Consistency Enforcement Skill

Layer 4 Defense Against Documentation Drift

This skill auto-activates to remind you to maintain documentation consistency when working on:

• Documentation updates (README.md, SYNC-STATUS.md, etc.)
• Adding/removing skills, agents, or commands
• Committing changes
• Updating marketplace.json

When This Activates

Automatically activates on keywords:

• "readme", "documentation", "docs"
• "commit", "sync", "update"
• "skill", "agent", "command"
• "count", "marketplace"
• "consistency", "drift"

---

Critical Consistency Rules

Rule 1: README.md is the Source of Truth

All counts in README.md must match reality:

# Count actual skills
ls -d plugins/autonomous-dev/skills/*/ | wc -l

# Count actual agents
ls plugins/autonomous-dev/agents/*.md | wc -l

# Count actual commands
ls plugins/autonomous-dev/commands/*.md | wc -l

# ✅ Verify README.md shows these exact counts
grep -E "[0-9]+ Skills" plugins/autonomous-dev/README.md
grep -E "[0-9]+ (Specialized )?Agents" plugins/autonomous-dev/README.md
grep -E "[0-9]+ (Slash )?Commands" plugins/autonomous-dev/README.md

Rule 2: All Documentation Files Must Match README.md

These files MUST show the same counts:

• ✅ README.md (primary source)
• ✅ docs/SYNC-STATUS.md
• ✅ docs/UPDATES.md
• ✅ INSTALL_TEMPLATE.md
• ✅ .claude-plugin/marketplace.json (metrics section)
• ✅ templates/knowledge/best-practices/claude-code-2.0.md

Rule 3: Never Reference Non-Existent Skills

Before mentioning a skill, verify it exists:

# Get list of actual skills
ls -1 plugins/autonomous-dev/skills/

# ❌ NEVER reference:
# - engineering-standards (doesn't exist)
# - Any skill not in the above list

Rule 4: marketplace.json Metrics Match Reality

Update marketplace.json whenever counts change:

{
  "metrics": {
    "agents": 8,
    "skills": 12,
    "commands": 21,
    "hooks": 9
  }
}

---

4-Layer Defense System

This skill is Layer 4 of the consistency enforcement strategy:

Layer 1: Automated Tests (Enforced)

Location: tests/test_documentation_consistency.py

What it does: Automatically fails CI/CD if documentation is out of sync

Checks:

• ✅ README.md skill/agent/command counts match actual
• ✅ All mentioned skills actually exist
• ✅ marketplace.json metrics match reality
• ✅ Cross-document consistency verified

Run:

pytest tests/test_documentation_consistency.py -v

Layer 2: Agent Memory (doc-master)

Location: agents/doc-master.md

What it does: doc-master agent has explicit checklist to verify consistency before creating docs.json artifact

Checks:

• ✅ 6-point consistency verification checklist
• ✅ Common drift scenarios documented
• ✅ Automated test reminder

Layer 3: Pre-Tool-Use Hook (Optional)

Location: hooks/validate_docs_consistency.py

What it does: Validates documentation consistency before file modifications

Note: Integrated into unified_pre_tool.py hook. Can be annoying, so it's optional. Use for critical repositories.

Layer 4: This Skill (Auto-Reminder)

Location: skills/consistency-enforcement/SKILL.md

What it does: Auto-activates to remind you about consistency when working on docs

Triggers: Keywords like "readme", "commit", "skill", "agent", "command", "update"

---

Common Documentation Drift Scenarios

Scenario 1: Adding New Skill

What happens:

# You create new skill
mkdir skills/new-skill-name
# Write skill content...

# ❌ EASY TO FORGET: Update documentation!

Correct workflow:

# 1. Create skill
mkdir skills/new-skill-name

# 2. Update README.md
# Change "X Skills" to "Y Skills" (where Y = X + 1)
# Add skill to categorized table

# 3. Update cross-references
# - docs/SYNC-STATUS.md
# - docs/UPDATES.md
# - INSTALL_TEMPLATE.md
# - .claude-plugin/marketplace.json (metrics.skills)
# - templates/knowledge/best-practices/claude-code-2.0.md

# 4. Run tests to verify
pytest tests/test_documentation_consistency.py -v

# ✅ Now all counts match!

Scenario 2: Updating README.md

What happens:

# You update README.md skill count
# "9 Skills" → "12 Skills"

# ❌ EASY TO FORGET: Update other docs!

Correct workflow:

# 1. Update README.md
# "9 Skills" → "12 Skills (Comprehensive SDLC Coverage)"

# 2. Update ALL cross-references
grep -r "9 skills\|9 Skills" plugins/autonomous-dev/*.md plugins/autonomous-dev/docs/*.md

# 3. Update each file found
# - SYNC-STATUS.md: "9 skills" → "12 skills"
# - UPDATES.md: "All 9 skills" → "All 12 skills"
# - INSTALL_TEMPLATE.md: "9 Skills" → "12 Skills"

# 4. Update marketplace.json
# "skills": 9 → "skills": 12

# 5. Run tests to verify
pytest tests/test_documentation_consistency.py -v

# ✅ All documents now consistent!

Scenario 3: Removing Skill

What happens:

# You remove old skill
rm -rf skills/deprecated-skill

# ❌ EASY TO FORGET: Update counts AND remove references!

Correct workflow:

# 1. Remove skill
rm -rf skills/deprecated-skill

# 2. Update README.md count
# "12 Skills" → "11 Skills"
# Remove skill from table

# 3. Update all cross-references
# (Same as Scenario 2)

# 4. Search for skill references
grep -r "deprecated-skill" plugins/autonomous-dev/

# 5. Remove all references found

# 6. Run tests to verify
pytest tests/test_documentation_consistency.py -v

# ✅ Skill removed, all docs updated!

Scenario 4: Before Committing

What happens:

# You're about to commit documentation changes
git add README.md docs/SYNC-STATUS.md

# ❌ EASY TO FORGET: Verify consistency!

Correct workflow:

# 1. Run consistency validation
python plugins/autonomous-dev/hooks/validate_docs_consistency.py

# 2. If checks fail, fix issues

# 3. Re-run validation
python plugins/autonomous-dev/hooks/validate_docs_consistency.py

# 4. When all checks pass, commit
git commit -m "docs: update skill count to 12"

# ✅ Consistent documentation committed!

---

Quick Consistency Checklist

Before committing documentation changes, verify:

• Counted actual skills/agents/commands in directories
• Updated README.md with correct counts
• Updated docs/SYNC-STATUS.md with same counts
• Updated docs/UPDATES.md with same counts
• Updated INSTALL_TEMPLATE.md with same counts
• Updated .claude-plugin/marketplace.json metrics
• Updated templates/knowledge/best-practices/claude-code-2.0.md
• Searched for and removed broken skill references
• Ran pytest tests/test_documentation_consistency.py -v
• All tests passed ✅

---

Commands for Verification

Count Everything

# Count skills
ls -d plugins/autonomous-dev/skills/*/ | wc -l

# Count agents
ls plugins/autonomous-dev/agents/*.md | wc -l

# Count commands
ls plugins/autonomous-dev/commands/*.md | wc -l

Check README.md

# Find skill count mentions
grep -E "[0-9]+ Skills" plugins/autonomous-dev/README.md

# Find agent count mentions
grep -E "[0-9]+ (Specialized )?Agents" plugins/autonomous-dev/README.md

# Find command count mentions
grep -E "[0-9]+ (Slash )?Commands" plugins/autonomous-dev/README.md

Check Cross-References

# Find all skill count mentions across docs
grep -r "skills" plugins/autonomous-dev/*.md plugins/autonomous-dev/docs/*.md | grep -E "[0-9]+"

# Check marketplace.json
cat .claude-plugin/marketplace.json | grep -A 5 '"metrics"'

Run Automated Tests

# Run consistency tests
pytest tests/test_documentation_consistency.py -v

# Run only README checks
pytest tests/test_documentation_consistency.py::TestREADMEConsistency -v

# Run only cross-document checks
pytest tests/test_documentation_consistency.py::TestCrossDocumentConsistency -v

# Run only marketplace.json checks
pytest tests/test_documentation_consistency.py::TestMarketplaceConsistency -v

Validate Before Commit

# Run pre-commit validation script
python plugins/autonomous-dev/hooks/validate_docs_consistency.py

# If validation passes (exit code 0), safe to commit
echo $?

---

Why This Matters

Documentation drift is insidious:

• ❌ User reads README.md: "9 Core Skills"
• ❌ Plugin actually has: 12 skills
• ❌ User confusion: "Where are the other 3 skills?"

Or worse:

• ❌ README.md mentions: "engineering-standards skill"
• ❌ Skill doesn't exist (was never created)
• ❌ User tries to use it: Doesn't work!

With 4-layer defense:

• ✅ Layer 1: Tests fail in CI/CD → Can't merge inconsistent docs
• ✅ Layer 2: doc-master agent checks → Catches before creating docs.json
• ✅ Layer 3: Pre-commit hook → Blocks commit (if enabled)
• ✅ Layer 4: This skill → Reminds you during work

Result: Documentation always matches reality 🎯

---

Integration with Other Skills

This skill works with:

• documentation-guide: Documentation standards and format
• git-workflow: Commit conventions and PR workflows
• project-management: PROJECT.md structure and consistency

Cross-reference pattern:

• Use documentation-guide for HOW to write docs
• Use consistency-enforcement for WHEN to update docs
• Use git-workflow for HOW to commit doc changes

---

Troubleshooting

"Tests are failing but I don't know why"

# Run tests with verbose output
pytest tests/test_documentation_consistency.py -v

# Read the assertion error - it tells you exactly what's wrong
# Example: "README.md shows 9 skills but actual is 12"

"I updated README.md but tests still fail"

Check: Did you update ALL cross-references?

# Find all skill count mentions
grep -r "[0-9]+ skills" plugins/autonomous-dev/*.md plugins/autonomous-dev/docs/*.md

# Each file should show the SAME count

"marketplace.json metrics don't match"

# Check current metrics
cat .claude-plugin/marketplace.json | grep -A 5 '"metrics"'

# Count actual resources
ls -d plugins/autonomous-dev/skills/*/ | wc -l
ls plugins/autonomous-dev/agents/*.md | wc -l
ls plugins/autonomous-dev/commands/*.md | wc -l

# Update marketplace.json to match
vim .claude-plugin/marketplace.json

"Pre-commit hook is blocking my commit"

Option 1: Fix the inconsistency (recommended)

python plugins/autonomous-dev/hooks/validate_docs_consistency.py
# Read output, fix issues

Option 2: Skip hook (NOT RECOMMENDED)

git commit --no-verify
# Only use in emergency!

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Version: 1.0.0 Type: Knowledge skill (auto-activates) Priority: Critical (prevents documentation drift) See Also: documentation-guide, git-workflow, project-management