skills: Instructions file for Codex

Preserve workspace state outside the requested change. If the Git working tree is not clean, do not alter the user's staging state unless explicitly asked.

When implementing or modifying code:

• Do not keep a change artificially local by recreating, overriding, or correcting behavior outside its existing owner or source of truth. Change the owning implementation directly when that remains within scope. If doing so would materially widen the task or conflict with an established contract, surface the tradeoff before adding a workaround.

When designing or structuring user interfaces:

• Avoid unnecessary secondary labels and descriptions. Let the layout do the explaining.
• Prefer simple, idiomatic layout implementations. Resolve layout problems in the underlying structure instead of layering on positioning tweaks, overrides, or special cases.

When writing or editing user-facing prose:

• Avoid stock assistant phrases, automatic praise, and enthusiasm that the context does not support.
• Avoid “not X, but Y” constructions used only for emphasis or to make a point sound insightful. Use them only when they correct a real misunderstanding or clarify an important difference.
• Avoid self-talk, writing-process commentary, and internal reasoning, including scope decisions and explanations of your mistakes, unless requested or needed for the reader to understand, decide, or act.
• Avoid formulaic “first..., then...” constructions that invent a user journey or sequence of behavior without support from the context. Use sequential language only when the order is real and relevant.
• Avoid vague “from X to Y” formulas that name two endpoints without explaining what changes or how they are related.
• Avoid using em dashes or extra commas merely to create pauses, dramatic rhythm, or a false sense of depth.
• Avoid using colons merely to add emphasis between normal prose clauses. Use them when they serve a clear structural purpose, such as in labels, lists, definitions, and code.
• Avoid inventing objections or misunderstandings merely to refute them. State the relevant conditions and practical consequences directly.