constitution:checklist-generator

Constitution Checklist Generator

You are generating an Implementation Checklist from a project's CONSTITUTION.md file.

Goal

Distill constitutional principles into 6-12 actionable, verifiable checkbox items that engineers can use to validate their work complies with project governance.

Workflow

1. Locate Constitution

Search for CONSTITUTION.md:

1. Current directory
2. Parent directories (walk up tree)
3. Git root if available

If not found: Error with "No CONSTITUTION.md found. Run constitution:writer first."

2. Extract Principles

Parse CONSTITUTION.md:

• Identify ## sections (principles)
• Extract core requirements from each section
• Ignore preamble, changelog, footer

3. Distill to Checkboxes

Target: 6-12 items total (fewer is better)

Guidelines:

• Combine related sub-rules into single checkbox
• Make specific and verifiable (not "Write good code")
• Prioritize NON-NEGOTIABLE items first
• Use active voice ("Ensure X", "Verify Y", "Document Z")

Example Transformations:

• Principle: "Single Responsibility - Each function does one thing" → Checkbox: [ ] Functions have single, clear purpose (check for multi-responsibility)

• Principle: "No Silent Failures - Always log errors, never empty catch" → Checkbox: [ ] Error handlers log context (no empty catch/except blocks)

• Principle: "Test Coverage - 80% minimum, integration tests for APIs" → Checkbox: [ ] Test coverage ≥80% with integration tests for all API endpoints

4. Semantic Deduplication (If Existing Checklist)

When ## Implementation Checklist section exists:

Algorithm:

1. Parse existing checklist items (strip [ ] prefixes)
2. Parse newly generated items
3. For each existing item:
   • Find semantic match in new items (keyword similarity)
   • If match found: KEEP existing wording (preserve customization)
   • If no match: REMOVE (outdated principle)
4. For each new item:
   • If not covered by kept items: ADD
   • If similar to kept item: Compare specificity
     • Keep more specific version
     • Log decision: "Kept existing item (more specific)"