CLAUDE.md · mindfold-ai/Trellis

Sections

1. 1. Think Before Coding
2. 2. Simplicity First
3. 3. Surgical Changes
4. 4. Goal-Driven Execution
5. Always Do
6. Never Do
7. Resources
8. CLI

First lines (shown under the repo's AGPL-3.0 license)

# CLAUDE.md

Behavioral guidelines to reduce common LLM coding mistakes. Merge with project-specific instructions as needed.

**Tradeoff:** These guidelines bias toward caution over speed. For trivial tasks, use judgment.

## 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.

<!-- gitnexus:start -->
# GitNexus — Code Intelligence

This project is indexed by GitNexus as **Trellis** (14336 symbols, 20870 relationships, 300 execution flows). Use the GitNexus MCP tools to understand code, assess impact, and navigate safely.

> Index stale? Run `node .gitnexus/run.cjs analyze` from the project root — it auto-selects an available runner. No `.gitnexus/run.cjs` yet? `npx gitnexus analyze` (npm 11 crash → `npm i -g gitnexus`; #1939).

## Always Do

- **MUST run impact analysis before editing any symbol.** Before modifying a function, class, or method, run `impact({target: "symbolName", direction: "upstream"})` and report the blast radius (direct callers, affected processes, risk level) to the user.
- **MUST run `detect_changes()` before committing** to verify your changes only affect expected symbols and execution flows. For regression review, compare against the default branch: `detect_changes({scope: "compare", base_ref: "main"})`.
- **MUST warn the user** if impact analysis returns HIGH or CRITICAL risk before proceeding with edits.
- When exploring unfamiliar code, use `query({query: "concept"})` to find execution flows instead of grepping. It returns process-grouped results ranked by relevance.
- When you need full context on a specific symbol — callers, callees, which execution flows it participates in — use `context({name: "symbolName"})`.

## Never Do

- NEVER edit a function, class, or method without first running `impact` on it.
- NEVER ignore HIGH or CRITICAL risk warnings from impact analysis.
- NEVER rename symbols with find-and-replace — use `rename` which understands the call graph.
- NEVER commit changes without running `detect_changes()` to check affected scope.

## Resources

| Resource | Use for |
|----------|---------|
| `gitnexus://repo/Trellis/context` | Codebase overview, check index freshness |
| `gitnexus://repo/Trellis/clusters` | All functional areas |
| `gitnexus://repo/Trellis/processes` | All execution flows |
| `gitnexus://repo/Trellis/process/{name}` | Step-by-step execution trace |

## CLI

| Task | Read this skill file |
|------|---------------------|
| Understand architecture / "How does X work?" | `.claude/skills/gitnexus/gitnexus-exploring/SKILL.md` |
| Blast radius / "What breaks if I change X?" | `.claude/skills/gitnexus/gitnexus-impact-analysis/SKILL.md` |
| Trace bugs / "Why is X failing?" | `.claude/skills/gitnexus/gitnexus-debugging/SKILL.md` |
| Rename / extract / split / refactor | `.claude/skills/gitnexus/gitnexus-refactoring/SKILL.md` |
| Tools, resources, schema reference | `.claude/skills/gitnexus/gitnexus-guide/SKILL.md` |
| Index, status, clean, wiki CLI commands | `.claude/skills/gitnexus/gitnexus-cli/SKILL.md` |

<!-- gitnexus:end -->