guidelines

User Input

You MUST consider the user input before proceeding (if not empty).

Purpose

Guidelines are curated, domain-specific knowledge bases providing:

• Migration patterns: Technology-to-technology recipes
• Transformation rules: Concrete mappings and conversion templates
• Checklists: Step-by-step validation criteria

Skill Structure

skills/
├── guidelines/
│   └── SKILL.md                # This lookup contract
├── struts-to-spring/
│   ├── SKILL.md                # Independent Struts 2 → Spring Boot 3.x skill
│   └── SKILL-*.md              # Supporting rule documents
└── {domain}/
  └── SKILL.md                # Future independent guideline skill

Every directory containing a SKILL.md is a direct child of skills/. Never nest one skill inside another skill.

Lookup Mechanism

When other skills need guideline lookup:

1. Context Analysis: Extract technology keywords from spec/plan/code.
2. Guideline Discovery: Search top-level skills/*/SKILL.md metadata for matching source and target technologies.
3. Application: Load matching SKILL.md, extract applicable rules for current phase.

Integration Points

Workflow Step	Guideline Application
Specification	Domain constraints, scope boundaries
Planning	Technology decisions, architecture patterns
Tasks	Transformation tasks, file-by-file changes
Implementation	Code transformation rules, test patterns
Completeness	Validation checklists, coverage criteria

Creating New Guidelines

1. Create a top-level directory: skills/{domain}/
2. Create SKILL.md with:
   • Metadata header (name, description, triggers)
   • Rules organized by migration step
   • Concrete transformation examples (before/after)
   • Validation checklist

Documenting Applied Guidelines

When guidelines are applied, document in the relevant artifact:

## Applied Guidelines
- **Guideline**: struts-to-spring
- **Rules Used**: convert-action-to-controller, convert-validation
- **Reference**: skills/struts-to-spring/SKILL.md