context-engineering

Write enforceable codebase conventions for the Context section of HARNESS.md.

Updated May 24, 2026
One-click install
npx skills add https://github.com/MWest2020/skill-forge --skill context-engineering-mwest2020
Or copy as Structured Prompt for Agent
Please help me install this Agent Skill.
Skill: context-engineering
Source: https://github.com/MWest2020/skill-forge/tree/main/skills/context-engineering
Command: npx skills add https://github.com/MWest2020/skill-forge --skill context-engineering-mwest2020

SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION & REQUIREMENTS

💡 This Skill includes references (resource) components.

What problem does it solve? Teams struggle to document coding conventions that both humans and LLM agents can objectively enforce, resulting in vague rules like "write clean code" that no reviewer or tool can consistently check. ## Core Features & Use Cases - Enforceability Testing: Apply a three-question test to determine whether a convention can be objectively verified by reviewers, linters, or LLM agents. - Aspiration-to-Rule Conversion: Transform vague quality goals into observable, measurable conventions using concrete examples and a conversion table. - Convention Categorization: Organize rules by naming, file structure, error handling, documentation, dependencies, and testing, with guidance on what to exclude. - Use Case: When drafting the Context section of HARNESS.md during /harness-init, use this Skill to write stack declarations and conventions that the harness-gc agent and /harness-audit command can later validate against the actual codebase. ## Quick Start Ask the agent to help write enforceable conventions for the Context section of HARNESS.md based on your project's current stack and coding standards.

Frequently Asked Questions about context-engineering

High-intent search queries and answers about installing and using this skill.

FAQPage Schema
How do I write enforceable coding conventions for my team?

Write conventions as observable properties that two independent reviewers could agree on without discussion. Apply the three-question test: describe compliant code, describe violating code, and confirm a tool or agent could check it unambiguously.

How to convert vague coding standards into measurable rules?

Start with the aspiration and ask what you would see in code that follows it. For example, convert "keep functions short" into "functions must not exceed 40 lines" and "use meaningful names" into "variables must be 3+ characters except i, j, k, err".

What should go in the Context section of HARNESS.md?

Include a factual stack declaration (languages, build system, test framework) and conventions organized by category: naming, file structure, error handling, documentation, dependencies, and testing. Exclude tool configuration, implementation instructions, and aspirational statements.

Can LLM agents enforce coding conventions automatically?

Yes, when conventions are written as objective, checkable rules. Fully deterministic rules like naming patterns suit linters, while rules like "doc comments explain why, not what" require LLM review but remain consistent if specific enough.

Why do codebase conventions become stale over time?

Context rots when conventions reference removed functions, outdated framework versions, or naming styles the codebase has drifted from. The harness-gc agent and /harness-audit command detect this by cross-referencing HARNESS.md against actual project state.