Skill: Instruction Adherence (Stay On Track)

Skill: Instruction Adherence (Stay On Track)

Scope

This Skill is about reliably following instructions across:

• Multiple instruction sources (system/​developer/​mode files, repo docs, user request)
• Memory sources (Skills registry, sessions, lessons/​patterns)
• Multi-step execution where detours happen (e.g., “improve CLI tooling” mid-stream)

Inputs

• The current user request (objective + success criteria)
• The active mode/​persona (if any)
• Repo guardrails (AGENTS.md, testing commands, server --check rule)

Procedure

1) Capture an “Instruction Snapshot” (mandatory)

In the active session’s WORKING_NOTES.md, write a short snapshot:

• Objective: 1 sentence
• Must do: 3–7 bullets
• Must not: 3–7 bullets
• Evidence: what output/​tests/​checks will prove done

This becomes the “north star” when you get interrupted.

2) Run the memory retrieval ritual (Skills → Sessions → Lessons)

• Skills: open docs/​agi/​SKILLS.md and follow any matching SOP.
• Sessions: find/​continue a session on the same topic.
• Lessons/​Patterns: pull stable guidance from docs/​agi/​* as needed.

If MCP tools are available, prefer them; otherwise use:

• node tools/​dev/​md-scan.js --dir docs/​agi --search "<topic>" --json
• node tools/​dev/​md-scan.js --dir docs/​sessions --search "<topic>" --json

3) Build a “Task Ledger” with explicit parent/​child tasks

Use manage_todo_list with a structure that prevents detours from becoming the main task:

• Parent task: user’s objective
• Child tasks: discovery → implement → validate → document
• If a detour is required (e.g., CLI tooling improvement), make it a child task with:
  • Entry criteria (why it’s needed)
  • Exit criteria (what “done” means)
  • Return step (the exact next step to resume)

4) The Re-anchor loop (run after every subtask)

After any meaningful milestone (or after 3–5 tool calls):

• Re-read the Instruction Snapshot
• Mark completed tasks
• Confirm the next step is still on the parent objective
• If you drifted, explicitly choose to:
  • Resume parent objective, or
  • Create a follow-up and stop the detour

5) “Detour complete → resume” protocol

When an intermediate task (like CLI tooling improvement) is completed:

1. Record a one-paragraph summary + evidence in the session notes.
2. Add/​update a Skill or Lesson if it will recur.
3. Immediately take the “Return step” you wrote in the task ledger.

Validation (evidence checklist)

• Session contains an Instruction Snapshot.
• Task ledger clearly separates parent objective vs detours.
• At least one re-anchor checkpoint recorded in WORKING_NOTES.md.
• SESSION_SUMMARY.md includes an Instruction Reflection:
  • What instructions helped?
  • What was missing/​wrong?
  • What durable doc/​agent update was made?