Debt may go down.
Never silently up.
pnpm check:ui
# raw buttons
# swallowed catches
# pages without h1
# hardcoded coloursA real repository case study
Rules that
survive the prompt.
Prompts ask for behavior. Repositories preserve it. The interview project combines written context, reusable skills, executable checks, commit hooks, and independent review so the rule is still present when the conversation is gone.
Enforcement pipeline select a checkpoint
From intent to evidence
Five places
a rule can hold.
Not every rule belongs in a hook. Put guidance where an agent can discover it, deterministic policy in a command, cheap checks at commit time, and independent judgment at review.
→ → → →
Project-local skills procedures born from repeated friction
Small instruction packages
Teach the trap.
Name the trigger.
These skills are not downloaded magic. They are repository-specific procedures under .agents/skills/, distilled from mistakes, commands, and architectural decisions that kept recurring.
Concrete examples open the source, then adapt
Debt may go down.
Fast checks before history.
pnpm exec lint-staged
node scripts/check-ui-contract.mjsIntent has a grammar.
pnpm exec commitlint --edit $1
feat: add interview timer
fix(api): scope session queryA second reader checks intent.
.pr-review.json
├── focus
├── exclude_paths
├── languages
└── instructions Retrieval practice answer before you open
Desirable difficulty
Close the
page. Recall.
Retrieval practice — recalling an answer from memory before re-reading — is what builds long-term retention. Answer each question from memory first, then open it to check.
Where does a rule belong: context, skill, CLI check, or hook?+
Guidance the agent must discover goes in AGENTS.md or a skill. Deterministic policy becomes a CLI command, cheap gates run at commit time, and judgment calls go to review.
Why does a skill need a trigger, not just a workflow?+
The trigger says when to load it. Without one the skill either never fires or loads every time — and a skill that always loads is just a slower prompt.
What separates a repository rule from a prompt?+
The prompt is advice for one run. The rule is reusable context plus an executable boundary — still present when the conversation is gone.
COPY / ADAPT
Ask your agent to map the enforcement stack.
Use this in the interview repository or adapt the path names to another project.
GO DEEPER Read the implementation, not just this summary.