# Debt Ops Init > Write or refresh a "Tech debt operations" section in the project's AGENTS.md so the team shares one source of truth for debt-ops disciplines. Run ONLY when the user explicitly asks to set up, install, or initialize debt-ops disciplines — never auto-invoke. Idempotent; only the managed section changes, other sections are untouched. - Skill: `bcanfield/debt-ops-init-2` (Agent Skill) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add bcanfield/debt-ops-init-2` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/bcanfield/debt-ops-init-2/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools - Author: bcanfield (https://skillmd.com/u/bcanfield) - Updated: 2026-09-21 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/bcanfield/debt-ops-init-2 --- # debt-ops-init Write or update a `## Tech debt operations` section in the project's agent charter. Idempotent — only the managed section changes. **Run only on explicit user request** ("set up debt-ops", "init debt-ops", "write the disciplines"). Do not invoke this as part of normal work. (Tools with a debt-ops hook adapter inject these disciplines per-session automatically; this skill is the persistence step for everyone else.) ## Why this matters more on skills-only tools Without a hook adapter there is no per-edit enforcement and no automatic capture. The charter is the *only* place the disciplines live, so the agent self-applies them. That's "vibes," not a tripwire — be honest with the user that the persistent charter is the substitute for, not the equal of, the hook-driven write-time loop. ## 1. Pick the charter file Use `AGENTS.md` at the repo root — the cross-tool charter most agents read. If the project clearly standardizes on a different file your agent auto-loads (`GEMINI.md`, `.github/copilot-instructions.md`, `CLAUDE.md`), use that instead and tell the user which you picked. ## 2. Read any cached quality commands (optional) If a hook adapter previously ran in this repo, it cached the project's quality commands. Include them if present; otherwise leave the placeholder. ```bash REPO_HASH=$(python3 -c "import hashlib,subprocess;t=subprocess.run(['git','rev-parse','--show-toplevel'],capture_output=True,text=True).stdout.strip();print(hashlib.sha1(t.encode()).hexdigest()[:12] if t else '')") CACHE_DIR="${DEBT_OPS_CACHE:-$HOME/.cache/debt-ops}/cache/$REPO_HASH" [ -f "$CACHE_DIR/feedback.list" ] && cat "$CACHE_DIR/feedback.list" ADR_DIR=$( [ -s "$CACHE_DIR/adr-dir" ] && cat "$CACHE_DIR/adr-dir" || echo "docs/adr" ) REGISTRY_DIR=$( [ -s "$CACHE_DIR/registry-dir" ] && cat "$CACHE_DIR/registry-dir" || echo "docs/debt" ) echo "adr-dir: $ADR_DIR" echo "registry-dir: $REGISTRY_DIR" ``` If no commands are cached, detect the project's lint/type/test commands by scanning its manifests (`package.json`, `pyproject.toml`, `Cargo.toml`, `go.mod`, `Makefile`, …). Prefer commands that take a changed-file argument and run in a few seconds. ## 3. Compose the section (template) Substitute `{{ADR_DIR}}`, `{{REGISTRY_DIR}}`, and `{{COMMANDS}}` (the cached or detected commands, one per line; leave a `# add your lint/type/test commands here` placeholder if none found). ```markdown ## Tech debt operations ### Disciplines 1. The test for debt: would a future reader ask "why this way?" If yes, register via the `debt-ops-add` skill immediately — no prompt. This is judgment, not a marker scan: a `TODO`/`FIXME`/`HACK`/`XXX` is the obvious case, but an unmade decision, a stub, a loosened type, or a default picked "for now" all count even with no marker in the diff. Use `payoff_trigger: unknown` if unsure. Announce: `+1 entry: (drop?)`. Over-register freely; the developer drops with "drop it". 2. When making an architecturally significant change — a data model, public interface, security boundary, release pipeline, or a dep-manifest change that is a major-version bump or a *new* top-level dependency — draft an ADR under `{{ADR_DIR}}/` in Nygard format: a `# NNNN — Title` heading, `**Date:**` and `**Status:**` lines, then Context, Decision, Consequences, Alternatives, Payoff trigger. Create the directory if needed. Only draft an ADR when there are two credible alternatives; if you cannot list two, it is a comment, not an ADR. An ADR with a payoff trigger *is* deliberate debt — when you write one, also use `debt-ops-add` so the registry entry mirrors the ADR. 3. Read entries under `{{REGISTRY_DIR}}/` before changing files they reference. ### Quality checks If a debt-ops hook adapter is installed (e.g. the Copilot adapter), it reads the marker block below and runs these after every edit under a 3 s budget. Without an adapter (skills-only tool), they are *not* enforced automatically — you, the agent, run them after editing and fix failures before moving on. Lines starting with `#` are estimates/comments and are skipped at run time. {{COMMANDS}} ``` ## 4. Apply - **If the charter file doesn't exist:** create it with the section above as the entire file. - **If it has a `## Tech debt operations` section:** replace exactly that section — from the heading through (but not including) the next `## ` heading, or EOF if none. Leave every other byte unchanged. - **If it exists without the section:** append the section after the last line, with one blank line between. ## 5. Announce `charter updated: — disciplines + N quality commands` (N = non-comment, non-blank lines inside the marker block; 0 if placeholder). ## Marker contract — do not deviate - `` is the open marker the hook adapters key on. Exact string; the `v1` is part of the marker. - `` is the close marker. - This must stay identical across every adapter's `feedback.py` and `init` skill — see CLAUDE.md "Adapter parity." A drift here silently breaks the Copilot write-time loop (it reads the block by this exact marker). ## Don't - Don't auto-invoke. Only on explicit user request. - Don't touch any byte outside the `## Tech debt operations` section. - Don't claim the charter gives deterministic enforcement — it doesn't without a hook adapter. Say so.