principle-sequence-verifiable-units
About principle-sequence-verifiable-units
Sequence work into verifiable units is a principle skill for organizing changes into small steps that can each be checked before proceeding. It is intended for sweeps, migrations, and other batches of similar edits, with delivery sequences that reviewers can replay.
Key features
- 01Break work into checkable units
- 02Verify each change before continuing
- 03Rebase on a clean trunk baseline
- 04Order commits to demonstrate the work
- 05Use failing tests before fixes
Use cases
- 01Perform a migration in verified steps
- 02Apply a sweep of similar edits safely
- 03Structure commits so reviewers can replay checks
Install
Copy the command and run it in a terminal.
npx skills add https:/After installing, type/principle-sequence-verifiable-unitsin Claude Code to confirm it loaded.
Details
From the project READMESequence work into verifiable units
Order work as a sequence of small units, each ending in a state you can check, and don't advance until the current one is green.
Why: A break caught at the unit that caused it is cheap to localize. A break caught after a batch is buried, and you have already built further on a broken base. Sequencing those same units into a delivery a reviewer can replay turns "trust me" into "watch it go red, then green."
Execution. In a sweep, migration, or any run of similar edits, verify each change before starting the next. Each unit is a before/after bracket: known-good state, one change, run the check, then proceed. Rebase onto clean trunk first so every check measures against the real baseline. When a lever does the edits, the per-unit check is nearly free. Run it anyway.
Delivery. Stack commits and PRs in the order that proves the work. The canonical shape is the failing test first, then the fix on top. Other story orders are a subtraction before the reshape, a baseline capture before the treatment, the scaffold before the feature. Each commit lands on its own and the sequence reads as an argument.
The sequencing complement to the prove-it-works principle skill, which keeps each check real, and the build-the-lever principle skill, which makes the per-unit check cheap.