rlm-tdd

rlm-tdd is a skill for Claude Code, Codex from spideynolove/claude-dotfiles. It costs 67 tokens per session (2,342 once invoked), scanned A, a copy of recursive-tdd, MIT.

A rule set for Test-Driven Development, or TDD, in which you write a test that fails before writing the production code. It requires repeating the red, green, and refactor cycle for new features, bug fixes, refactoring, and behavior changes.

In plain words
What is it for?
Use it during RLM implementation work to guide feature development, regression fixes, refactoring, and other behavior changes from a failing test to a passing, cleaned-up implementation.
Why use it?
It prevents code changes from being accepted without a test that first demonstrates the missing or broken behavior. This also helps confirm that the test checks the intended problem.

Skill for Claude CodeCodex

Written for no agent in particular: nothing here depends on one.

Good fit Use it during RLM implementation work to guide feature development, regression fixes, refactoring, and other behavior changes from a failing test to a passing, cleaned-up implementation.

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Install with agentmods
npx agentmods add skills/spideynolove/claude-dotfiles/rlm-tdd
Install

Getting it into your agent

One page per mod, every tool's command on it. A separate URL per tool would split the same page into five that compete with each other.

Any agent
npx skills add spideynolove/claude-dotfiles --skill rlm-tdd
Clone the repo
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/spideynolove/claude-dotfiles

Made for: Claude Code, Codex.

Wrote this? Show the measurements

A badge with what this costs and how it scanned, read live from this page, so it follows the numbers instead of freezing them. Markdown for a README, HTML for a documentation site or a project page.

agentmods badge for rlm-tdd

README.md
[![agentmods](https://agentmods.dev/badge/skills/spideynolove/claude-dotfiles/rlm-tdd/github.svg)](https://agentmods.dev/skills/spideynolove/claude-dotfiles/rlm-tdd)
Your own site
<a href="https://agentmods.dev/skills/spideynolove/claude-dotfiles/rlm-tdd"><img src="https://agentmods.dev/badge/skills/spideynolove/claude-dotfiles/rlm-tdd/github.svg" alt="Measured on agentmods" height="20"></a>

Or the 80×15 button, for a site that already has a row of RSS and ATOM ones. Only the verdict fits; the numbers stay here.

agentmods 80×15 button for rlm-tdd

Your own site · 80×15
<a href="https://agentmods.dev/skills/spideynolove/claude-dotfiles/rlm-tdd"><img src="https://agentmods.dev/badge/skills/spideynolove/claude-dotfiles/rlm-tdd.svg" alt="Reviewed on agentmods" width="80" height="20"></a>
Per session 67 Skills are progressive disclosure: only the name and description are preloaded; the body loads when the skill is used.
When invoked 2,342 The whole file, excluding the scripts and references it only reads on demand.
Security scan A 0 findings. A grade says what 26 rules found in the file — not that it is safe.
Origin 88% copy Near-identical to another mod in the catalogue.
Token cost

What it costs to keep this loaded

Counted locally with the o200k_base tokenizer, which is exact for GPT models; Claude uses its own tokenizer and its counts differ. Treat this as one consistent yardstick across the catalogue rather than a bill. Prices are per million input tokens.

ModelPer sessionOnce invoked
Fable 5.1 $0.00067 $0.02342
Opus 5 $0.00034 $0.01171
Sonnet 5 $0.00013 $0.00468
Haiku 4.5 $0.00007 $0.00234

Measured 10d ago against content hash 3f5e0f15e7a4, method: parsed. Prices are Anthropic first-party input rates as of 2026-09-10, from the pricing page.

Security

Grade A, and why

rlm-tdd scanned grade A with 0 findings against 26 rules in 11 categories — prompt injection, anti-refusal, data exfiltration, privilege escalation, supply chain, agent snooping, system-prompt leakage, SSRF and excessive agency — measured 10d ago.

A static scan of the body, not an audit. Every finding is printed with the line that produced it so you can judge whether it matters here. A mod is markdown that instructs an agent; that is exactly why what it instructs is worth reading.

Nothing flagged

None of the 26 patterns this scan looks for appear in this file: no shell pipes, no recursive deletes, no credential paths, no hidden text, no instruction-override or anti-refusal phrasing, no agent-config snooping. That is not a guarantee, it is the absence of the things that are checkable.

Origin

This is a copy

88% identical to recursive-tdd — 113 lines differ, which has more behind it and is treated as the original. This page carries a canonical link to it rather than competing with it.

.agents-global/skills/rlm-workflow/skills/rlm-tdd/SKILL.md · 336 lines

How it starts

The opening of the file, as written. The whole thing — 336 lines — stays where its author put it; the contents beside it link to each section on GitHub.

RLM TDD Discipline

Overview

Test-Driven Development is mandatory for all RLM implementation work. This skill ensures test-first discipline is followed rigorously.

Core Principle: If you didn't watch the test fail, you don't know if it tests the right thing.

The Iron Law for RLM:

NO PRODUCTION CODE WITHOUT A FAILING TEST FIRST

Trigger examples

  • Implement Phase 3 for run '2026-02-24-add-oauth'
  • Add a failing regression test first, then fix the bug
  • I already wrote the code; now add tests (should trigger TDD reset guidance)
  • Follow RED-GREEN-REFACTOR for this change

When to Use

Always in Phase 3 (Implementation):

  • New features
  • Bug fixes
  • Refactoring
  • Behavior changes

No Exceptions:

  • Not for "simple" changes
  • Not when "under pressure"
  • Not because "tests after achieve same goals"

RED-GREEN-REFACTOR Cycle

digraph tdd_cycle {
    rankdir=LR;
    red [label="RED\nWrite failing test", shape=box, style=filled, fillcolor="#ffcccc"];
    verify_red [label="Verify fails\ncorrectly", shape=diamond];
    green [label="GREEN\nMinimal code", shape=box, style=filled, fillcolor="#ccffcc"];
    verify_green [label="Verify passes\nAll green", shape=diamond];
    refactor [label="REFACTOR\nClean up", shape=box, style=filled, fillcolor="#ccccff"];
    record [label="Record in\nPhase 3 artifact", shape=box];

    red -> verify_red;
    verify_red -> green [label="yes"];
    verify_red -> red [label="wrong\nfailure"];
    green -> verify_green;
    verify_green -> refactor [label="yes"];
    verify_green -> green [label="no"];
    refactor -> verify_green [label="stay\ngreen"];
    verify_green -> record;
}

RED - Write Failing Test

Write one minimal test showing what should happen.

Requirements:

  • One behavior per test
  • Clear, descriptive name
  • Test real code (no mocks unless unavoidable)
  • Clear assertion showing expected outcome

Read the full file on GitHub · 336 lines

Changes

What this file has done since we first saw it

Hashed on every crawl. A supply-chain change to an agent config is a question of when, not whether, so the history is kept rather than the latest state alone.

  1. 10d ago First seen · 336 lines · 67 tokens per session scan A 3f5e0f15e7a4

Subscribe to this mod's changes

rlm-tdd is a skill published in the GitHub repository spideynolove/claude-dotfiles (2 stars, last pushed 3mo ago), licensed MIT. It adds 67 tokens to every session and 2,342 once invoked, about $0.0003 per session on Opus 5. A static security scan graded it A with 0 findings. It is 88% identical to recursive-tdd, differing in 113 lines, and is treated as a copy.