clean-code

<domain_overview>

🛡️ CLEAN CODE: THE FOUNDATION

Philosophy: This skill is the FOUNDATION - it applies to ALL other skills. Every piece of code must pass these gates. ALGORITHMIC ELEGANCE MANDATE (CRITICAL): Never prioritize "clever" code over readable, intent-revealing engineering. AI-generated code often fails by introducing unnecessary abstractions or using vague naming conventions that obscure logic. You MUST use intent-revealing names for every variable and function. Any implementation that increases cognitive complexity without a proportional gain in performance or scalability must be rejected. Avoid "Hype-Driven Development"—proven patterns trump trending but unstable frameworks. </domain_overview> <iron_laws>

🚨 IRON LAWS

1. NO HALLUCINATED PACKAGES - Verify before import
2. NO LAZY PLACEHOLDERS - Code must be runnable
3. NO SECURITY SHORTCUTS - Production-ready defaults
4. NO OVER-ENGINEERING - Simplest solution first

</iron_laws> <security_protocols>

📦 PROTOCOL 1: SUPPLY CHAIN SECURITY

LLMs hallucinate packages that sound real but don't exist.

1. Verify before import - npm search or pip show for unfamiliar packages
2. Prefer battle-tested - lodash, date-fns, zod over obscure alternatives
3. Check npm audit / pip-audit before adding new dependencies
4. Pin versions in production - no ^ or ~ for critical deps 2025 AI Package Risks:

• Never import AI "wrapper" libraries without verification
• LLM SDKs: Use official only (openai, anthropic, google-generativeai)
• Vector DBs: Stick to established (pinecone, weaviate, chromadb)

🔐 PROTOCOL 2: SECURITY-FIRST DEFAULTS

Frontend Security: | Forbidden | Required | |-----------|----------| | dangerouslySetInnerHTML | DOMPurify sanitization | | Inline event handlers | Event delegation | | eval(), new Function() | Static code only | | Storing tokens in localStorage | httpOnly cookies | Backend Security: | Forbidden | Required | |-----------|----------| | CORS: * | Explicit origin whitelist | | Raw SQL strings | Parameterized queries | | chmod 777 | Principle of least privilege | | Hardcoded secrets | Environment variables + validation | API Security (2025):

• Rate limiting on ALL public endpoints
• Input validation at the gate (Zod/Pydantic)
• Output sanitization for AI-generated content
• PASETO > JWT for new projects </security_protocols> <modularity_and_placeholder_rules>

🏗️ PROTOCOL 3: NO LAZY PLACEHOLDERS

Forbidden Patterns:

// ❌ BANNED
// TODO: Implement this
// ... logic goes here
function placeholder() { }
throw new Error('Not implemented');

Required:

• Every function must be runnable
• If too complex, break into smaller complete functions
• "Hurry" is not an excuse - write minimal viable implementation

📐 PROTOCOL 4: MODULARITY & STRUCTURE

The 50/300 Rule:

• Functions > 50 lines → Break down
• Files > 300 lines → Split into modules SOLID Principles: | Principle | Quick Check | |-----------|-------------| | Single Responsibility | Does this do ONE thing? | | Open/Closed | Can I extend without modifying? | | Liskov Substitution | Can subtypes replace parent? | | Interface Segregation | Are interfaces minimal? | | Dependency Inversion | Do I depend on abstractions? | </modularity_and_placeholder_rules> <complexity_and_dependencies>

🎯 PROTOCOL 5: COMPLEXITY CAP

Native First:

// ❌ Don't install is-odd
npm install is-odd
// ✅ Use native
const isOdd = n => n % 2 !== 0;

Anti-Patterns:

• AbstractFactoryBuilderManager for simple functions
• 10 layers of abstraction for CRUD
• "Future-proofing" for requirements that don't exist YAGNI: You Aren't Gonna Need It. Build for today's requirements.

🔄 PROTOCOL 6: DEPENDENCY HYGIENE

Freshness Check:

npm outdated      # Check for updates
npm audit         # Check for vulnerabilities

The CVE Brake:

• "Latest" is not always "Safest"
• If latest has Critical CVE → Rollback to last secure version
• Security > New Features 2025 Recommended: | Category | Recommended | |----------|-------------| | Validation | zod, valibot | | HTTP | ky, ofetch | | State | zustand, jotai | | ORM | drizzle, prisma | | Auth | lucia, better-auth | </complexity_and_dependencies> <ai_era_protocols>

🤖 PROTOCOL 7: AI-ERA CONSIDERATIONS

When Building AI Features:

1. Validate AI outputs - Never trust raw LLM responses
2. Rate limit AI calls - Prevent cost explosions
3. Sanitize before display - AI can generate malicious content
4. Log AI interactions - For debugging and compliance When AI is Writing Code:
5. Verify imports exist - AI hallucinates packages
6. Check types are correct - AI guesses at APIs
7. Test edge cases - AI misses boundary conditions
8. Review security - AI takes shortcuts </ai_era_protocols> <audit_and_reference>

✅ QUICK AUDIT CHECKLIST

Before committing ANY code:

• [ ] No hallucinated imports (verified packages exist)
• [ ] No security shortcuts (CORS, eval, hardcoded secrets)
• [ ] No lazy placeholders (// TODO, empty functions)
• [ ] Functions < 50 lines, files < 300 lines
• [ ] Dependencies audited (npm audit clean)
• [ ] Types are strict (no any)

---

🔗 CROSS-SKILL INTEGRATION

| When Using... | Clean Code Adds... | |---------------|-------------------| | @frontend-design | Security defaults, no eval, CSP awareness | | @backend-design | Input validation, no raw SQL, Zero Trust | | @tdd-mastery | No placeholders (tests enforce completeness) | | @planning-mastery | Modularity guides task breakdown | | @brainstorming | SOLID/YAGNI guide architecture decisions | | @debug-mastery | Logging standards, no silent failures | </audit_and_reference>