Coding Posture

Task-aware working modes for coding agents. One SKILL.md file: before non-trivial work, the agent picks a mode — debug, fix, review, test-first, refactor, optimize, migrate, upgrade, integrate, spike, unstuck — and follows its checklist.

It exists to stop agents from behaving like optimistic elevators with write access: thrashing on a stuck bug, faking green tests, skipping reproduction, running destructive commands, migrating without a rollback.

Works with Hermes · Claude Code · Codex · Cursor · Pi — any SKILL.md-compatible agent.

How the agent uses it

flowchart TD
    Task["Non-trivial coding task"] --> Pick{"Pick a mode that fits(debug, fix, review, migrate, …)"}
    Pick -->|no match| Normal["Proceed normally"]
    Pick -->|match| Check["Follow the mode's checklist"]
    Check --> Loop["gather context → localize → smallest change→ run the real check → read output"]
    Loop --> V{"Verified by a real run?"}
    V -->|no| Loop
    V -->|yes| Done(["Done"])
    Guard["Always-on invariants:no fake green · no destructive commands · don't game tests"] -.->|guards every step| Check
    Guard -.-> Loop

Modes

Mode	Use when	Core discipline
debug	failing test, bug, regression	reproduce first, one hypothesis at a time
fix	small known urgent change	smallest diff, no opportunistic cleanup
review	security/auth/payments, reviewing a diff	no approval without file/line evidence
test-first	behavior change, tests practical	see RED before implementing, never fake green
refactor	cleanup, simplify, rename	preserve behavior, trace call sites before deleting
optimize	performance work, hot path	measure first, baseline before/after
migrate	schema/data/infra change	rollback path before touching state
upgrade	dependency or version bump	read breaking changes, no blind search-replace
integrate	calling an external API/service	read the contract, handle the error paths
spike	prototype, PoC, unknown library	isolate, end with a verdict
unstuck	repeated failures, thrashing	stop editing, summarize evidence, narrow hypotheses

Always — in every mode:

• Verify by running the real check (test, build, repro); never by re-reading.
• Never report a result you didn't run; never weaken, delete, or game a test to go green.
• No destructive commands (force push, reset --hard, drop, rm -rf) without explicit scope.

Install

Install as a plugin (one command, updates in place) or drop the skill in directly. It's a standard SKILL.md skill, so it works unmodified across compatible agents.

Claude Code — plugin

/plugin marketplace add alexei-led/coding-posture
/plugin install coding-posture@coding-posture