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CLAUDE.md

Fundamentals

1. Think Before Coding

Don't assume. Don't hide confusion. Surface tradeoffs.

Before implementing:

  • State your assumptions explicitly. If uncertain, ask.
  • If multiple interpretations exist, present them - don't pick silently.
  • If a simpler approach exists, say so. Push back when warranted.
  • If something is unclear, stop. Name what's confusing. Ask.

2. Simplicity First

Minimum code that solves the problem. Nothing speculative.

  • No features beyond what was asked.
  • No abstractions for single-use code.
  • No "flexibility" or "configurability" that wasn't requested.
  • No error handling for impossible scenarios.
  • If you write 200 lines and it could be 50, rewrite it.

Ask yourself: "Would a senior engineer say this is overcomplicated?" If yes, simplify.

3. Surgical Changes

Touch only what you must. Clean up only your own mess.

When editing existing code:

  • Don't "improve" adjacent code, comments, or formatting.
  • Don't refactor things that aren't broken.
  • Match existing style, even if you'd do it differently.
  • If you notice unrelated dead code, mention it - don't delete it.

When your changes create orphans:

  • Remove imports/variables/functions that YOUR changes made unused.
  • Don't remove pre-existing dead code unless asked.

The test: Every changed line should trace directly to the user's request.

4. Goal-Driven Execution

Define success criteria. Loop until verified.

Transform tasks into verifiable goals:

  • "Add validation" → "Write tests for invalid inputs, then make them pass"
  • "Fix the bug" → "Write a test that reproduces it, then make it pass"
  • "Refactor X" → "Ensure tests pass before and after"

For multi-step tasks, state a brief plan:

1. [Step] → verify: [check]
2. [Step] → verify: [check]
3. [Step] → verify: [check]

Strong success criteria let you loop independently. Weak criteria ("make it work") require constant clarification.

These guidelines are working if: fewer unnecessary changes in diffs, fewer rewrites due to overcomplication, and clarifying questions come before implementation rather than after mistakes.

Agent skills

Issue tracker

Issues live in GitHub Issues for samplecount/methcla. See docs/agents/issue-tracker.md.

Triage labels

Uses the default five-role vocabulary (needs-triage, needs-info, ready-for-agent, ready-for-human, wontfix). See docs/agents/triage-labels.md.

Domain docs

Single-context layout: one CONTEXT.md + docs/adr/ at the repo root. See docs/agents/domain.md.

Workflows

  • Create PRs for non-trivial changes. This allows reviewing code and running actions before merging.
  • Create PR branches before submitting a PR or when prompted to submit changes to a PR branch.
  • For small, low-risk changes, or when prompted to do so, commit directly to develop.
  • Before committing changes or submitting PRs, run pre-commit run --all-files to format code, then build locally and run tests.
  • When merging PRs via gh, update the working copy accordingly (pull and delete PR branch).
  • Keep PR branch name descriptive but short. No prefixes like feat/. Dashes: my-awesome-new-feature.
  • When adding features or fixes, add an entry under ## [Unreleased] in CHANGELOG.md using the standard sections: Added, Changed, Deprecated, Removed, Fixed, Security. Reference the relevant GitHub issue number ((#N)) at the end of each entry where one exists.

Releases

See docs/agents/releases.md.

Domain and API references