simplify-and-harden-ci

SKILL.md

Simplify & Harden CI

Install

gh skill install pskoett/pskoett-skills simplify-and-harden-ci

Fallback using the Agent Skills CLI:

npx skills add pskoett/pskoett-skills/skills/simplify-and-harden-ci

Purpose

Run a CI-only variant of Simplify & Harden in pull requests:

No code mutation in CI

Review only changed files

Emit structured findings

Optionally block merge based on severity gates

Use simplify-and-harden for interactive/local coding sessions.

Context Limitation (Important)

CI agents do not have the same peak implementation context as the coding
agent that wrote the change. Treat CI findings as structured review signals,
not as full intent-aware rewrites.

Implications:

Prefer scan/report and merge gating

Do not auto-apply code changes in CI

Escalate ambiguous findings to interactive review

Prerequisites

GitHub Actions enabled for the repository

GitHub CLI authenticated (gh auth status)

gh-aw installed locally for authoring/validation:

gh extension install github/gh-aw

In GitHub Actions jobs, install the CLI with:

- uses: github/gh-aw/actions/setup-cli@main
  with:
    version: v0.2.0-beta

CI Contract

The CI skill must enforce:

Scope lock: review only files changed in the PR

Headless execution: report findings, do not apply patches/refactors

Structured output: emit simplify_and_harden summary payload

Gate policy:

critical: fail check when critical harden findings exist

advisory (optional): fail check when advisory findings are configured to block

Authoring Workflow (gh-aw)

Example-only template lives in references/workflow-example.md.
Keep it outside .github/workflows until you explicitly want automation enabled.

When ready to enable:

Copy references/workflow-example.md template block into .github/workflows/simplify-and-harden-ci.md.

Compile and validate workflow:

gh aw compile --validate --strict

Trigger and push workflow changes:

gh aw run simplify-and-harden-ci --push

Check status/logs in GitHub Actions and ensure PR feedback is posted.

Prompt Template (CI)

Use this prompt body in your gh-aw workflow:

Run Simplify & Harden in CI (headless mode) for this pull request.

Rules:
1) Review only files changed in this PR.
2) Do not modify repository files.
3) Before reporting findings, re-read all changed code with "fresh eyes" and actively look for obvious bugs, errors, confusing logic, brittle assumptions, naming issues, and missed hardening opportunities.
4) Simplify pass: detect dead code, naming clarity issues, control-flow complexity, unnecessary API surface, and over-abstraction.
5) Harden pass: detect input-validation gaps, injection vectors, auth/authz issues, secret exposure, data leaks, and concurrency risks.
6) Document pass: suggest non-obvious rationale comments as findings (do not edit files).
7) Emit structured YAML under key `simplify_and_harden`, including:
   - simplify findings
   - harden findings (critical/advisory split)
   - summary counts
   - `review_followup_required`
   - learning loop candidates for self-improvement ingestion
8) If blocking policy is enabled and matching findings exist, mark the run as failed.

Recommended Outputs

PR comment with concise findings and severity ordering

Check run summary with pass/fail reason

Machine-readable YAML artifact for downstream automation

Integration with Self-Improvement

Forward simplify_and_harden.learning_loop.candidates into
.learnings/LEARNINGS.md via the self-improvement workflow so recurrent
patterns can be promoted into durable agent context rules.