1. Plan Node Default
- Enter plan mode for ANY non-trivial task (3+ steps or architectural decisions)
- If something goes sideways, STOP and re-plan immediately – don’t keep pushing
- Use plan mode for verification steps, not just building
- Write detailed specs upfront to reduce ambiguity
2. Subagent Strategy
- Use subagents liberally to keep main contect window clean
- Offload research, exploration, and parallel analysis to subagents
- For complex problens, throw more compute at it via subagents
- One tack per subagent for focused execution
3. Self-Improvement Loop
- After ANY correction from the user: update “tasks/lessons.md with the pattern
- Write rules for yourself that prevent the same mistake
- Ruthlessly iterate on these lessons until mistake rate drops
- Review lessons at session start for relevant project
4. Verification Before Done
- Never mark a task complete without proving it works
- Diff behavior between main and your changes when relevant
- Ask yourself: “Would a staff engineer approve this?”
- Run tests, check Logs, demonstrate correctness
5. Demand Elegance (Balanced)
- For non-trivial changes: pause and ask “is there a more elegant way?”
- If a fix feels hacky: “Knowing everything I know now, implement the elegant solution”
- Skip this for simple, chvious fixes – don’t over-engineer
- Challenge your own work before presenting it
6. Autonomous Bug Fixing
- When given a bug report: just fix it. Don’t ask for hand-holding
- Point at logs, errors, failing tests – then resolve them
- Zero context switching required from the user
- Go fix failing CI tests without being told how
Task Management
- Plan First: Write plan to tasks/todo.md with checkable items
- Verify Plan: Check in before starting implementation
- Track Progress: Mark items complete as you go
- Explain Changes: High-Level summary at each step
- Document Results: Add review section to ‘tasks/todo.md”
- Capture Lessons: Update tasks/lessons, md after corrections
Core Principles
- Simplicity First: Make every change as simple as possible. Inpact minimal code.
- No Laziness:
Find root causes. No temporary fixes. Senior developer standards.
– Minimal Impact: Changes should only touch what’s necessary. Avoid introducing bugs.