SKILL: Quality Gates

Purpose: Pre-commit quality validation procedures (type-check, lint, todos, branch guard) Target: Coder Agent, pre-commit hooks, CI/CD pipelines

Quick Start

When to Use This Skill

Before committing code (pre-commit hooks)
Validating code quality in CI/CD
Ensuring all todos complete before commit
Preventing commits to protected branches

Quick Reference

# Type check validation
npm run type-check  # or: tsc --noEmit

# Lint validation
npm run lint  # or: eslint . --ext .ts,.tsx

# Todo validation
/03_close  # Validates all SCs complete before closing plan

# Branch guard (Git native)
git config --global receive.denyDeleteCurrent warn

Core Concepts

Quality Gates Philosophy

Pre-commit hooks enforce quality standards before code enters the repository.

Skills as procedures, hooks as automation:

Skills document the what and how (this file)
Hooks execute the procedures automatically
CI provides fallback enforcement
Developer autonomy preserved (opt-in hooks)

Why Opt-In Hooks?

Mandatory hooks improve baseline quality but create friction
Skills + CI yields consistent enforcement while preserving autonomy
Developers can choose strictness level (off/stop/strict profile)

Procedures

Type Check Validation

Command: tsc --noEmit or npm run type-check

Output: Success (exit 0) | Type errors with file/line (exit 1)

Example Failure: src/auth/login.ts:15:11 - error TS2345: Argument of type 'string' is not assignable to parameter of type 'number'.

Lint Validation

Command: npx eslint . --ext .ts,.tsx or npm run lint

Output: Success (exit 0) | Lint errors with file/line/rule (exit 1)

Example Failure: src/utils/format.ts:42:5 error Unused vars no-unused-vars

Todo Validation

Command: /03_close

Steps: Read plan → Check all SCs [x] → Verify evidence → Block if incomplete

Example Block: ⚠️ Incomplete SCs detected: - [ ] SC-3: Add unit tests (evidence missing)

Branch Guard

Purpose: Prevent accidental commits to protected branches

Git Config: git config --global receive.denyDeleteCurrent warn

Pre-commit Hook: Check if CURRENT_BRANCH in main master develop → exit 1 if protected

Quality Gates Summary

| Gate | Command | Exit 0 | Exit 1 | |------|---------|--------|--------| | Type Check | tsc --noEmit | No type errors | Type errors found | | Lint | npm run lint | No lint errors | Lint violations found | | Todos | /03_close | All SCs complete | Incomplete SCs | | Branch Guard | Pre-commit hook | Safe to commit | Protected branch |

Integration Patterns

Pre-commit Hook Setup

Note: Pre-commit hooks were removed in v4.4.14 as part of skill-based architecture migration. Use the docs-verify skill for documentation validation instead.

CI/CD Integration

# .github/workflows/quality.yml
jobs:
  quality:
    steps:
      - name: Type check
        run: npm run type-check
      - name: Lint
        run: npm run lint
      - name: Test
        run: npm test

Troubleshooting

Type Check Failures

Causes: Missing types npm install --save-dev @types/node | Incorrect tsconfig | Third-party types

Debug: tsc --noEmit --listFiles | tsc --noEmit src/problem.ts

Lint Failures

Solution: Update .eslintrc.js rules or // eslint-disable-next-line

Auto-fix: npx eslint . --fix

Best Practices

Run locally first: Fix quality issues before pushing
Automate in CI: Always run quality gates in CI/CD
Clear error messages: Make failures easy to understand
Fast feedback: Optimize for quick execution (<30s)
Graceful degradation: Allow opting out with clear warnings

quality-gates