project-standards-practice

Project Standards Practice

Read the project's AGENTS.md and SOP documents, distill the key coding standards, and apply them to subsequent tasks.

When to Use

• Starting a new coding task in an unfamiliar codebase
• User asks to "read the AGENTS.md and SOP" or "check the project standards"
• Beginning work on a repository with established conventions
• Before making changes that need to respect project-wide invariants

Prerequisites

None. The skill operates on locally available documentation.

How to Run

1. Locate the standards documents:

   • Primary: AGENTS.md at repository root (usually the main SOP)
   • Secondary: search for SOP*, *.sop, or STANDARD* files
   • Check _docs/ directory for implementation records

2. Read and inventory:

   • Use read_file on AGENTS.md (may be large — read in chunks if needed)
   • Use search_files to find specific topics (e.g., "Windows", "testing", "profiles")
   • Note section headings to understand document structure

3. Distill into actionable summary:

   • Extract concrete rules (not vague guidance)
   • Group by theme: paths, testing, platform quirks, skill authoring, etc.
   • Flag anything that directly constrains how you'll work

4. Apply to current task:

   • Reference the consolidated standards when making decisions
   • Flag any conflicts between standards and the current task

Quick Reference

Document	Typical Location	Purpose
AGENTS.md	repo root	Master guide & assistant mirrors
CLAUDE.md / GEMINI.md	repo root	Mirror guides for other assistants
_docs/	repo root	Implementation audit logs
skills/	repo root	Built-in skill standards

Procedure

Step 1: Find the standards

# Search for SOP-like documents
search_files(pattern="AGENTS.md", target="files")
search_files(pattern="*SOP*", target="files")
search_files(pattern="*.sop", target="files")

Step 2: Read the primary document

If AGENTS.md exists at root, read it. For large files, read in sections:

read_file(path="AGENTS.md", limit=500)
# If truncated, continue with offset=501

Step 3: Search for specific topics

Focus on sections relevant to your task:

# Windows-specific pitfalls
search_files(pattern="Windows|os.kill|UTF-8|pathlib", path=".", file_glob="*.md")

# Testing standards
search_files(pattern="test|pytest|mock", path=".", file_glob="*.md")

# Profile safety
search_files(pattern="get_hermes_home|profile", path=".", file_glob="*.md")

Step 4: Consolidate

Produce a concise summary organized by theme. Include:

• Hard requirements (must follow)
• Strong conventions (should follow)
• Platform-specific notes (Windows/Linux/macOS)
• Anti-patterns (what NOT to do)

Step 5: Apply

Reference the consolidated standards throughout the current task. When in doubt, check the original document.

Pitfalls

1. Only reading the first part of AGENTS.md — it's often long (1000+ lines). Read the whole thing or search for relevant sections.
2. Treating guidelines as optional — AGENTS.md often contains hard invariants (e.g., "Sacred Invariants" section).
3. Missing the "What We Reject" section — equally important as "What We Want"; tells you what NOT to do.
4. Not checking for platform-specific sections — Windows pitfalls are often called out separately.
5. Forgetting skill authoring standards — if creating skills, the HARDLINE section is mandatory.

Verification

• [ ] Read AGENTS.md (or equivalent SOP document) in full or via targeted search
• [ ] Searched for platform-specific sections (Windows/Linux/macOS)
• [ ] Identified hard requirements vs. conventions
• [ ] Consolidated standards into a usable reference
• [ ] Applied standards to current task decisions

Related Skills

• hermes-agent-skill-authoring — if creating/editing skills
• systematic-debugging — for root cause investigation
• cross-platform-path — for path handling across OSes