Engineering Method 0.3.2

Engineering Method 0.3.2

Released 2026-11-13. A maintenance release: unscripted routing evaluations
and a fix for host runs that timed out without output.

Changes

• Syncs Method Core revision 64d9a02
  (72 files).
• Adds scripts/run_natural_evals.py. It sends a case prompt exactly as
  written, with every given plugin loaded, and reports which skills the host
  loaded on its own over a number of runs. The routing harness
  (scripts/run_host_evals.py) keeps telling the host to select a workflow;
  the new runner shows what happens without that instruction.
• Adds three unscripted cases under evals/natural/: a failing test, a
  feature across three modules and a typing error.
• run_host_evals.py no longer lets the host inherit an open standard input.
  Codex then waited for more input, and the run timed out without one event.
• No skill name, description or behaviour changes.

Verification and limits

The complete Python suite passes 359 tests on macOS. scripts/validate-plugin
and sync-core --check pass. The committed-source package is built twice for
reproducibility.

Unscripted requests, three runs per case with Writing Method loaded beside
this plugin, the hosts' coordinator models, and on Codex the plugins as
installed (Claude Code 2.1.323, Codex CLI 0.169.0):

Request	Expected	Claude	Codex
A failing test	systematic-debugging	2 of 3	3 of 3
A feature across three modules	a specification skill	3 of 3	3 of 3
A typing error in a README	no skill	3 of 3	2 of 3

Three runs show a tendency, not a rate. The Codex figures are a re-scoring of
saved transcripts after the runner learned to count a skill read inside a
compound command. An earlier single probe in which each request ended with a
request for a plan loaded no specification skill on Claude: asking for a plan
first lowers loading. The paid routing and lifecycle evaluations of the
release gate were not rerun; the evidence limits of 0.3.0 remain.

The downloadable package is engineering-method-0.3.2.zip; verify it with the
attached SHA256SUMS.

Install or update

claude plugin marketplace update engineering-method
claude plugin update engineering-method@engineering-method

codex plugin remove engineering-method@engineering-method
codex plugin add engineering-method@engineering-method

Restart the host session afterwards. See
Installation and maintenance for a fixed-tag install and
OpenCode installation for the source-linked loader.

Engineering Method 0.3.1

Engineering Method 0.3.1

Released 2026-11-13. A maintenance release: every skill is now held to the
published skill authoring limits by a test.

Changes

• Syncs Method Core revision 4300085
  (70 files). It adds tests/test_skill_authoring.py, which checks each
  skills/*/SKILL.md: a name of at most 64 lowercase letters, digits and
  hyphens without a reserved word; a description of at most 1,024 characters in
  the third person without XML tags; portable frontmatter keys; a body under
  500 lines; forward slashes in links; and a contents list at the top of every
  reference file above 100 lines.
• Adds a contents list to shared/policies/lifecycle-handoffs.md and, through
  the core, to the Claude and Codex platform adapters.
• No skill name, description or behaviour changes. All 19 skills already met
  the name, description and length limits.

Verification and limits

The complete Python suite passes 347 tests on macOS. scripts/validate-plugin
and sync-core --check pass. The committed-source package is built twice for
reproducibility.

The test proves that the limits are kept. It does not measure whether a host
selects a skill for a plainly worded request. One unscripted probe on Claude
Code during this work loaded systematic-debugging for a failing test without
being told to, and loaded no specification skill for a new cross-module
feature request; that single run is an observation, not a rate. The paid native
routing and lifecycle evaluations were not rerun; the evidence limits of
0.3.0 remain.

The downloadable package is engineering-method-0.3.1.zip; verify it with the
attached SHA256SUMS.

Install or update

claude plugin marketplace update engineering-method
claude plugin update engineering-method@engineering-method

codex plugin remove engineering-method@engineering-method
codex plugin add engineering-method@engineering-method

Restart the host session afterwards. See
Installation and maintenance for a fixed-tag install and
OpenCode installation for the source-linked loader.

Engineering Method 0.3.0 — writing and shared core split out

Engineering Method 0.3.0

Released 2026-11-13. This release splits the former single plugin into three
repositories. Engineering Method keeps the engineering lifecycles; writing and
documentation move to a separate plugin; shared support comes from a pinned core.

Changes

• Moves documentation planning, authoring, review, didactic writing guidance and
  PDF delivery to Writing Method.
  Those skills are no longer part of this plugin.
• Bundles host adapters, backlog and continuity tools, verification, review,
  worktree, delegation and playbook support from
  Method Core. Core is vendored source,
  not a third plugin. method-core.lock.json pins revision 087476c with 69
  files, their hashes and executable modes; python3 scripts/sync-core --check
  verifies the copy offline.
• Ships 19 skills: 11 engineering lifecycle skills and 8 shared support skills.
  With both plugins installed, each exposes its own byte-identical copy of the
  shared skills; invoke the current method's copy once.
• Labels managed GitHub Issues with the bundling method's name and compares only
  the executable bit in the core mode check.
• Makes the test suite pass below a symlinked temporary directory, as on macOS.

Breaking change

After updating from 0.2.1 or older, the documentation skills are absent until
Writing Method is installed. They are then invoked as writing-method:<skill>
instead of engineering-method:<skill>. The engineering_method Python import,
CLI wrapper names, project .engineering-method/ state and work IDs are
unchanged.

Verification and limits

The complete Python suite passes 341 tests on macOS with the default temporary
directory. scripts/validate-plugin, claude plugin validate --strict,
sync-core --check, Python compilation, shell syntax and whitespace checks pass.
The GitHub verify workflow passes on the released commit's parent merge. The
committed-source package is built twice for reproducibility.

Native installation was checked with Claude Code 2.1.323, Codex CLI 0.169.0 and
OpenCode 1.19.5, each alongside Writing Method 0.3.0. One bounded probe per host
on Codex and OpenCode loaded systematic-debugging from this plugin and
writing-procedures from Writing Method by their native skill mechanism. This
shows discovery and loading, not routing quality.

The paid native routing and lifecycle evaluations of the original release gate
(scripts/release-check --release) were not rerun for this release. Routing and
lifecycle claims retain the evidence limits documented for 0.2.0 and
in the split record. No Gemini adapter
is claimed. Other host versions and operating systems are not covered.

The downloadable package is engineering-method-0.3.0.zip; verify it with the
attached SHA256SUMS.

Install or update

claude plugin marketplace update engineering-method
claude plugin update engineering-method@engineering-method

codex plugin remove engineering-method@engineering-method
codex plugin add engineering-method@engineering-method

For a GitHub marketplace in Codex, run codex plugin marketplace upgrade engineering-method first. Restart the host session afterwards. See
Installation and maintenance for a fixed-tag install and
OpenCode installation for the source-linked loader.

Engineering Method 0.2.1 — professional A4 PDF design

Engineering Method 0.2.1

Released 2026-09-18. This patch refines the existing local Quarto/Typst PDF
workflow. It changes presentation and rendered-output verification without
adding a new lifecycle skill or changing the Markdown composition contract.

Changes

• Uses a restrained dark-navy editorial hierarchy with a 1 pt chapter rule.
• Gives the cover and contents separate pages and removes the running footer
  from the cover.
• Uses 12 pt body text, 28 mm side margins, a narrower reading measure and
  controlled heading and paragraph spacing on A4 pages.
• Replaces chapter badges with typographic numbers and strengthens the cover,
  contents and subheading hierarchy.
• Extends native regression checks for the cover, contents placement, accent
  rule, text size, line measure, navigation, page totals and source preservation.

The design rationale, Typst/LaTeX comparison and institutional sources are in
the EM-016 design record and
template design guide.

Verification and limits

The complete Python suite passes 319 tests. Native Quarto 1.10.18 and Typst
0.15.1 rendering passes for English and German five-page samples and a
nine-page reordered 120-row table. The plugin validators, Python compilation,
shell syntax and whitespace checks pass. The committed-source package is built
twice for reproducibility and installed in disposable Claude and Codex
configurations without credentials or live model requests before publication.

All five English sample pages and the stress-table continuation were visually
inspected. This is bounded sample evidence, not PDF/UA conformance or a claim
that arbitrary future content needs no visual review. Helvetica Neue and Menlo
remain the verified macOS fonts. The unchanged routing, lifecycle and OpenCode
claims retain the evidence limits documented for 0.2.0.

The downloadable package is engineering-method-0.2.1.zip; verify it with the
attached SHA256SUMS.

Engineering Method 0.2.0 — documentation, PDF, playbooks

Engineering Method 0.2.0

Released 2026-09-17. This minor release grows the shared skill set from 17 to
29 skills. It adds reader-oriented documentation work at three scales, Humanizer
guidance during drafting, local PDF export, engineering playbooks for
development operations and system deliverables, and a read-only backlog state
check. Existing lifecycle skills and the Claude, Codex and OpenCode adapters
keep their behavior.

Changes

• Documentation lifecycle: documentation-planning, documentation-authoring
  and documentation-review decide the writing scale first, then plan, draft
  and check documentation sets under docs/writing.
• Supporting writing skills: explaining-concepts, writing-procedures,
  empathic-troubleshooting, terminology-guard and visual-placeholders
  apply in documentation and in ordinary replies.
• human-prose-drafting applies adapted Humanizer constraints from the first
  sentence of medium and large texts, without changing facts or structure.
• documentation-pdf exports Markdown to one local PDF through Quarto or Typst,
  with a reusable design, table of contents and page numbers.
• playbook-authoring and playbook-review add scenario-bound playbooks;
  Spec Kit and OpenSpec lifecycles assess playbook need, and stale or missing
  required evidence blocks the dependent operation, convergence or archival.
• backlog state-check is read-only: it detects remote availability without
  creating issues, replacing caches or deleting archives.
• Native evaluation preserves the host's own Claude authentication.

Verification and acceptance

Local verification on the released source: 319 passing tests, plugin
validators, pinned-source provenance audit, independent reviews, a reproducible
committed-source package and disposable Claude/Codex installation without
credentials. Native routing was checked with five documentation cases on each of
Codex and Claude and two bounded OpenCode probes; see
EM-013. Playbook integration has
local and review evidence only, without native routing evaluation; see
EM-014. Sub-records
EM-010,
EM-011 and
EM-012 hold the per-feature evidence.

The routing probes are bounded selection and pre-draft checks; they do not
prove prose quality across a complete draft or a full documentation set. The
OpenCode discovery evidence still covers the 17 skills of 0.1.1 plus two later
probes; no full OpenCode discovery of all 29 skills is claimed. The
historical 0.1.0 acceptance and the
0.1.1 OpenCode scope retain their original limits. No new full
lifecycle, multi-agent or compaction acceptance is claimed.

Install or update

Use installation and maintenance for Claude/Codex and
OpenCode installation for the source-linked loader; restart
the host session after updating. The downloadable package is
engineering-method-0.2.0.zip; verify it with the attached SHA256SUMS.

Engineering Method 0.1.1 — OpenCode integration

Engineering Method 0.1.1

Released 2026-09-11. This patch adds a native OpenCode adapter and installer for
all 17 shared Engineering Method skills. It supports a Mac-hosted OpenCode
session accessed from T3 on another computer, including DeepSeek sessions.

Changes

• Additive native plugin hook registers the original skills and host instructions.
• Source-linked installation preserves relative script/resource paths and existing
  provider, permission and MCP configuration.
• Guarded check, idempotent install and exact-byte owned uninstall; foreign or
  modified loaders and symlinked destination parents are refused.
• Host adapter describes actual delegation, model and recovery boundaries.
• Installation docs cover native OpenCode, T3 helper refresh and removal.

Verification and acceptance

The integration has 317 passing local tests and independent code review. Native
OpenCode 1.18.30 discovered all 17 skills, and DeepSeek Flash loaded
verification-before-completion and executed a harmless verification command.
The user additionally confirmed skill loading from T3 on Windows with the Mac
as execution host. See EM-008 evidence.
Release validation includes a reproducible committed-source package and isolated
Claude/Codex native installation; the attached checksum identifies the release
archive. Existing shared skills and Claude/Codex adapters are unchanged.

The historical 0.1.0 acceptance retains its
original limits. No new full lifecycle, multi-agent or compaction acceptance is
claimed for OpenCode. Automatic Flash/Pro selection and agentic-rag lifecycle
hooks are separate work and are not included in this plugin release.

Install or update

Use installation and maintenance for Claude/Codex and
OpenCode installation for the source-linked loader. Keep the
OpenCode source checkout at its installed path and restart the helper/start a
fresh thread after an update. The downloadable package is
engineering-method-0.1.1.zip; verify it with the attached SHA256SUMS.

Engineering Method 0.1.0

Engineering Method 0.1.0 is the first stable release for Codex and Claude.

• Shared Spec Kit and OpenSpec workflows, adapted debugging/TDD/review practices, durable backlog and continuity state, and an architecture/UML gate.
• English installation, maintenance, migration, usage and contribution documentation.
• Corrected native skill-read evidence collection, including Claude terminal-newline normalization.

Validation: 308 tests, portable and Claude strict validation, three pinned upstream provenance checks, deterministic packaging, and native clean installation on both hosts passed. Runtime code, skill instructions, adapters and fixtures are unchanged from accepted baseline 0784c79; the release updates documentation and the empty feature-inventory template caption.

Complete original gate coverage was independently accepted: 24 routing cases and both ten-phase architecture fixtures, using Astra and Fable at low effort. This acceptance explicitly reuses same-package evidence and includes a Claude checkpoint instruction supplement and one verified ownership-report correction. It does not claim a successful single full release-check invocation; original failed reports remain preserved.

Limits: verified host versions are Codex CLI 0.153.4 and Claude Code 2.1.259 on macOS. Native Codex recovery in the unborn fixture repository was not proven; continuity has script-test coverage. Model compliance is not guaranteed. Mermaid validation is semantic, not rendered. See the acceptance record.

The earlier v0.1.0-rc.1 remains unchanged. No active host installation is modified by this publication.

Download the ZIP and SHA256SUMS, then run shasum -a 256 -c SHA256SUMS before extracting. Installation instructions: https://github.com/phense/engineering-method/blob/v0.1.0/docs/installation.md

Package SHA-256: d87cc0b71d1664e2c2f4ffcd78fded5459b4dbd91b4f33f5dc4d65cd61b12b82.

Engineering Method 0.1.0-rc.1

Engineering Method 0.1.0 — release candidate 1

A shared skill plugin for risk-proportionate engineering work in Codex and
Claude Code. This is an explicitly approved pre-release with reduced acceptance
scope, not a fully accepted stable release. Plugin manifests remain 0.1.0.

Included

• Seventeen lifecycle and quality skills: adapted Spec Kit, OpenSpec and selected
  Superpowers practices, with exclusive triggers and artifact handoffs.
• Local backlog and feature inventory, optional GitHub Issues/Sub-Issues and
  dependency synchronization, and explicit compact/session recovery checkpoints.
• Relevant UML architecture gates, cohesive implementation slices, review and
  verification policies, and a shared proportionality/effort brake.
• English installation, maintenance, migration, usage and contribution guides.
  Source: https://github.com/phense/engineering-method.

Verification

• All 301 Python tests passed; portable plugin validator, Claude strict
  validation, compileall, shell syntax and Git whitespace checks passed.
• Provenance audit passed for all three unchanged pinned upstream sources.
• Reproducible committed-source ZIP, with native clean installation in disposable
  configurations on Codex CLI 0.153.4 and Claude Code 2.1.259 (macOS).
• Public GitHub installation, installed source bytes, update, disabling and
  removal verified on both hosts in temporary configuration homes.
• Tracked files/history reviewed for unintended content; no private transcripts,
  credentials, runtime state or external documentation skill are distributed.

No paid model evaluations or new independent review loops were run for this
publication. Existing reviews are reused only within their documented scope.

Open limitations

The full original cross-host release gate has not passed. Current-package
Codex native architecture/independent-reviewer evidence and the final independent
release verdict are still missing. Earlier routing and Claude architecture runs
belong to older, explicitly recorded revisions. No failed gate was weakened or
marked passed. See docs/verification/EM-005-completion-path.md.

Skill routing and policy compliance depend on the host/model. Continuity needs
explicit saved checkpoints; there is no universal compact hook. agentic-rag is
optional. Mermaid validation is semantic, not rendered. GitHub task operations
have fake-boundary coverage; live task mutation acceptance remains open. This
publication does not migrate the project's backlog or create GitHub Issues.

Install

codex plugin marketplace add phense/engineering-method
codex plugin add engineering-method@engineering-method

claude plugin marketplace add phense/engineering-method
claude plugin install engineering-method@engineering-method

These follow main; use the tag v0.1.0-rc.1 or the attached ZIP for fixed
candidate bytes. Restart the host session. Disable overlapping Superpowers or
other lifecycle plugins before use. See docs/installation.md.

Download both assets into one directory and verify before extraction:

shasum -a 256 -c SHA256SUMS
unzip engineering-method-0.1.0-rc.1.zip

MIT License, copyright Peter Hense. Pinned upstream notices and attribution are
included in the archive.