dogfood

Validate dogfood evidence against golden rule and manifest for production claims.

Updated May 13, 2026
One-click install
npx skills add https://github.com/usetheodev/theo-ui --skill dogfood-usetheodev
Or copy as Structured Prompt for Agent
Please help me install this Agent Skill.
Skill: dogfood
Source: https://github.com/usetheodev/theo-ui/tree/main/.claude/skills/dogfood
Command: npx skills add https://github.com/usetheodev/theo-ui --skill dogfood-usetheodev

SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION & REQUIREMENTS

What problem does it solve?

Honesty gate that blocks any production-ready / production-grade / v1.0 claim without recorded evidence of sustained internal use. Reads the project's dogfood manifest at knowledge-base/dogfood/manifest.md plus evidence files at knowledge-base/dogfood/evidence/. Applies the project-specific dogfood golden rule (rules/dogfood-golden-rule.md — created per project), and emits EVIDENCE_SUFFICIENT / EVIDENCE_WITH_CAVEATS / EVIDENCE_INSUFFICIENT. Invoke before any production claim, milestone promotion targeting v1.0, README/CHANGELOG edits that touch status language, or release decision.

Core Features & Use Cases

  • Enforces per-project governance by requiring a dogfood golden rule, a manifest, and an evidence log to validate production claims.
  • Emits formal verdicts (EVIDENCE_SUFFICIENT, EVIDENCE_WITH_CAVEATS, EVIDENCE_INSUFFICIENT) based on hard and soft checks across the project's artifacts.
  • Supports modes like audit, log-evidence, and status to manage and review dogfood evidence over time.

Quick Start

Run the dogfood audit to validate the current evidence against the golden rule and manifest.

Frequently Asked Questions about dogfood

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

FAQPage Schema
How do I enforce production-readiness governance before claiming a release is v1.0?

Production-readiness governance is enforced by auditing recorded dogfood evidence against a project-specific golden rule and manifest, emitting a formal verdict that blocks premature v1.0 or production-grade claims.

What is a dogfood evidence manifest and when do I need to maintain one?

A dogfood evidence manifest is a structured log tracking sustained internal use of a project. You need to maintain one before making any production-ready, production-grade, or v1.0 status claim in READMEs or release decisions.

How do I audit dogfooding evidence to validate a production-ready claim?

You audit dogfooding evidence by running the audit mode, which validates evidence files in the knowledge base against the project's golden rule and manifest, returning EVIDENCE_SUFFICIENT, EVIDENCE_WITH_CAVEATS, or EVIDENCE_INSUFFICIENT.

Do I need a custom golden rule file to gate my project's release readiness?

Yes, you need to create a project-specific golden rule file at rules/dogfood-golden-rule.md to define the criteria for release readiness before the audit can validate your evidence.

What's the best way to log internal usage evidence for production-readiness gates?

The best way to log internal usage evidence is using the log-evidence mode, which appends sustained usage records to the evidence directory for subsequent audit validation against the manifest.

Why does my production-ready claim fail the readiness audit despite internal testing?

A production-ready claim fails the readiness audit when recorded evidence of sustained internal use is insufficient or missing, resulting in an EVIDENCE_INSUFFICIENT verdict that blocks the status claim.