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workflow-gates

Workflow Gates — HARD-GATE Contract

Section titled “Workflow Gates — HARD-GATE Contract”

Universal rule for t1k:cook, t1k:fix, and any skill using HARD-GATE enforcement blocks. A HARD-GATE is a mandatory stopping point: passing it requires satisfying ALL listed conditions, none skippable without an explicit user override. Skill bodies embed <HARD-GATE> XML tags as machine-readable markers; this rule defines their normative contract.

Universal HARD-GATE contract

Section titled “Universal HARD-GATE contract”
  1. No bypass without a named user override. Each HARD-GATE must state the allowed override (flag, explicit user instruction, or “no override”). Silence = not bypassable.
  2. Evidence required, not assertion. Stating “this is fine” without artifacts does not satisfy a gate. The gate passes when the concrete deliverable (artifact, test run, scout summary, root-cause sentence) exists.
  3. Gate failures stop the workflow. When a gate fails, the skill MUST use AskUserQuestion to surface what failed and offer concrete options — never silently patch around it.
  4. 3+ failed attempts → escalate. After 3 unsuccessful attempts at any gated step, STOP and question the architecture with the user. Do not attempt a 4th fix without a different approach.

How to apply: skill bodies containing <HARD-GATE> blocks cite this rule file in their preamble and carry only their skill-specific gate content — never a restatement of the universal contract above. Each gate’s own body states its conditions and its override: skills/t1k-cook/SKILL.md, skills/t1k-fix/SKILL.md. Tag catalogue (the five cook/fix gate types and their default overrides): docs/workflow-gates.md.

Section titled “Related”

agent-anti-rationalization.md (evidence-first discipline enforced inside gates) · always-ask-on-unresolved.md (gate failure → AskUserQuestion, not silent bypass) · coding-guidelines.md §4 (“Goal-Driven Execution”)