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GitHubKnown publishergithub/squad/.copilot/skills/history-hygiene/SKILL.md

history-hygiene

Skill3.4k starsChanged 2 months agoMITView on GitHub

Record reconciled final outcomes to history.md, not intermediate requests or obsolete claims

3 other projects use a version of this, 3 of them edited.

Adopted by

Most recently taken up by

The file

We split this skill into the rules it gives an agent

1 rule. 1 is common, 0 are distinctive, and 0 are very specific to this project.

  • 1

    Common

    Most of the 3 edited versions we read keep these.

  • 0

    Distinctive

    This author's own choices. Worth a look.

  • 0

    Very specific

    Tied to their project's names, files or tools. Probably skip.

  • Common
  • Distinctive
  • Very specific
  1. Common:

    Wait for confirmation: before writing to history — don't log intermediate states.

    line 19

“Common” is measured: kept by at least 6 in 10 of the 3 edited versions of this file we could read. “Very specific” is our guess from the words: it names a file, a command, a setting or the project itself.

Keep what fits and drop the rest. Your version, ready for your agents.
Files
SKILL.md

Context

History files are cold-start context, not the source of truth for live behavior. Stale or incorrect entries poison decision-making downstream. A stale-history incident proved that an old history claim can cause future spawns to repeat a reversed decision. Reconcile an operational claim with current implementation, workflows, tests, documentation, skills, and applicable decisions before acting on it.

Patterns

  • Record the final outcome, not the initial request.
  • Wait for confirmation before writing to history — don't log intermediate states.
  • If a decision reverses, update the entry immediately — don't leave stale data.
  • Link authority for operational facts. Name the current source or workflow when a lesson depends on live behavior.
  • Promote reusable rules. Move procedures and incident lessons that future roles need into a focused skill; history should retain only the evidence and outcome.

Examples

✓ Correct:

  • "Migration target: v0.8.17 (initial target was later corrected before execution)"
  • "Node runtime: follow the current package.json engines.node requirement"

✗ Incorrect:

  • "Migration target: v0.6.0" (when that request was later reversed)
  • Recording what was requested instead of what actually happened
  • Logging entries before outcome is confirmed

Anti-Patterns

  • Writing intermediate or "for now" states to disk
  • Attributing decisions without confirming final direction
  • Treating history as authoritative over live source or workflow behavior
  • Copying dated assignments, status reports, or retired workarounds into a reusable skill

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