Windows Development Standards (Mark)

Goal: Write cross-platform compatible code that recognizes Windows-specific paths and avoids Unix-isms when working on Windows systems.

When to Use This Skill

•Working on Windows (win32) systems
•Path starts with drive letter (e.g., B:\, C:\)
•Using backslashes in paths (\ not /)
•Commands fail with "not recognized" errors
•Need to avoid Unix-specific tools (tail, head, mkdir -p, etc.)
•Writing cross-platform scripts that must work on Windows
•Using PowerShell or cmd.exe

When NOT to Use This Skill

•Working on macOS or Linux exclusively
•Using WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) - Unix commands work there
•Using Git Bash - Provides Unix tools on Windows
•Writing Unix-only scripts for deployment to Linux servers

Process

•Check platform first - Verify if running on Windows (win32)
•Identify Windows paths - Look for drive letters (B:, C:) and backslashes
•
Map Unix commands to Windows equivalents:
- •mkdir -p → New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path "path" -Force
- •tail → Get-Content file -Tail N
- •head → Get-Content file -TotalCount N
- •cat → Get-Content or type
- •grep → Select-String
- •find → Get-ChildItem -Recurse
- •ls → Get-ChildItem or dir
- •rm -rf → Remove-Item -Recurse -Force
- •cp/mv → Copy-Item/Move-Item
- •touch → New-Item -ItemType File
- •which → Get-Command or where
- •pwd → Get-Location
•Quote paths with spaces - Use "path with spaces"
•Use backslashes - Even though forward slashes often work
•Prefer cross-platform tools - Python, Node.js when possible
•Update AGENTS.md - Document Windows-specific requirements

Constraints

•ALWAYS check platform before using Unix commands
•ALWAYS use backslashes for Windows paths (even though forward slashes often work)
•ALWAYS quote paths with spaces to avoid errors
•NEVER use Unix-isms on Windows: tail, head, mkdir -p, grep, find (Unix style)
•NEVER use cd with forward slashes on Windows cmd (PowerShell is more flexible)
•Prefer PowerShell for modern Windows development
•Prefer Python for cross-platform scripts over shell

Guidelines for working on Windows systems and avoiding Unix-isms.

Recognizing Windows Paths

Windows paths look like:

code

B:\understanding-skills\majo-skills
C:\Users\Mark\Documents
D:\Projects\my-app

Key indicators:

•Drive letter followed by colon (B:, C:, D:)
•Backslashes as separators (\)
•No leading / (that's Unix)

Common Unix-isms to Avoid

1. `mkdir -p`

❌ WRONG on Windows:

bash

mkdir -p B:\path\to\directory

✅ CORRECT on Windows:

powershell

# PowerShell
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path "B:\path\to\directory" -Force

# Or cmd
mkdir "B:\path\to\directory"

Note: Windows mkdir doesn't have -p flag. Use -Force in PowerShell or just mkdir (it creates parent directories by default in PowerShell).

2. `tail` and `head`

❌ WRONG on Windows:

bash

tail -n 20 file.txt
head -n 10 file.txt

✅ CORRECT on Windows:

PowerShell:

powershell

# tail -n 20
Get-Content file.txt -Tail 20

# head -n 10
Get-Content file.txt -TotalCount 10

# Alternative: Select-Object
Get-Content file.txt | Select-Object -Last 20
Get-Content file.txt | Select-Object -First 10

Or use Python:

python

# tail -n 20
with open('file.txt') as f:
    lines = f.readlines()
    print(''.join(lines[-20:]))

# head -n 10
with open('file.txt') as f:
    for i, line in enumerate(f):
        if i >= 10:
            break
        print(line, end='')

3. `cat`

❌ WRONG on Windows:

bash

cat file.txt

✅ CORRECT on Windows:

powershell

Get-Content file.txt
# or
type file.txt  # cmd

4. `grep`

❌ WRONG on Windows:

bash

grep "pattern" file.txt

✅ CORRECT on Windows:

powershell

Select-String -Pattern "pattern" -Path file.txt
# or
Get-Content file.txt | Select-String "pattern"

5. `find`

❌ WRONG on Windows:

bash

find . -name "*.txt"

✅ CORRECT on Windows:

powershell

Get-ChildItem -Recurse -Filter "*.txt"
# or
Get-ChildItem -Path . -Recurse -Include "*.txt"

6. `ls`

❌ WRONG on Windows:

bash

ls -la

✅ CORRECT on Windows:

powershell

Get-ChildItem
# or
Get-ChildItem -Force  # includes hidden files
# or
dir  # cmd

7. `rm -rf`

❌ WRONG on Windows:

bash

rm -rf directory

✅ CORRECT on Windows:

powershell

Remove-Item -Recurse -Force directory
# or
rd /s /q directory  # cmd

8. `cp` and `mv`

❌ WRONG on Windows:

bash

cp file.txt backup.txt
mv old.txt new.txt

✅ CORRECT on Windows:

powershell

Copy-Item file.txt backup.txt
Move-Item old.txt new.txt

9. `touch`

❌ WRONG on Windows:

bash

touch newfile.txt

✅ CORRECT on Windows:

powershell

New-Item newfile.txt -ItemType File
# or
"" | Out-File newfile.txt

10. `chmod`

❌ WRONG on Windows:

bash

chmod +x script.sh

✅ CORRECT on Windows: Windows uses ACLs (Access Control Lists) instead of Unix permissions:

powershell

# View permissions
Get-Acl file.txt

# Set permissions (complex - usually not needed for dev work)
# Use icacls for command-line ACL management

Note: For scripts, use file extensions (.ps1, .bat, .cmd) instead of chmod.

11. `which`

❌ WRONG on Windows:

bash

which python

✅ CORRECT on Windows:

powershell

Get-Command python
# or
where python  # cmd

12. `pwd`

❌ WRONG on Windows:

bash

pwd

✅ CORRECT on Windows:

powershell

Get-Location
# or
$PWD  # automatic variable

13. `cd` with forward slashes

❌ WRONG on Windows:

bash

cd B:/path/to/directory

✅ CORRECT on Windows:

powershell

cd B:\path\to\directory
# or
cd "B:\path\to\directory"

Windows accepts forward slashes in cd, but backslashes are preferred for consistency.

14. `&&` and `||`

❌ WRONG on Windows (cmd):

cmd

command1 && command2

✅ CORRECT on Windows:

PowerShell:

powershell

command1; if ($?) { command2 }
# or use -and/-or operators

cmd:

cmd

command1 && command2  # actually works in cmd

Note: && works in cmd but not in PowerShell. Use semicolons or proper PowerShell syntax.

Path Handling

Path Separators

Always use backslashes for Windows paths:

powershell

# ✅ CORRECT
"B:\understanding-skills\majo-skills"

# ❌ WRONG (Unix style)
"B:/understanding-skills/majo-skills"

Quoting Paths

Quote paths with spaces:

powershell

# ✅ CORRECT
cd "C:\Program Files\My App"
Copy-Item "file with spaces.txt" destination

# ❌ WRONG (will fail)
cd C:\Program Files\My App

Environment Variables

Windows uses %VAR% in cmd, $env:VAR in PowerShell:

powershell

# PowerShell
$env:USERPROFILE
$env:PATH

# cmd
%USERPROFILE%
%PATH%

Cross-Platform Alternatives

When possible, use tools that work on both platforms:

Python

python

# Works on Windows, macOS, Linux
import os
import shutil

# mkdir -p equivalent
os.makedirs("path/to/dir", exist_ok=True)

# File operations
shutil.copy("source.txt", "dest.txt")
shutil.move("old.txt", "new.txt")

# Read file
with open("file.txt") as f:
    content = f.read()

# Write file
with open("file.txt", "w") as f:
    f.write("content")

Git Bash

If available, Git Bash provides Unix tools on Windows. However, prefer native PowerShell/cmd when working with Windows paths.

Quick Reference Table

Unix Command	Windows PowerShell	Windows cmd
`mkdir -p dir`	`New-Item -ItemType Directory dir -Force`	`mkdir dir`
`tail -n 20 file`	`Get-Content file -Tail 20`	N/A
`head -n 10 file`	`Get-Content file -TotalCount 10`	N/A
`cat file`	`Get-Content file`	`type file`
`grep pattern file`	`Select-String pattern file`	`findstr pattern file`
`find . -name "*.txt"`	`Get-ChildItem -Recurse -Filter "*.txt"`	`dir /s *.txt`
`ls -la`	`Get-ChildItem -Force`	`dir /a`
`rm -rf dir`	`Remove-Item -Recurse -Force dir`	`rd /s /q dir`
`cp src dst`	`Copy-Item src dst`	`copy src dst`
`mv src dst`	`Move-Item src dst`	`move src dst`
`touch file`	`New-Item file -ItemType File`	`type nul > file`
`which cmd`	`Get-Command cmd`	`where cmd`
`pwd`	`Get-Location`	`cd`

Testing Skills

•Platform check: Verify commands work on Windows (win32)
•Path format test: Use backslashes (\) not forward slashes (/)
•Command mapping: Test Unix → Windows command equivalency
•Quote handling: Test paths with spaces are properly quoted
•Cross-platform: Verify Python scripts work on both Windows and Unix
•PowerShell vs cmd: Know which syntax works in which shell
•WSL detection: Don't use Windows workarounds when in WSL (Unix works there)

Integration

This skill extends dev-standards-majo. Always ensure dev-standards-majo is loaded for:

•AGENTS.md maintenance
•Universal code principles
•Documentation policies

Works alongside:

•python-majo — For Python development on Windows
•js-bun-majo — For JavaScript/Bun development on Windows
•shell-majo — For shell scripting on Windows (Git Bash/WSL)
•git-majo — For git operations on Windows
•writing-docs-majo — For writing documentation on Windows

Important Notes

•Always check the platform before using Unix commands
•Use PowerShell for modern Windows development
•Use Python for cross-platform scripts
•Quote paths with spaces to avoid errors
•Use backslashes for Windows paths (even though forward slashes often work)

Windows Development Standards (Mark)

When to Use This Skill

When NOT to Use This Skill

Process

Constraints

Recognizing Windows Paths

Common Unix-isms to Avoid

1. mkdir -p

2. tail and head

3. cat

4. grep

5. find

6. ls

7. rm -rf

8. cp and mv

9. touch

10. chmod

11. which

12. pwd

13. cd with forward slashes

14. && and ||

Path Handling

Path Separators

Quoting Paths

Environment Variables

Cross-Platform Alternatives

Python

Git Bash

Quick Reference Table

Testing Skills

Integration

Important Notes

1. `mkdir -p`

2. `tail` and `head`

3. `cat`

4. `grep`

5. `find`

6. `ls`

7. `rm -rf`

8. `cp` and `mv`

9. `touch`

10. `chmod`

11. `which`

12. `pwd`

13. `cd` with forward slashes

14. `&&` and `||`