Development Workflow

Core Principle

Investigate → Plan → Implement → Test → Validate → Commit

Never skip steps. The most common failures come from implementing without understanding.

Quick Reference

Workflow by Task Type

Bug Fix

1. •Delegate to @investigator for root cause analysis
2. •/plan the fix with TLDR
3. •Implement on feature branch
4. •/validate all changes
5. •Commit with fix(scope): description

New Feature

1. •/plan with requirements breakdown
2. •Implement incrementally
3. •Delegate @test-writer for coverage
4. •/review before completion
5. •/validate and commit

Refactoring

1. •Ensure tests exist first (delegate @test-writer if not)
2. •/plan the refactoring approach
3. •Make small, incremental changes
4. •Run tests after each change
5. •/validate behavior unchanged

Code Quality Standards

DRY (Don't Repeat Yourself)

• •Extract to function when pattern appears 3+ times
• •Create shared utilities for cross-module patterns
• •Use constants for magic numbers/strings

SOLID Principles

• •Single Responsibility: One function = one purpose
• •Open/Closed: Extend behavior without modifying existing code
• •Liskov Substitution: Subtypes must be substitutable
• •Interface Segregation: Small, focused interfaces
• •Dependency Inversion: Depend on abstractions

Error Handling

- Handle ALL error cases explicitly
- Fail fast with clear error messages
- Log errors with context for debugging
- Don't swallow exceptions silently

Git Commit Format

type(scope): brief description

- Detail about what changed
- Why it was changed
- Any breaking changes

Types: feat, fix, refactor, docs, test, chore, perf

Context Management

When to /compact

• •After completing a major milestone
• •Before starting unrelated work
• •When context exceeds ~50% (feeling sluggish)
• •After 15+ tool calls in a session

When to Delegate to Subagents

• •Independent analysis tasks
• •Parallel work opportunities
• •Specialized reviews (security, docs)
• •Tasks that would clutter main context

Response Format

TLDR (Always Include for Plans)

## TLDR
- **Problem**: [one sentence]
- **Solution**: [one sentence]
- **Steps**: [3-7 items]
- **Validation**: [how we verify]

Completion Report

## Complete

### Summary
[What was done]

### Validation
- Tests: ✅/❌
- Lint: ✅/❌
- Environment: ✅/❌

### Commit
[hash and message]

Anti-Patterns (Never Do These)

❌ Implement without investigating first ❌ Fix symptoms instead of root causes ❌ Skip validation ("it should work") ❌ Mark complete before tests pass ❌ Leave TODO placeholders in plans ❌ Make assumptions without verification ❌ Edit directly on main/master branch