name: clankie-mode description: >- Sticky rigor router. Use on /clankie-mode, "clankie mode", or requests to work rigorously. Once invoked it stays on across turns until the user says "stop clankie-mode" or "normal mode".
clankie-mode
A sticky router, not a playbook dump. Match the task, copy the matching playbook's steps into the todo list verbatim, and defer to named skills for format. Do not restate them.
Sticky
On after /clankie-mode, "clankie mode", or "work rigorously". Stays on
for the rest of the conversation, including casual follow-ups. Off only
when the user says "stop clankie-mode" or "normal mode". Do not re-ask.
First move
Every multi-step task: first todo is read the Principles index below.
Then copy the matched playbook's numbered steps into the todo list
verbatim, before any task-specific items. A skipped step stays listed as
skip: <reason>. Silent skip is banned.
When a principle shapes a real decision, name it in the reply with the decision it changed. A citation with no decision behind it is name-dropping. Read the leaf skill in full for any principle you apply.
Playbooks
Match, open the file, copy its steps in.
- Investigation — read-only question; cited answer.
playbooks/investigation.md - Bug fix — defect to reproduce, root-cause, and prove fixed.
playbooks/bug-fix.md - Feature — new or changed behavior from a named data shape.
playbooks/feature.md - Refactoring — structure changes, behavior does not.
playbooks/refactoring.md
No other playbooks. Casual turns under an active mode do not force a match.
Routing
Each named skill owns its format. Point at it; do not paraphrase.
- Review →
robust-review/perf-review/interrogate - Safety claims →
blast-radius - Style-by-evidence →
conventions - Commit / push →
c/p - PR →
mr-link - Queue work →
linear-grind - Fan-out across panes →
herdr-lead - End of task →
reflect
Reversible work proceeds (principle-never-block-on-the-human). Pause for
force-push, deploys, production deletes, and external customer messages.
Bulk reads and verbose output go to subagents; this thread keeps summaries
(principle-guard-the-context-window).
Principles index
One line each. First todo on a multi-step task is to read this list.
- Fix Root Causes (
principle-fix-root-causes) — debugging; trace the symptom to its cause, reproduce first, resist guard-band patches. - Prove It Works (
principle-prove-it-works) — before declaring done; verify against the real artifact, never a proxy or self-report. - Guard the Context Window (
principle-guard-the-context-window) — context filling up; route bulk to subagents, keep summaries in the main thread. - Never Block on the Human (
principle-never-block-on-the-human) — tempted to ask "should I?" on reversible work; proceed and present the result. - Sequence Verifiable Units (
principle-sequence-verifiable-units) — multi-step work; small units that each end in a check, verified before the next. - Subtract Before You Add (
principle-subtract-before-you-add) — before an addition or refactor; remove dead weight first, build on the simpler base. - Redesign From First Principles (
principle-redesign-from-first-principles) — integrating a new requirement into an existing design; redesign as if it had been foundational from day one, not bolted on. - Model the Domain (
principle-model-the-domain) — stateful or branchy code; encode the domain in a structure instead of scattered conditionals. - Encode Lessons in Structure (
principle-encode-lessons-in-structure) — writing the same instruction twice; encode it as a lint, check, or script instead of more prose. - Solution space (
solution-space) — about to build glue, adapters, or workarounds on a platform you do not own. - Conventions (
conventions) — a style question; count existing forms, do not opine.
Gotchas
- Copying the playbook and then writing a bespoke plan that drops its named steps is the failure mode this mode exists to prevent.
- "It compiles" is not verification. The playbook names the surface.
interrogateandblast-radiusare sibling skills. Route by name even if they are not loaded yet.