Contributing

April 26, 2026 ยท View on GitHub

Contributions should make Writer's Loop clearer, safer, or more useful without making the core skill noisy.

Before You Open a PR

  • Run npm test.
  • Test at least one rejected-plan flow.
  • Test at least one no-learning-evidence flow.
  • If storage behavior changed, test npm run journal:init, npm run journal:append, and npm run journal:derive in a temporary directory.
  • If style-pack behavior changed, test npm run style:init, npm run style:save, npm run style:list, and npm run style:show in a temporary directory.
  • Confirm no .writers-loop/, .env, private drafts, or local agent settings are tracked.

Good Contributions

  • Clearer skill instructions.
  • Better validation scenarios.
  • Safer preference storage behavior.
  • Agent installation improvements.
  • Documentation that helps users decide when not to use an LLM.
  • Examples that show the decision loop without inventing user preferences.

Avoid

  • Project-specific writing preferences.
  • Network-only tooling required for normal use.
  • Large dependencies for optional evaluations.
  • Rules that learn from unreviewed generated text.
  • Marketing language that hides limitations.
  • Platform-specific assumptions without a matching installation path.

Documentation Standard

You do not need to write code to contribute. Improvements to reference files, installation guides, and usage examples are welcome.

  • Keep language plain and direct; the audience includes non-technical writers.
  • If you update an installation path or command, verify it against the actual file layout.
  • Keep skills/writers-loop/SKILL.md concise and move longer guidance into skills/writers-loop/references/.
  • Preserve the distinction between current-task constraints and reusable preferences.

A good documentation PR improves clarity, removes ambiguity, or adds a missing example. A weak documentation PR adds duplicated content, vague praise, or unverified platform claims.

Review Standard

A change is ready when the skill remains portable, the README matches the installed files, privacy behavior remains opt-in, and validation passes without extra setup.