example-argument-substitution

Argument Substitution Pattern — Example Skill

How to Use This Skill

This skill is a living test harness for argument substitution behavior. Read it, run it, observe what happened, and extend it.

Step 1 — Read this file. Do this before running. Note what you expect to see in each section.

Step 2 — Run with 0 arguments: /example-argument-substitution

Step 3 — Run with 10 arguments: /example-argument-substitution CANARY_A CANARY_B CANARY_C CANARY_D CANARY_E CANARY_F CANARY_G CANARY_H CANARY_I CANARY_J

Step 4 — Compare. Each section states what it expects. Check whether output matches.

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How to Add a New Test

When you have a hypothesis about substitution behavior — test it here before applying it anywhere else.

1. State your hypothesis — write exactly what you expect to appear in the output
2. Add the pattern — put it in a new section below with an **Expected with 10 args:** and **Expected with 0 args:** annotation
3. Run with 0 args — /example-argument-substitution
4. Run with 10 CANARY args — /example-argument-substitution CANARY_A CANARY_B ...
5. Observe — does the rendered output match your hypothesis exactly?
6. Record the finding — if the hypothesis was wrong, correct it. If it involves literal $N syntax, record the verified fact in ./references/argument-substitution-reference.md (reference files are not substituted)
7. Only then apply the pattern to other skills

Do not document any pattern as safe without completing all 7 steps.

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Compare each section below between the two runs. Some sections are intentional substitution — they should show values. Others are unintentional — they show what corruption looks like.

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Capture Block (intentional substitution — should show values)

All positional args captured into named XML tags. Everything else references these tags.

$0 $1 $2 $3 $4 $5 $6 $7 $8 $9 <all_args>$ARGUMENTS</all_args> <arg_by_index_0>$ARGUMENTS[0]</arg_by_index_0> <arg_by_index_1>$ARGUMENTS[1]</arg_by_index_1> <arg_by_index_2>$ARGUMENTS[2]</arg_by_index_2>