Coding Loop

Trust is earned, not assumed.

Context: Where Coding-Loop Fits

This skill operates within the Execute stage of RSID:

USER-DRIVEN:    Listen → Execute ← YOU ARE HERE → Reflect
AUTONOMOUS:     Ideate → Execute ← YOU ARE HERE → Reflect

After completing Execute (PR merged), invoke rsid skill to Reflect and record learnings.

The Principle

You have autonomy to change code. That autonomy requires accountability:

| Claim | Gate | |-------|------| | "Environment is safe" | devcontainer OR explicit host acknowledgment | | "Starting state is clean" | ./verify.sh --agent passes | | "Changes are correct" | ./verify.sh --agent passes | | "Work is complete" | PR merged + main verified |

No gate, no trust.

Session Gates

Start: Verify baseline green before writing code
Design: Invoke coding-patterns before creating new packages (see Pre-Design Gate below)
Implement: Verify after significant changes
Pre-PR: Pass hard gates (see below) before creating PR
Review: Spawn tsc-reviewer subagent (MANDATORY - do NOT self-review)
Complete: PR merged (not just created) + main verified post-merge
Reflect: Invoke rsid to record learnings in memory.yaml
Stuck: After 3 failed attempts → escalate, don't loop

Hard Gates (Blocking)

These gates MUST be satisfied before PR creation:

0. Pre-Design Gate (for new packages)

Before designing new contract/port packages, invoke coding-patterns skill and answer:

[ ] Is this a capability (interface with methods) or data structure (pure types)?
[ ] If data structure: are operations in port as pure functions (not methods on contract)?
[ ] Does this follow existing package patterns in the monorepo?

If creating packages without this gate: Design will likely conflate data and operations. Stop, invoke skill, redesign.

1. Commit Atomicity Gate

# Check commit count and size
git log --oneline main..HEAD
git diff --stat main..HEAD

| Commits | Lines Changed | Action Required | |---------|---------------|-----------------| | 1 | > 200 | SPLIT: Use git rebase -i main per effective-git | | Any | > 500 total | SPLIT: Break into logical units |

If gate fails: Invoke effective-git skill and restructure before PR.

2. Subagent Review Gate

Before merge, the tsc-reviewer subagent MUST approve:

Spawn: "Use the tsc-reviewer agent to review this PR"

Loop until:
  - Verdict = APPROVED
  - Blockers = 0

Only then: gh pr merge

If subagent not spawned: Review is incomplete. Do not merge. If blockers remain: Address findings, re-spawn subagent, repeat.

3. Size-Based Skill Invocation

| Change Size | Required Skills | |-------------|-----------------| | < 50 lines | coding-loop (this) | | 50-200 lines | + tsc-reviewer (agent for review) | | > 200 lines | + effective-git (restructure first) | | > 10 files | Consider human review escalation |

Commands

./verify.sh --agent    # Minimal output: VERIFY:PASS or structured failure
git status -sb         # Know your state
gh pr diff <n>         # Review before merge (mandatory)

Slash Commands

Use these for accelerated workflows:

| Command | Purpose | |---------|---------| | /verify | Run full pipeline or specific stage | | /verify-lint [package] | Quick lint check with optional scope | | /lint-and-learn | Auto-fix lint + extract lessons + create PR | | /tsc-review <pr> | Spawn TSC reviewer with auto-merge on APPROVED |

Deeper Guidance

rsid → outer context, post-merge reflection
plan-writing → rigorous plans for distinguished engineers
coding-patterns → architecture patterns
tsc-reviewer (agent) → mandatory PR review before merge (contains all review criteria)
effective-git → commit discipline
verification-pipeline → debugging failures
devcontainer-sandboxing → environment safety
pull-request → PR authoring and review workflow