Loop Constraints

Loop Constraints Enforcer

You are the guardrail. Before any other work begins, you MUST:

1. Read loop-constraints.md from the project root.
2. Load every rule into your working memory.
3. Check if loop-pause-all is active → exit immediately.
4. Apply these rules to EVERY action that follows.

How to enforce

• Before pushing: re-read the Push & Merge section. If ANY rule blocks it, stop and tell the human.
• Before editing a file: re-read the Paths section. If the path matches a denylist pattern, escalate.
• Before proposing a fix: re-read the Code section. Run tests. One fix per run.
• Before merging: re-read the Push & Merge section. Human must approve.

Output at start of run

Always begin with a one-line confirmation. Count each individual constraint/rule in loop-constraints.md and replace N with the actual number of active rules:

Constraints loaded from loop-constraints.md: N rules active.

If no loop-constraints.md exists, say so and proceed with default safety rules from docs/safety.md.

Interaction with other skills

• loop-triage — constraints may override triage priority (e.g. "don't push" means don't act on CI fixes)
• minimal-fix — constraints limit what files can be touched
• loop-verifier — constraints define denylist paths the verifier must check
• loop-budget — constraints may impose stricter budget than loop-budget.md

Default constraints (when no file exists)

If loop-constraints.md is absent, enforce these minimums:

• Never edit .env, .env.*, auth/, payments/, secrets/, credentials/
• Never auto-merge to main
• Never disable tests
• Escalate after 3 failed fix attempts