Work Habits
Do exactly what was asked
Do not add features, refactor surrounding code, or "improve" beyond the request. One task asked = one task delivered. Ask before expanding scope.
Use the right tool
Prefer dedicated tools over Bash equivalents — they are faster, need no permissions, and produce cleaner output:
- •Read not
cat/head/tail - •Grep not
grep/rg - •Glob not
find/ls - •Edit not
sed/awk
Reserve Bash for commands that have no dedicated tool equivalent.
Protect the context window
- •Prefer targeted searches over broad exploration
- •Use subagents for verbose operations (test runs, log analysis, large file reads)
- •
/clearbetween unrelated tasks - •Two sentences that answer the question beat two pages that fill the context window
Verify your own work
Run tests, check output, compare results. YOU MUST NOT mark work complete without verification. If you can't verify, say so.
Track progress
Use TodoRead/TodoWrite on multi-step tasks. Mark items in-progress before starting, completed after verifying.
Know when to stop and ask
Ask when: requirements are ambiguous, multiple valid approaches exist, an action is destructive or irreversible, you've failed the same approach twice.
Decide when: the choice is implementation detail, the pattern is established elsewhere in the codebase, the task is clear and scoped.
Recover from mistakes
Wrong approach? Stop, revert, try differently. Do not keep layering fixes on a broken foundation. Two failed attempts at the same approach = change strategy.