read-before-edit

Read the target file and all related modules—imports, types, APIs, hooks, context, and utilities—before making edits. This read-before-edit discipline ensures changes are informed by the full dependency graph, reducing regression risk and catching unintended side effects early.

Review the target file itself, its direct imports, type definitions, API or service calls it depends on, custom hooks, context providers, related components, and shared utility functions. Structured reading of this scope ensures you understand how changes propagate through the codebase.

Document your reading steps using Read, Grep, and Glob tools to create auditable traces. This workflow captures which files you reviewed, what you found, and how that informed your edits, providing traceability for code review and regression prevention.

Apply this discipline whenever you modify code—bug fixes, feature additions, or refactors. The requirement is mandatory across all modification scenarios to enforce consistent safety and comprehension before any Edit or Write operation.

Yes. This discipline scales across projects by systematizing how you identify related files through imports, type definitions, and API dependencies. Structured verification and auditable traces using file tools keep the process tractable at any codebase size.

Reading first means comprehending scope, dependencies, and side effects before any code change. Order matters because edits made without this context risk breaking untested code paths, violating type contracts, or breaking dependent modules—regressions that reading prevents.