debt-ops-init

debt-ops-init

Write or update a ## Tech debt operations section in the project's agent charter. Idempotent — only the managed section changes.

Run only on explicit user request ("set up debt-ops", "init debt-ops", "write the disciplines"). Do not invoke this as part of normal work. (Tools with a debt-ops hook adapter inject these disciplines per-session automatically; this skill is the persistence step for everyone else.)

Why this matters more on skills-only tools

Without a hook adapter there is no per-edit enforcement and no automatic capture. The charter is the only place the disciplines live, so the agent self-applies them. That's "vibes," not a tripwire — be honest with the user that the persistent charter is the substitute for, not the equal of, the hook-driven write-time loop.

1. Pick the charter file

Use AGENTS.md at the repo root — the cross-tool charter most agents read. If the project clearly standardizes on a different file your agent auto-loads (GEMINI.md, .github/copilot-instructions.md, CLAUDE.md), use that instead and tell the user which you picked.

2. Read any cached quality commands (optional)

If a hook adapter previously ran in this repo, it cached the project's quality commands. Include them if present; otherwise leave the placeholder.

REPO_HASH=$(python3 -c "import hashlib,subprocess;t=subprocess.run(['git','rev-parse','--show-toplevel'],capture_output=True,text=True).stdout.strip();print(hashlib.sha1(t.encode()).hexdigest()[:12] if t else '')")
CACHE_DIR="${DEBT_OPS_CACHE:-$HOME/.cache/debt-ops}/cache/$REPO_HASH"
[ -f "$CACHE_DIR/feedback.list" ] && cat "$CACHE_DIR/feedback.list"
ADR_DIR=$( [ -s "$CACHE_DIR/adr-dir" ] && cat "$CACHE_DIR/adr-dir" || echo "docs/adr" )
REGISTRY_DIR=$( [ -s "$CACHE_DIR/registry-dir" ] && cat "$CACHE_DIR/registry-dir" || echo "docs/debt" )
echo "adr-dir: $ADR_DIR"
echo "registry-dir: $REGISTRY_DIR"

If no commands are cached, detect the project's lint/type/test commands by scanning its manifests (package.json, pyproject.toml, Cargo.toml, go.mod, Makefile, …). Prefer commands that take a changed-file argument and run in a few seconds.