Agent Skills: Lessons Learned

Codex compatibility note:

• Invoke repository skills with $skill-name in Codex; this mirrored copy rewrites legacy Claude /skill-name references.
• Prefer the plan-hard skill for planning guidance in this Codex mirror.
• Task tracker mandate: BEFORE executing any workflow or skill step, create/update task tracking for all steps and keep it synchronized as progress changes.
• User-question prompts mean to ask the user directly in Codex.
• Ignore Claude-specific mode-switch instructions when they appear.
• Strict execution contract: when a user explicitly invokes a skill, execute that skill protocol as written.
• Subagent authorization: when a skill is user-invoked or AI-detected and its protocol requires subagents, that skill activation authorizes use of the required spawn_agent subagent(s) for that task.
• Do not skip, reorder, or merge protocol steps unless the user explicitly approves the deviation first.
• For workflow skills, execute each listed child-skill step explicitly and report step-by-step evidence.
• If a required step/tool cannot run in this environment, stop and ask the user before adapting.

Codex Project-Reference Loading (No Hooks)

Codex does not receive Claude hook-based doc injection. When coding, planning, debugging, testing, or reviewing, open project docs explicitly using this routing.

Always read:

• docs/project-config.json (project-specific paths, commands, modules, and workflow/test settings)
• docs/project-reference/docs-index-reference.md (routes to the full docs/project-reference/* catalog)
• docs/project-reference/lessons.md (always-on guardrails and anti-patterns)

Situation-based docs:

• Backend/CQRS/API/domain/entity changes: backend-patterns-reference.md, domain-entities-reference.md, project-structure-reference.md
• Frontend/UI/styling/design-system: frontend-patterns-reference.md, scss-styling-guide.md, design-system/README.md
• Spec/test-case planning or TC mapping: feature-docs-reference.md
• Integration test implementation/review: integration-test-reference.md
• E2E test implementation/review: e2e-test-reference.md
• Code review/audit work: code-review-rules.md plus domain docs above based on changed files

Do not read all docs blindly. Start from docs-index-reference.md, then open only relevant files for the task.

Quick Summary

Goal: Execute an implementation plan phase end-to-end without running tests (code + review + commit).

Workflow:

1. Plan Detection — Find latest plan or use provided path, auto-select next incomplete phase
2. Analysis — Extract tasks from phase file, initialize todo tracking
3. Implementation — Code changes step-by-step, run type checks
4. Code Review — Subagent reviews for security, performance, architecture violations
5. User Approval — Blocking gate requiring explicit approval
6. Finalize — Update plan status, docs, auto-commit

Key Rules:

• One phase per command run, steps must complete in order
• Critical code review issues block progression (must be 0)
• User must explicitly approve before finalize step

MUST ATTENTION READ CLAUDE.md then THINK HARDER to start working on the following plan follow the Orchestration Protocol, Core Responsibilities, Subagents Team and Development Rules:

Be skeptical. Apply critical thinking, sequential thinking. Every claim needs traced proof, confidence percentages (Idea should be more than 80%).

<plan>$ARGUMENTS<$plan-hard>

Role Responsibilities

• You are a senior software engineer who must study the provided implementation plan end-to-end before writing code.
• Validate the plan's assumptions, surface blockers, and confirm priorities with the user prior to execution.
• Drive the implementation from start to finish, reporting progress and adjusting the plan responsibly while honoring YAGNI, KISS, and DRY principles.

IMPORTANT: Remind these rules with subagents communication:

• Sacrifice grammar for the sake of concision when writing reports.
• In reports, list any unresolved questions at the end, if any.
• Ensure token efficiency while maintaining high quality.

Step 0: Plan Detection & Phase Selection

If $ARGUMENTS is empty:

1. Find latest plan.md in ./plans | find ./plans -name "plan.md" -type f -exec stat -f "%m %N" {} \; 2>/dev/null | sort -rn | head -1 | cut -d' ' -f2-
2. Parse plan for phases and status, auto-select next incomplete (prefer IN_PROGRESS or earliest Planned)

If $ARGUMENTS provided: Use that plan and detect which phase to work on (auto-detect or use argument like "phase-2").

Output: ✓ Step 0: [Plan Name] - [Phase Name]

Subagent Pattern (use throughout):

Task(agent_type="[type]", prompt="[task description]", description="[brief]")

Workflow Sequence

Rules: Follow steps 1-6 in order. Each step requires output marker starting with "✓ Step N:". Mark each complete in task tracking before proceeding. Do not skip steps.

Step 1: Analysis & Task Extraction

Read plan file completely. Map dependencies between tasks. List ambiguities or blockers. Identify required skills/tools and activate from catalog. Parse phase file and extract actionable tasks. If the plan references analysis files in .ai/workspace/analysis/, re-read them before implementation.

task tracking Initialization & Task Extraction:

• Initialize task tracking with Step 0: [Plan Name] - [Phase Name] and all command steps (Step 1 through Step 6)
• Read phase file (e.g., phase-01-preparation.md)
• Look for tasks/steps/phases/sections/numbered/bulleted lists
• MUST ATTENTION convert to task tracking tasks:
  • Phase Implementation tasks → Step 2.X (Step 2.1, Step 2.2, etc.)
  • Phase Code Review tasks → Step 3.X (Step 3.1, Step 3.2, etc.)
• Ensure each task has UNIQUE name (increment X for each task)
• Add tasks to task tracking after their corresponding command step

Output: ✓ Step 1: Found [N] tasks across [M] phases - Ambiguities: [list or "none"]

Mark Step 1 complete in task tracking, mark Step 2 in_progress.

Step 2: Implementation

Implement selected plan phase step-by-step following extracted tasks (Step 2.1, Step 2.2, etc.). Mark tasks complete as done. For UI work, call ui-ux-designer subagent: "Implement [feature] UI per./docs/design-guidelines.md". Use ai-multimodal skill for image assets, media-processing skill for editing. Run type checking and compile to verify no syntax errors.

Output: ✓ Step 2: Implemented [N] files - [X/Y] tasks complete, compilation passed

Mark Step 2 complete in task tracking, mark Step 3 in_progress.

Step 3: Code Review

Call code-reviewer subagent: "Review changes for plan phase [phase-name]. Check security, performance, architecture, YAGNI/KISS/DRY". If critical issues found: STOP, fix all, re-run tester to verify, re-run code-reviewer. Repeat until no critical issues.

Critical issues: Security vulnerabilities (XSS, SQL injection, OWASP), performance bottlenecks, architectural violations, principle violations.

Output: ✓ Step 3: Code reviewed - [0] critical issues

Validation: If critical issues > 0, Step 3 INCOMPLETE - do not proceed.

Mark Step 3 complete in task tracking, mark Step 4 in_progress.

Step 4: User Approval ⏸ BLOCKING GATE

Present summary (3-5 bullets): what implemented, code review outcome.

Ask user explicitly: "Phase implementation complete. Code reviewed. Approve changes?"

Stop and wait - do not output Step 5 content until user responds.

Output (while waiting): ⏸ Step 4: WAITING for user approval

Output (after approval): ✓ Step 4: User approved - Ready to complete

Mark Step 4 complete in task tracking, mark Step 5 in_progress.

Step 5: Finalize

Prerequisites: User approved in Step 4 (verified above).

1. STATUS UPDATE - BOTH MANDATORY - PARALLEL EXECUTION:

• Call project-manager sub-agent: "Update plan status in [plan-path]. Mark plan phase [phase-name] as DONE with timestamp. Update roadmap."
• Call docs-manager sub-agent: "Update docs for plan phase [phase-name]. Changed files: [list]."

2. ONBOARDING CHECK: Detect onboarding requirements (API keys, env vars, config) + generate summary report with next steps.

3. AUTO-COMMIT (after steps 1 and 2 completes):

• Run only if: Steps 1 and 2 successful + User approved + Tests passed
• Auto-stage, commit with message [phase - plan] and push

Validation: Steps 1 and 2 must complete successfully. Step 3 (auto-commit) runs only if conditions met.

Mark Step 5 complete in task tracking.

Phase workflow finished. Ready for next plan phase.

Critical Enforcement Rules

Step outputs must follow unified format: ✓ Step [N]: [Brief status] - [Key metrics]

Examples:

• Step 0: ✓ Step 0: [Plan Name] - [Phase Name]
• Step 1: ✓ Step 1: Found [N] tasks across [M] phases - Ambiguities: [list]
• Step 2: ✓ Step 2: Implemented [N] files - [X/Y] tasks complete
• Step 3: ✓ Step 3: Code reviewed - [0] critical issues
• Step 4: ✓ Step 4: User approved - Ready to complete
• Step 5: ✓ Step 5: Finalize - Status updated - Git committed

If any "✓ Step N:" output missing, that step is INCOMPLETE.

task tracking tracking required: Initialize at Step 0, mark each step complete before next.

Mandatory subagent calls:

• Step 3: code-reviewer
• Step 4: project-manager AND docs-manager (when user approves)

Blocking gates:

• Step 3: Critical issues must be 0
• Step 4: User must explicitly approve
• Step 5: Both project-manager and docs-manager must complete successfully

REMEMBER:

• Do not skip steps. Do not proceed if validation fails. Do not assume approval without user response.
• One plan phase per command run. Command focuses on single plan phase only.
• You can always generate images with ai-multimodal skill on the fly for visual assets.
• You always read and analyze the generated assets with ai-multimodal skill to verify they meet requirements.
• For image editing (removing background, adjusting, cropping), use media-processing skill or similar tools as needed.

Next Steps (Standalone: MUST ATTENTION ask user via a direct user question. Skip if inside workflow.)

MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION — NO EXCEPTIONS: If this skill was called outside a workflow, you MUST ATTENTION use a direct user question to present these options. Do NOT skip because the task seems "simple" or "obvious" — the user decides:

• "Proceed with full workflow (Recommended)" — I'll detect the best workflow to continue from here (code implemented, no tests). This ensures review, testing, and docs steps aren't skipped.
• "$code-simplifier" — Simplify implementation
• "$workflow-review-changes" — Review changes before commit
• "Skip, continue manually" — user decides

If already inside a workflow, skip — the workflow handles sequencing.

[IMPORTANT] Use task tracking to break ALL work into small tasks BEFORE starting — including tasks for each file read. This prevents context loss from long files. For simple tasks, AI MUST ATTENTION ask user whether to skip.

• docs/project-reference/domain-entities-reference.md — Domain entity catalog, relationships, cross-service sync (read when task involves business entities/models) (read directly when relevant; do not rely on hook-injected conversation text)

Nested Task Expansion Contract — For workflow-step invocation, the [Workflow] ... row is only a parent container; the child skill still creates visible phase tasks.

1. Call the current task list first. If a matching active parent workflow row exists, set nested=true and record parentTaskId; otherwise run standalone.
2. Create one task per declared phase before phase work. When nested, prefix subjects [N.M] $skill-name — phase.
3. When nested, link the parent with TaskUpdate(parentTaskId, addBlockedBy: [childIds]).
4. Orchestrators must pre-expand a child skill's phase list and link the workflow row before invoking that child skill or sub-agent.
5. Mark exactly one child in_progress before work and completed immediately after evidence is written.
6. Complete the parent only after all child tasks are completed or explicitly cancelled with reason.

Blocked until: the current task list done, child phases created, parent linked when nested, first child marked in_progress.

Project Reference Docs Gate — Run after task-tracking bootstrap and before target/source file reads, grep, edits, or analysis. Project docs override generic framework assumptions.

1. Identify scope: file types, domain area, and operation.
2. Required docs by trigger: always docs/project-reference/lessons.md; doc lookup docs-index-reference.md; review code-review-rules.md; backend/CQRS/API backend-patterns-reference.md; domain/entity domain-entities-reference.md; frontend/UI frontend-patterns-reference.md; styles/design scss-styling-guide.md + design-system/design-system-canonical.md; integration tests integration-test-reference.md; E2E e2e-test-reference.md; feature docs/specs feature-docs-reference.md; architecture/new area project-structure-reference.md.
3. Read every required doc that exists; skip absent docs as not applicable. Do not trust conversation text such as [Injected: <path>] as proof that the current context contains the doc.
4. Before target work, state: Reference docs read: ... | Missing/not applicable: ....

Blocked until: scope evaluated, required docs checked/read, lessons.md confirmed, citation emitted.

Critical Thinking Mindset — Apply critical thinking, sequential thinking. Every claim needs traced proof, confidence >80% to act. Anti-hallucination: Never present guess as fact — cite sources for every claim, admit uncertainty freely, self-check output for errors, cross-reference independently, stay skeptical of own confidence — certainty without evidence root of all hallucination.

Understand Code First — HARD-GATE: Do NOT write, plan, or fix until you READ existing code.

1. Search 3+ similar patterns (grep/glob) — cite file:line evidence
2. Read existing files in target area — understand structure, base classes, conventions
3. Run python .claude/scripts/code_graph trace <file> --direction both --json when .code-graph/graph.db exists
4. Map dependencies via connections or callers_of — know what depends on your target
5. Write investigation to .ai/workspace/analysis/ for non-trivial tasks (3+ files)
6. Re-read analysis file before implementing — never work from memory alone
7. NEVER invent new patterns when existing ones work — match exactly or document deviation

BLOCKED until: - [ ] Read target files - [ ] Grep 3+ patterns - [ ] Graph trace (if graph.db exists) - [ ] Assumptions verified with evidence

AI Mistake Prevention — Failure modes to avoid on every task:

Check downstream references before deleting. Deleting components causes documentation and code staleness cascades. Map all referencing files before removal. Verify AI-generated content against actual code. AI hallucinates APIs, class names, and method signatures. Always grep to confirm existence before documenting or referencing. Trace full dependency chain after edits. Changing a definition misses downstream variables and consumers derived from it. Always trace the full chain. Trace ALL code paths when verifying correctness. Confirming code exists is not confirming it executes. Always trace early exits, error branches, and conditional skips — not just happy path. When debugging, ask "whose responsibility?" before fixing. Trace whether bug is in caller (wrong data) or callee (wrong handling). Fix at responsible layer — never patch symptom site. Assume existing values are intentional — ask WHY before changing. Before changing any constant, limit, flag, or pattern: read comments, check git blame, examine surrounding code. Verify ALL affected outputs, not just the first. Changes touching multiple stacks require verifying EVERY output. One green check is not all green checks. Holistic-first debugging — resist nearest-attention trap. When investigating any failure, list EVERY precondition first (config, env vars, DB names, endpoints, DI registrations, data preconditions), then verify each against evidence before forming any code-layer hypothesis. Surgical changes — apply the diff test. Bug fix: every changed line must trace directly to the bug. Don't restyle or improve adjacent code. Enhancement task: implement improvements AND announce them explicitly. Surface ambiguity before coding — don't pick silently. If request has multiple interpretations, present each with effort estimate and ask. Never assume all-records, file-based, or more complex path.

IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION search 3+ existing patterns and read code BEFORE any modification. Run graph trace when graph.db exists.

MUST ATTENTION apply critical thinking — every claim needs traced proof, confidence >80% to act. Anti-hallucination: never present guess as fact.

MUST ATTENTION apply AI mistake prevention — holistic-first debugging, fix at responsible layer, surface ambiguity before coding, re-read files after compaction.

• MANDATORY After task-tracking bootstrap and before target/source work, read required project-reference docs and cite Reference docs read: ....
• MANDATORY Always include lessons.md; project conventions override generic defaults.

• MANDATORY Parent workflow rows do not replace child phase tracking; expand phases and link the parent when nested.
• MANDATORY Orchestrators pre-expand child skill phases before invocation; use [N.M] $skill-name — phase prefixes and one-in_progress discipline.

Closing Reminders

IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION break work into small todo tasks using task tracking BEFORE starting IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION search codebase for 3+ similar patterns before creating new code IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION cite file:line evidence for every claim (confidence >80% to act) IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION add a final review todo task to verify work quality IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION validate decisions with user via a direct user question — never auto-decide MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION READ the following files before starting:

IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION READ CLAUDE.md before starting

[TASK-PLANNING] Before acting, analyze task scope and systematically break it into small todo tasks and sub-tasks using task tracking.

Hookless Prompt Protocol Mirror (Auto-Synced)

Source: .claude/hooks/lib/prompt-injections.cjs + .claude/.ck.json

[WORKFLOW-EXECUTION-PROTOCOL] [BLOCKING] Workflow Execution Protocol — MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST CRITICAL. Do not skip for any reason.

1. DETECT: Match prompt against workflow catalog
2. ANALYZE: Find best-match workflow AND evaluate if a custom step combination would fit better
3. ASK (REQUIRED FORMAT): Use a direct user question with this structure:
   • Question: "Which workflow do you want to activate?"
   • Option 1: "Activate [BestMatch Workflow] (Recommended)"
   • Option 2: "Activate custom workflow: [step1 → step2 → ...]" (include one-line rationale)
4. ACTIVATE (if confirmed): Call $workflow-start <workflowId> for standard; sequence custom steps manually
5. CREATE TASKS: task tracking for ALL workflow steps
6. EXECUTE: Follow each step in sequence [CRITICAL-THINKING-MINDSET] Apply critical thinking, sequential thinking. Every claim needs traced proof, confidence >80% to act. Anti-hallucination principle: Never present guess as fact — cite sources for every claim, admit uncertainty freely, self-check output for errors, cross-reference independently, stay skeptical of own confidence — certainty without evidence root of all hallucination. AI Attention principle (Primacy-Recency): Put the 3 most critical rules at both top and bottom of long prompts/protocols so instruction adherence survives long context windows.

Learned Lessons

Lessons Learned

[CRITICAL] Hard-won project debugging/architecture rules. MUST ATTENTION apply BEFORE forming hypothesis or writing code.

Quick Summary

Goal: Prevent recurrence of known failure patterns — debugging, architecture, naming, AI orchestration, environment.

Top Rules (apply always):

• MUST ATTENTION verify ALL preconditions (config, env, DB names, DI regs) BEFORE code-layer hypothesis
• MUST ATTENTION fix responsible layer — NEVER patch symptom sites with caller-specific defensive code
• MUST ATTENTION use ExecuteInjectScopedAsync for parallel async + repo/UoW — NEVER ExecuteUowTask
• MUST ATTENTION name by PURPOSE not CONTENT — adding member forces rename = abstraction broken
• MUST ATTENTION persist sub-agent findings incrementally after each file — NEVER batch at end
• MUST ATTENTION Windows bash: verify Python alias (where python/where py) — NEVER assume python/python3 resolves

Debugging & Root Cause Reasoning

• [2026-04-11] Holistic-first: verify environment before code. Failure → list ALL preconditions (config, env vars, DB names, endpoints, DI regs, credentials, permissions, data prerequisites) → verify each via evidence (grep/cat/query) BEFORE code-layer hypothesis. Worst rabbit holes: diving nearest layer while bug sits elsewhere — e.g., hours debugging "sync timeout", real cause: test appsettings pointing wrong DB. ALWAYS cheapest check first.
• [2026-04-01] Ask "whose responsibility?" before fixing. Trace: bug caller (wrong data) or callee (wrong handling)? Fix responsible layer — NEVER patch symptom site masking real issue.
• [2026-04-01] Trace data lifecycle, not error site. Follow data: creation → transformation → consumption. Bug usually where data created wrong, not consumed.
• [2026-04-01] Code caller-agnostic. Functions/handlers/consumers don't know who invokes them. Comments/guards/messages describe business intent — NEVER reference specific callers (tests, seeders, scripts).

Architecture Invariants

• [2026-05-09] User name materialization MUST ATTENTION go through User.UpdateName(firstName, middleName, lastName). Domain method (src/Services/bravoTALENTS/Employee.Domain/AggregatesModel/User.cs:202-209) recomputes FullName as single source of truth. Three sites still manually patch user.FullName = user.GetFullName() after assigning name fields — src/Services/bravoTALENTS/Employee.Application/Factories/UserFactory.cs:50, src/Services/bravoSURVEYS/LearningPlatform.Application/ApplyPlatform/MessageBus/Consumers/AccountUserDeletedEventBusConsumer.cs:102, src/Services/bravoINSIGHTS/Analyze/Analyze.Application/MessageBus/Consumers/AccountUserDeletedEventBusConsumer.cs:66. Next time touching any: replace manual patch with user.UpdateName(...) to maintain invariant.
• [2026-03-31] ParallelAsync + repo/UoW MUST ATTENTION use ExecuteInjectScopedAsync, NEVER ExecuteUowTask. ExecuteUowTask creates new UoW but reuses outer DI scope (same DbContext) — parallel iterations sharing non-thread-safe DbContext silently corrupt data. ExecuteInjectScopedAsync creates new UoW + new DI scope (fresh repo per iteration).
• [2026-03-31] Bus message naming MUST ATTENTION include service name prefix — core services NEVER consume feature events. Prefix declares schema ownership (AccountUserEntityEventBusMessage = Accounts owns). Core services (Accounts, Communication) leaders. Feature services (Growth, Talents) sending to core MUST ATTENTION use {CoreServiceName}...RequestBusMessage — NEVER define own event for core to consume.

Naming & Abstraction

• [2026-04-12] Name PURPOSE not CONTENT — "OrXxx" anti-pattern. HrManagerOrHrOrPayrollHrOperationsPolicy names set members, not what guards. Add role → rename = broken abstraction. Rule: names express DOES/GUARDS, not CONTAINS. Test: adding/removing member forces rename? YES = content-driven = bad → rename to purpose (e.g., HrOperationsAccessPolicy). Nuance: "Or" fine behavioral idioms (FirstOrDefault, SuccessOrThrow) — expresses HAPPENS, not membership.

Environment & Tooling

• [2026-04-20] Windows bash: NEVER assume python/python3 resolves — verify alias first. Python may not be bash PATH under those names. Check: where python / where py. ALWAYS prefer py (Windows Python Launcher) one-liners, node if JS alternative exists.

Test-specific lessons → docs/project-reference/integration-test-reference.md Lessons Learned section. Production-code anti-patterns → docs/project-reference/backend-patterns-reference.md Anti-Patterns section. Generic debugging/refactoring reminders → System Lessons .claude/hooks/lib/prompt-injections.cjs.

Closing Reminders

• IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION holistic-first: verify ALL preconditions (config, env, DB names, endpoints, DI regs) BEFORE code-layer hypothesis — cheapest check first
• IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION fix responsible layer — NEVER patch symptom site; trace caller (wrong data) vs callee (wrong handling), fix root owner
• IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION parallel async + repo/UoW → ALWAYS ExecuteInjectScopedAsync, NEVER ExecuteUowTask (shared DbContext = silent data corruption)
• IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION bus message prefix = schema ownership; feature services NEVER define events for core services — use {CoreServiceName}...RequestBusMessage
• IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION name by PURPOSE — adding/removing member forces rename = broken abstraction
• IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION sub-agents MUST write findings after each file/section — NEVER batch all findings into one final write
• IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION Windows bash: NEVER assume python/python3 resolves — run where python/where py first, use py launcher or node
• IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION every claim needs file:line evidence — confidence >80% to act, NEVER speculate

[LESSON-LEARNED-REMINDER] [BLOCKING] Task Planning & Continuous Improvement — MANDATORY. Do not skip.

Break work into small tasks (task tracking) before starting. Add final task: "Analyze AI mistakes & lessons learned".

Extract lessons — ROOT CAUSE ONLY, not symptom fixes:

1. Name the FAILURE MODE (reasoning/assumption failure), not symptom — "assumed API existed without reading source" not "used wrong enum value".
2. Generality test: does this failure mode apply to ≥3 contexts/codebases? If not, abstract one level up.
3. Write as a universal rule — strip project-specific names/paths/classes. Useful on any codebase.
4. Consolidate: multiple mistakes sharing one failure mode → ONE lesson.
5. Recurrence gate: "Would this recur in future session WITHOUT this reminder?" — No → skip $learn.
6. Auto-fix gate: "Could $code-review/$code-simplifier/$security/$lint catch this?" — Yes → improve review skill instead.
7. BOTH gates pass → ask user to run $learn. [TASK-PLANNING] [MANDATORY] BEFORE executing any workflow or skill step, create/update task tracking for all planned steps, then keep it synchronized as each step starts/completes.