Init
Write or refresh the `## Tech debt operations` section in CLAUDE.md so a team shares one source of truth for debt-ops disciplines and cached quality commands. Idempotent. Only the managed section changes; other sections are untouched. Invoked explicitly via /debt-ops:init (solo users get the same content from the SessionStart inject).From its SKILL.md
npx -y skills add bcanfield/agentic-tech-debt --skill initAssembled from the repository path, not quoted from the project. Check it against their README if it does not work.
3 things to look at
- skips confirmationTells the agent to proceed without asking first, 1 time: "register via `/debt-ops:add` immediately — no prompt".
- 8 stars8 stars. Stars are a popularity signal and not a quality one, but at this level it is likely that nobody has read this closely except its author, and you would be relying on your own review.
- runs commandsInstructs the agent to run 7 commands, including `TOPLEVEL=$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)` and 6 more.
SKILL.md
5.0 KB, ~1.2k tokens by cl100k_base, as published. Nobody here has run it
/debt-ops:init
Write or update a ## Tech debt operations section in ./CLAUDE.md. Idempotent — only the managed section changes.
1. Read the cached commands
TOPLEVEL=$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)
REPO_HASH=$(printf '%s' "$TOPLEVEL" | shasum | cut -c1-12)
# Locate this repo's plugin cache. CLAUDE_PLUGIN_DATA is set in hook
# subprocesses but NOT in the skill's bash env, so glob the standard
# Claude Code plugin-data dirs and fall back to the legacy cache path.
CACHE_DIR=""
for D in \
${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_DATA:+"$CLAUDE_PLUGIN_DATA/cache/$REPO_HASH"} \
"$HOME/.claude/plugins/data"/debt-ops*/cache/"$REPO_HASH" \
"$HOME/.cache/debt-ops/cache/$REPO_HASH"; do
[ -d "$D" ] && { CACHE_DIR="$D"; break; }
done
LIST="$CACHE_DIR/feedback.list"
[ -n "$CACHE_DIR" ] && [ -f "$LIST" ] && cat "$LIST"
# Detected ADR/registry dirs (ADR 0006/0009). Fall back to the co-located
# defaults if the cache files aren't written yet.
ADR_DIR=$( [ -s "$CACHE_DIR/adr-dir" ] && cat "$CACHE_DIR/adr-dir" || echo "docs/adr" )
REGISTRY_DIR=$( [ -s "$CACHE_DIR/registry-dir" ] && cat "$CACHE_DIR/registry-dir" || echo "docs/debt" )
echo "adr-dir: $ADR_DIR"
echo "registry-dir: $REGISTRY_DIR"
If the file doesn't exist, the SessionStart discovery prompt hasn't run yet. Tell the developer:
No cached quality commands yet. Start a new session so I can detect them, then re-run /debt-ops:init.
…and stop.
2. Compose the section (template)
Substitute {{COMMANDS}} with the cache contents verbatim, {{ADR_DIR}} with the detected adr-dir, and {{REGISTRY_DIR}} with the detected registry-dir (from step 1).
## Tech debt operations
<!-- this section is auto-managed by the debt-ops Claude Code plugin; safe to edit, run /debt-ops:init to regenerate -->
### Disciplines
1. The test for debt: would a future reader ask "why this way?" If yes, register via `/debt-ops:add` immediately — no prompt. This is judgment, not a marker scan: a `TODO`/`FIXME`/`HACK`/`XXX` is the obvious case, but an unmade decision, a stub, a loosened type, or a default picked "for now" all count even with no marker in the diff. Use `payoff_trigger: unknown` if unsure. Announce: `+1 entry: <slug> (drop?)`. Over-register freely; the developer drops with "drop it".
2. When making an architecturally significant change — a data model, public interface, security boundary, release pipeline, or a dep-manifest change that is a major-version bump or a *new* top-level dependency — draft an ADR under `{{ADR_DIR}}/` in Nygard format: a `# NNNN — Title` heading, `**Date:**` and `**Status:**` lines, then Context, Decision, Consequences, Alternatives, Payoff trigger. Create the directory if needed. Only draft an ADR when there are two credible alternatives; if you cannot list two, it is a comment, not an ADR. An ADR with a payoff trigger *is* deliberate debt — when you write one, also call `/debt-ops:add` so the registry entry mirrors the ADR (don't conclude "no markers, no debt").
3. Read entries under `{{REGISTRY_DIR}}/` before changing files they reference.
### Quality commands
These run after every edit under a 3 s budget per command. Edit freely; the plugin reads tolerantly. Lines starting with `#` are estimates/comments and are skipped at run time.
<!-- debt-ops:feedback v1 -->
{{COMMANDS}}
<!-- /debt-ops:feedback -->
3. Apply
- If
./CLAUDE.mddoesn't exist:Writeit with the section above as the entire file. - If
./CLAUDE.mdhas a## Tech debt operationssection:Editto replace exactly that section — from the heading through (but not including) the next##heading, or through EOF if no next heading. Leave every other byte unchanged. - If
./CLAUDE.mdexists without the section:Editto append the section after the last existing line, with a single blank line between.
4. Announce
charter updated: ./CLAUDE.md — disciplines + N quality commands
(N = count of non-comment, non-blank lines inside the marker block.)
Marker contract — do not deviate
<!-- debt-ops:feedback v1 -->is the open markerfeedback.pykeys on. Exact string; thev1is part of the marker.<!-- /debt-ops:feedback -->is the close marker.- The self-explaining
<!-- this section is auto-managed by … -->line is mandatory — a teammate without the plugin reads that to understand what they're seeing. - Never touch any byte outside the
## Tech debt operationssection.
What ships with it
Read from the repository
Just SKILL.md. No reference files, no scripts.