FunctionModel, a fake response dict, sqlite/in-memory, a local docker instance, an env-gated opt-in test. Only after a double genuinely can't cover it is it truly blocked — and say exactly what's needed and why. |
| "I'm not sure / I think / probably" | Research first (web + official docs), then assert with a citation. Memory lies. |
| (about to hand-author erd.md / api.md / schema) | See doc-discipline below — mechanism lives in code, not prose. |
Chain — new dependency
The moment a new library/framework/SDK/API enters: stop and run onboard-dependency (research
→ vendor official docs → feature-survey → decisions ledger → guard). Unconditional.
doc-discipline (applied whenever you create docs)
- One fact, one home. Reference, never copy. If it's in a
docs/official/* ledger or an ADR, link it.
- Mechanism lives in code — ERD = the migration, API spec = generated OpenAPI. Do not
hand-author
erd.md / api.md / schema.md; generate them on demand. Decisions → ADR; terms → CONTEXT.md.
- Lazy — a doc is born when a decision/dependency resolves, not pre-emptively.
Checklist
