Best Practices

Run these agents IN PARALLEL using the Task tool:

- Task task-intent-analyzer("[user's prompt]")
- Task best-practices-referencer("[user's prompt]")
- Task codebase-context-builder("[user's prompt]")

BEFORE: "implement email validation"
AFTER:  "write a validateEmail function. test cases: user@example.com → true,
         invalid → false, user@.com → false. run the tests after implementing"

BEFORE: "fix the API error"
AFTER:  "the /api/orders endpoint returns 500 for large orders. check
         OrderService.ts for the error. address the root cause, don't suppress
         the error. after fixing, run the test suite and summarize what passed
         and what you verified."

BEFORE: "add a new API endpoint"
AFTER:  "add a GET /api/products endpoint. check CLAUDE.md for API conventions
         in this project. follow the pattern in routes/users.ts. run the API
         tests after implementing."

BEFORE: "fix the login bug"
AFTER:  "users report login fails after session timeout. check the auth flow
         in src/auth/, especially token refresh. write a failing test that
         reproduces the issue, then fix it"

BEFORE: "add a calendar widget"
AFTER:  "implement a calendar widget with month selection and year pagination.
         follow the pattern in HotDogWidget.php. build from scratch without
         libraries other than the ones already used in the codebase"

Phase 1: EXPLORE
"read src/auth/ and understand how we handle sessions and login.
 also look at how we manage environment variables for secrets."

Phase 2: PLAN
"I want to add Google OAuth. What files need to change?
 What's the session flow? Create a plan."

Phase 3: IMPLEMENT
"implement the OAuth flow from your plan. write tests for the
 callback handler, run the test suite and fix any failures."

Phase 4: COMMIT
"commit with a descriptive message and open a PR"

BEFORE: "add OAuth"
AFTER:  "read src/auth/ and understand current session handling. create a plan
         for adding OAuth. then implement following the plan. write tests and
         verify they pass"

BEFORE: "make the dashboard look better"
AFTER:  "[paste screenshot] implement this design for the dashboard.
         take a screenshot of the result and compare it to the original.
         list any differences and fix them. ensure responsive behavior
         at 768px and 1024px breakpoints"

BEFORE: "the build is failing"
AFTER:  "the build fails with this error: [paste actual error]. fix it
         and verify the build succeeds. address the root cause, don't
         suppress the error"

**Original:** [their prompt]

**Improved:**

**Added:**
- [what was missing and added]
- [another improvement]
- [etc.]

BEFORE: "fix the login bug"

AFTER: "users report login fails after session timeout. check the auth flow
in src/auth/, especially token refresh. write a failing test that reproduces
the issue, then fix it. verify by running the auth test suite."

ADDED: symptom, location, verification (failing test), success criteria

BEFORE: "add a search feature"

AFTER: "implement search for the products page. look at how filtering works
in ProductList.tsx for the pattern. search should filter by name and category.
add tests for: empty query returns all, partial match works, no results shows
message. no external search libraries."

ADDED: location, reference pattern, specific behavior, test cases, constraint

BEFORE: "make the code better"

AFTER: "refactor utils.js to use ES2024 features while maintaining the same
behavior. specifically: convert callbacks to async/await, use optional
chaining, add proper TypeScript types. run the existing test suite after
each change to ensure nothing breaks."

ADDED: specific changes, constraint (same behavior), verification after each step

BEFORE: "add tests for foo.py"

AFTER: "write tests for foo.py covering the edge case where the user is
logged out. avoid mocks. use the existing test patterns in tests/. test
cases: logged_out_user returns 401, expired_session redirects to login,
invalid_token raises AuthError."

ADDED: specific edge case, constraint (no mocks), pattern reference, test cases

BEFORE: "the API is slow"

AFTER: "the /api/orders endpoint takes 3+ seconds. profile the database
queries in OrderService.ts. look for N+1 queries or missing indexes.
fix the performance issue and verify response time is under 500ms."

ADDED: specific endpoint, location, what to look for, measurable success criteria

BEFORE: "fix the button styling"

AFTER: "[paste screenshot of design] update the primary button to match this
design. check Button.tsx and the theme in tailwind.config.js. take a
screenshot after changes and compare to the design. list any differences."

ADDED: design reference, file locations, visual verification

BEFORE: "how does auth work?"

AFTER: "read src/auth/ and explain how authentication works in this codebase.
cover: how sessions are created, how tokens are refreshed, where secrets
are stored. summarize in a markdown doc."

ADDED: specific files, specific questions to answer, output format

BEFORE: "upgrade to React 18"

AFTER: "migrate from React 17 to React 18. first, read the migration guide
at [URL]. then identify all components using deprecated APIs. update one
component at a time, running tests after each. don't change unrelated code."

ADDED: phased approach, reference docs, incremental verification, scope constraint

BEFORE: "fix the API error"

AFTER: "the /api/orders endpoint returns 500 for large orders. check
OrderService.ts for the error. address the root cause, don't suppress
the error. after fixing, run the test suite and summarize what passed
and what you verified."

ADDED: symptom, location, root cause enforcement, verification report