dignified-python

SKILL.md

Dignified Python

Opinionated Python guidance for writing clean, maintainable, modern Python code (versions
3.10-3.13).

When to Use This Skill

Auto-invoke when users ask about:

"make this pythonic" / "is this good python"

"type hints" / "type annotations" / "typing"

"LBYL vs EAFP" / "exception handling"

"pathlib vs os.path" / "path operations"

"CLI patterns" / "click usage"

"code review" / "improve this code"

Any Python code quality or standards question

Note: This skill is general-purpose Python style guidance, not Dagster-specific. It
captures one explicit, LBYL-leaning set of conventions; project conventions can override it when needed.
When to Use This Skill vs. Others

User Need
Use This Skill
Alternative Skill

"make this pythonic"
✅ Yes - Python standards

"is this good python"
✅ Yes - code quality

"type hints"
✅ Yes - typing guidance

"LBYL vs EAFP"
✅ Yes - exception patterns

"pathlib vs os.path"
✅ Yes - path handling

"best practices for dagster"
❌ No
/dagster-best-practices

"implement X pipeline"
❌ No
/dg for implementation

"which integration to use"
❌ No
/dagster-expert

"CLI argument parsing"
✅ Yes - CLI patterns

Core Knowledge (ALWAYS Loaded)

@dignified-python-core.md

Version Detection

Identify the project's minimum Python version by checking (in order):

pyproject.toml - Look for requires-python field (e.g., requires-python = ">=3.12")

setup.py or setup.cfg - Look for python_requires

.python-version file - Contains version like 3.12 or 3.12.0

Default to Python 3.12 if no version specifier found

Once identified, load the appropriate version-specific file:

Python 3.10: Load versions/python-3.10.md

Python 3.11: Load versions/python-3.11.md

Python 3.12: Load versions/python-3.12.md

Python 3.13: Load versions/python-3.13.md

Conditional Loading (Load Based on Task Patterns)

Core files above cover 80%+ of Python code patterns. Only load these additional files when you
detect specific patterns:

Pattern detection examples:

If task mentions "click" or "CLI" -> Load cli-patterns.md

If task mentions "subprocess" -> Load subprocess.md

Reference Documentation Structure

This skill's reference material is organized by topic:

Core References

dignified-python-core.md - Essential standards (always loaded)

cli-patterns.md - Command-line interface patterns (click, argparse)

Version-Specific References (versions/)

python-3.10.md - Features available in Python 3.10+

python-3.11.md - Features available in Python 3.11+

python-3.12.md - Features available in Python 3.12+

python-3.13.md - Features available in Python 3.13+

Advanced Topics (references/advanced/)

exception-handling.md - LBYL patterns, error boundaries

interfaces.md - ABC and Protocol patterns

typing-advanced.md - Advanced typing patterns

api-design.md - API design principles

When to Read Each Reference Document

references/advanced/exception-handling.md

Read when:

Writing try/except blocks

Wrapping third-party APIs that may raise

Seeing or writing from e or from None

Unsure if LBYL alternative exists

references/advanced/interfaces.md

Read when:

Creating ABC or Protocol classes

Writing @abstractmethod decorators

Designing gateway layer interfaces

Choosing between ABC and Protocol

references/advanced/typing-advanced.md

Read when:

Using typing.cast()

Creating Literal type aliases

Narrowing types in conditional blocks

references/module-design.md

Read when:

Creating new Python modules

Adding module-level code (beyond simple constants)

Using @cache decorator at module level

Seeing Path() or computation at module level

Considering inline imports

references/advanced/api-design.md

Read when:

Adding default parameter values to functions

Defining functions with 5 or more parameters

Using ThreadPoolExecutor.submit()

Reviewing function signatures

references/checklists.md

Read when:

Final review before committing Python code

Unsure if you've followed all rules

Need a quick lookup of requirements

How to Use This Skill

Core knowledge is loaded automatically (defaults, pathlib, imports,
anti-patterns)

Version detection happens once - identify the minimum Python version and load the appropriate
version file

Reference documents are loaded on-demand based on the triggers above

Additional patterns may require extra loading (CLI patterns, subprocess)

Each file is self-contained with complete guidance for its domain