Detection Rules

Detection rules reference

Note

Status: implemented Plan: .harness/PLAN.md task 1 (detection engine — scripts/detect_project.py + 10 built-in rules).

The 10 built-in rules the detection engine scans an unconfigured repo against. Each rule is a deterministic, side-effect-free check that, when matched, attaches a rationale to a skill or hook in the proposed config. Rules do not gate which skills/hooks are present — the proposed config is default-all-enabled; rules only surface why each is relevant to this repo. Run via python3 scripts/detect_project.py <cwd> --format json|text.

⚡ Quick Reference

Question	Answer
What runs the rules?	scripts/detect_project.py — the RULES registry + detect().
How do I see the proposed config?	python3 scripts/detect_project.py <cwd> --format text
What's the machine-readable form?	python3 scripts/detect_project.py <cwd> --format json
What happens in a harness repo?	R-harness match → bypass verdict (skip detection; offer legacy .harness/ migration if present).
Do rules gate which skills/hooks are present?	No. The proposal is default-all-enabled; rules only overlay a per-target rationale (DC-7).
Related pages	Configure a new project, Project config, Auto-detect + auto-configure

The 10 rules

Evaluated in registry order. R-harness runs first so a bypass short-circuits before the rest. Each rule is a side-effect-free Path -> Optional[RuleMatch]; a match overlays its rationale + rule_id onto the named targets in the already-default-enabled proposal.

Rule	Detects	Attaches rationale to	Notes
R-harness	harness/phases/ dir present	— (sets bypass verdict)	This IS the harness source repo → detection is skipped. JSON reports legacy_harness_present: true when a .harness/ state dir is also present, to offer migration.
R-wiki	wiki/ dir present	diataxis-author skill	Diátaxis-shaped docs to maintain.
R-changelog	CHANGELOG.md and a language manifest (package.json / pyproject.toml / Cargo.toml / go.mod)	ship-release skill	Both signals required, not either-or.
R-dependabot	.github/dependabot.yml or .github/dependabot.yaml	dependabot-fixer skill	Helps fix breakage on update PRs.
R-pii	any .env* file (.env, .env.*)	pii-scrubber skill	Filename signal only — no content scanning. .envrc (direnv) is a known false positive the operator declines at approval; the decline is recorded in operator_overrides.
R-tests	tests/ or spec/ dir, or a test-glob file (*_test.py, test_*.py, *.test.*, *.spec.*)	evidence-tracker hook	Enforces test-reading before /work task closeout.
R-pkg-scripts	package.json with a non-empty scripts key, or a Makefile, or a justfile	kill-switch + steer hooks	Long-running tasks → interrupt + redirect.
R-vault-content	_index.md file, or decisions/ dir and conventions.md	memory skill + the 4 memory hooks (memory-recall-session-start, memory-recall-prompt-submit, memory-reflect-idle, memory-reflect-stop)	Looks operator-personal → memory captures context.
R-design	wiki/explanation/designs/ or docs/design/ dir	design skill	Manages the design-then-implement pipeline.
R-non-coding	— (always returns None)	—	Stub in v1 per DC-6; the type taxonomy (build/vacation/research from _index.md frontmatter) is deferred to V5.

Related

• Configure a new project — the operator recipe that consumes these rules.
• Project config — where matched rationale is persisted (the project.json enablement block).
• Auto-detect + auto-configure — why detection proposes rather than gates.