Leaders Principle

Principles in this document apply to every lead sub-agent. Each lead MUST observe these principles in addition to its own domain-specific Default Policies.

Prior Term Consistency

Respect the original use of terms already established in the codebase and cultivate ubiquitous language across all artifacts.

Rules

Before introducing a new term, search the codebase for an existing term that covers the same concept. Use the existing term.
Prefer 1 word to express an idea. Use 2 words only when 1 word cannot express the idea unambiguously. Use 3 words as a last resort.
When renaming or consolidating terms, update all references in the affected scope (code, documentation, configuration) in the same change.
Flag any inconsistency where the same concept is referred to by different terms in different files.

Vendor Neutrality

Fewer dependencies are better at every layer -- application, middleware, infrastructure, and development process.

Rules

Implement functionality ourselves unless using an external library is demonstrably reasonable (saves significant effort, is well-maintained, and has no viable simple alternative).
When depending on an external library, manage the coupling deliberately:
- Isolation: Control how the dependency touches the codebase. Acceptable isolation strategies include: wrapping in a vendor directory, confining imports to a single module, or ensuring the dependency only takes and returns language/domain primitives. If a vendor function's signature uses only primitives, it is already well isolated.
- Security observation: Track the dependency for known vulnerabilities and license compatibility.
- Sustainability: Evaluate maintenance activity, bus factor, and funding model before adopting.
Flag any new dependency introduction during review. Require justification for why in-house implementation is unreasonable.
Prefer standard library or platform-native solutions over third-party alternatives.
When evaluating a dependency, document the exit strategy: what would replacing it require?

Leaders Principle

Principles in this document apply to every lead sub-agent. Each lead MUST observe these principles in addition to its own domain-specific Default Policies.

Prior Term Consistency

Respect the original use of terms already established in the codebase and cultivate ubiquitous language across all artifacts.

Rules

Before introducing a new term, search the codebase for an existing term that covers the same concept. Use the existing term.
Prefer 1 word to express an idea. Use 2 words only when 1 word cannot express the idea unambiguously. Use 3 words as a last resort.
When renaming or consolidating terms, update all references in the affected scope (code, documentation, configuration) in the same change.
Flag any inconsistency where the same concept is referred to by different terms in different files.

Vendor Neutrality

Fewer dependencies are better at every layer -- application, middleware, infrastructure, and development process.

Rules

Implement functionality ourselves unless using an external library is demonstrably reasonable (saves significant effort, is well-maintained, and has no viable simple alternative).
When depending on an external library, manage the coupling deliberately:
- Isolation: Control how the dependency touches the codebase. Acceptable isolation strategies include: wrapping in a vendor directory, confining imports to a single module, or ensuring the dependency only takes and returns language/domain primitives. If a vendor function's signature uses only primitives, it is already well isolated.
- Security observation: Track the dependency for known vulnerabilities and license compatibility.
- Sustainability: Evaluate maintenance activity, bus factor, and funding model before adopting.
Flag any new dependency introduction during review. Require justification for why in-house implementation is unreasonable.
Prefer standard library or platform-native solutions over third-party alternatives.
When evaluating a dependency, document the exit strategy: what would replacing it require?

leaders-principle

Leaders Principle

Prior Term Consistency

Rules

Vendor Neutrality

Rules

leaders-principle

Leaders Principle

Prior Term Consistency

Rules

Vendor Neutrality

Rules