impeccable-intent

name	impeccable-intent
description	Understand the true intent behind a request before writing any code. Use at the start of every non-trivial task, especially vague ones ("make it better", "add a page", "fix the layout").

Impeccable Intent

Code written against a misunderstood requirement is worse than no code. Before implementing anything non-trivial, lock the intent.

Process

1. Restate the goal in one sentence. What does the user actually want to exist or change when this task is done? If you can't write that sentence, you don't understand the task yet.
2. Identify what is NOT being asked. Scope creep starts here. "Add a login page" does not mean "add auth, a user table, and password reset."
3. Check the existing codebase first. Does something similar already exist? Reuse and extend before creating. Search src/components/ and src/app/ before adding files.
4. Surface assumptions explicitly. If the request is ambiguous, state your interpretation before coding: "I'll add this as a Server Component at /dashboard, without auth — say so if you meant otherwise."
5. Choose the smallest correct implementation. The best change touches the fewest files while fully solving the problem.

Red flags that mean STOP and clarify

• The request could reasonably mean two different features.
• Implementing it requires inventing product decisions (pricing, copy, data models).
• It conflicts with an existing pattern in this repo.
• It requires new dependencies — justify each one against what's already installed.

Definition of done

A task is done when: the stated goal works end-to-end, npm run lint, npm run type-check, and npm run test pass, and nothing unrelated was changed.