naming

Naming

One list, synced from the hub. The gate naming checks what a machine can check, on push and in CI; the rest is your judgement. references/lint.md draws the line.

Before you name anything, run node .agents/skills/naming/scripts/config.mjs and read its output as the current rules: it prints references/naming.json merged with the project's overrides.

Rules

1. One word per thing, and the word comes from GLOSSARY.md. Look there first, then in existing types, DB tables and API routes. The repo's word beats the request's word.

   Good	Bad	Why
   testimonial	customerQuote	the request said "customer quotes", the repo says testimonial
   Testimonial type, testimonials table, /api/testimonials	Testimonial type, reviews table	one word per thing, everywhere
   order	purchase beside order	two words for one thing splits the search

2. No word yet? Run term-check, show the result to the user, get sign-off, then add the word to GLOSSARY.md through domain-modeling, which owns that file.

Good	Bad	Why
carryOver, term-checked, in GLOSSARY.md	carryOver, invented in the PR	a new word needs the user's sign-off
caseStudy recorded with plural caseStudies	caseStudy with no entry	the next agent picks a different word
grid added to the role list	Grid used, list unchanged	a role outside the closed list is a new word

1. Name by role, not by type. No I or T prefix, no Hungarian, no noise word (see noiseWords in naming.json).

   Good	Bad	Why
   User	IUser	no I prefix
   count	nCount	no Hungarian
   accounts	accountList, accountData	no noise word, the plural already says many

2. Full words only, no single-letter name, no magic number. The banned short words are shortWords in naming.json.

   Good	Bad	Why
   options	opts	full word
   error	e, err	no single letter, no abbreviation
   const MAX_RETRIES = 3	a bare 3	a number needs a name

3. Say nothing the call site already says.

   Good	Bad	Why
   user.name	user.userName	the object says user
   testimonials.add(item)	testimonials.addTestimonial(item)	the collection says testimonial
   field name in table testimonials	field testimonial_name	the table says testimonial

4. An action starts with a verb from prefixes in naming.json, one verb per meaning. A pure derived value may be a noun.

   Good	Bad	Why
   fetchTestimonials	loadTestimonials beside it	one verb per meaning, fetch is over the network
   listUsers	getAllUsers	list means many
   branchSha	getBranchSha	a pure derived value may be a noun

   A prefix promises its meaning: get only reads, set returns nothing, is returns a boolean, find may return nothing while get may not. A name with and in it (saveAndNotify) is two functions.

5. Stored boolean state is a bare adjective; a check is is, has, can or should; never notX.

   Good	Bad	Why
   archived	isArchived	stored state is a bare adjective
   isEmpty, canRetry	empty(), retryAllowed	a check carries the prefix
   enabled	notDisabled	positive names only

6. Entity singular, collection plural. Record an irregular plural in GLOSSARY.md next to the word.

   Good	Bad	Why
   type Testimonial, file testimonial.ts	type Testimonials	one entity is singular
   table, path, folder testimonials	table testimonial	a collection is plural
   case_studies, plural recorded in GLOSSARY.md	case_studys	an irregular plural is written down once

7. No enum. Use a string-literal union or an as const object. The discriminant key is discriminant in naming.json (kind). Own values are kebab-case; values mirrored from an external API stay verbatim.

   Good	Bad	Why
   type Status = 'open' | 'in-progress'	enum Status { Open }	no enum
   { kind: 'pull-request' }	{ type: 'pull-request' }	the discriminant key is kind
   'MERGED' from the GitHub API	'merged'	a mirrored value stays verbatim

8. Build every name from parts in naming.json, big to small: project · area · entity · role · action · attribute · consumer. Take the parts you need, keep their order. Each artifacts entry lists parts, case and examples. role is a closed list per repo (artifacts.component.roles, artifacts.env.roles). Env vars follow artifacts.env.shape. Payload CMS: collection slug = API path = table; the slug is kebab-case and plural (case-studies), the table replaces the hyphen with an underscore (case_studies).

   Good	Bad	Why
   COLIN_SYNC_KEY_FOR_TWENTY	TWENTY_API_KEY	issuer first, then what the key is for, then who holds it
   TestimonialGrid	GridTestimonial	entity first, then role
   testimonial.added	addTestimonial	an event is a fact in the past, not a command

9. Casing follows the language guide and the repo's linter. Files and folders are lowercase kebab-case. An existing repo convention wins over this line: set it in artifacts.file.case and artifacts.folder.case, one case or a list (["kebab", "PascalCase", "camelCase"] for React components and hooks).

   Good	Bad	Why
   render-pr-body.mjs	renderPrBody.mjs	files are kebab-case
   src/components/case-studies/	src/components/case_studies/	folders are kebab-case
   loadUser in a repo that uses load everywhere	fetchUser beside it	the existing convention wins

10. Meaning changed? Rename everywhere in the same change, rule 204 in writing-rules.

    Good	Bad	Why
    draft renamed to proposal in code, docs and DB in one PR	code renamed, docs still say draft	two words for one thing
    retryCount after the value stopped being a limit	maxRetries kept	the name lies
    rename plus a GLOSSARY.md update	rename only	the glossary is the source

Per-project overrides

Override file: .skilly/naming.json, same shape as references/naming.json, only the keys you change. An old docs/agents/naming.json is read only while .skilly/naming.json is missing: move it to .skilly/naming.json.

Merge order:

1. references/naming.json
2. references/stacks/<bundle>.json, for each bundle listed in .skilly/config.json bundles, in that order. Missing file: skipped. Bundles reached only through includes do not count.
3. .skilly/naming.json

Merge rules:

• Objects merge by key. null drops a key.
• Arrays append and dedupe. "-Data" drops the default Data.
• Scalars override.

{
  "prefixes": { "sync": { "meaning": "mirror to a remote system", "not": ["push", "mirror"] } },
  "noiseWords": ["-Data"],
  "allow": {
    "ctxTools": { "names": ["^ctx_"], "rules": ["short-word"], "why": "lean-ctx tool names." },
    "payload/migrations": null
  }
}

allow holds named entries. Shape and what they silence: references/lint.md.

References

• references/naming.json: prefixes, parts, artifacts, short words, noise words, synonyms, discriminant, allow
• references/stacks/: per-bundle defaults, same shape
• references/lint.md: what the gate checks, what you judge, per-repo exceptions
• references/biome.json: opt-in Biome block for consumers
• scripts/config.mjs: prints the merged config
• scripts/check.mjs: runs the gate on the files the branch changes