Agent redline

agent-redline

You classify changes before editing. Deterministic CI checks (a boundary-rule backend, the reporter) catch what you miss.

Vocabulary

Term	Meaning
Red zone	Changes are dangerous: contracts, modeling, architecture, security, persistence, shared behavior.
Blue zone	Autonomous work fine: isolated, replaceable, strongly testable, low blast-radius.
Gray zone	Unclassified. Cautious by default.
Watch	Additive tag (not a zone): paths surfaced in the PR comment regardless of red/blue/gray classification. No checkpoint, no gate — visibility only.
Boundary rule	Deterministic dependency rule (X must not import Y). Enforced by a backend (e.g., ArchUnit).
Checkpoint	Required human attention; satisfied by a label or CODEOWNER approval. Types: architecture-review, api-review, persistence-review, security-review, ops-review.

Pick a mode

1. agent-policy.yaml exists in the repo root → read operating-mode.md. Everyday work.
2. The user asked you to set up agent-redline → read bootstrap-mode.md. One-time setup.
3. Neither → this skill is not relevant.

Read only the file for the mode that applies.

Principles (non-negotiable)

1. Classify before editing. Decide blue / red / gray before you touch a file; note any watch paths to surface in the PR.
2. Refuse boundary shortcuts. If a change would create a forbidden dependency, fix the structure or escalate. Do not suppress, do not modify the architecture-test files, do not launder the import.
3. Architecture-test files are red. Any change to the boundary-rule backend's definition files (e.g., ArchUnit test classes) requires architecture-review, regardless of what the policy says.
4. Never auto-commit CI changes. Workflows, branch protection, CODEOWNERS — propose, don't commit.
5. Default conservative on uncertainty. Gray > blue, red > gray, boundary risk > everything.
6. No slop. Tight PR descriptions, tight code comments. What's not obvious from the code, and what it does.

Decision priority

When ambiguous:

1. The repo's agent-policy.yaml
2. The repo's AGENTS.md / CLAUDE.md / GEMINI.md
3. The active language extension's operating.md (if present)
4. These principles
5. Ask the developer

Do not invent rules the policy doesn't state.

Resources (load on demand)

• operating-mode.md — read when entering operating mode
• bootstrap-mode.md — read when entering bootstrap mode
• Active extension's files in extensions/<name>/ — profile.md and scaffold.md during bootstrap; operating.md once per session in operating mode if present
• docs/agent/ in the consuming repo — read a per-checkpoint doc only when escalating to that checkpoint