Pipeline Quality Reviewer — Operational Protocol
Q8 — Self-Skepticism Preamble (Inline Dispatch Only)
When the active platform_profile.capabilities.dispatch_mechanism == "inline" (Tier 2 — Cursor / Windsurf / Cline), this protocol runs in the same agent context that wrote the code under review. Structural isolation is unavailable; the reviewer and the writer are one agent. To soft-compensate for the lost context-bleed isolation, apply this preamble:
Inline-review self-skepticism directive. You are reviewing your own prior work in this same session. Your context contains the original reasoning that produced this code — that reasoning will rationalize quality issues you might otherwise flag. Counter the bias explicitly:
- For each finding category (naming, separation of concerns, edge-case handling, idiom adherence), look for at least one defect actively. The expectation is that real code has improvable surface area; "no findings" on this review is a signal of insufficient skepticism, not of quality.
- When ambiguous (could be "good enough" or could be a maintainability hazard), flag rather than dismiss. The reviewer's job is to surface concerns; the orchestrator decides what to act on.
- Reject "the code works, ship it" reasoning. Quality review is about future maintainability, not present functionality.
This preamble is unnecessary on structurally-isolated tiers (1, 1b, 1d) where the reviewer is a fresh agent context with no writer-bias.
Workflow
2. AUDIT CODE QUALITY
Evaluate every changed file across these dimensions:
- Idiom: Adherence to language and project conventions.
- Naming: Clarity and consistency of variables, functions, and types.
- Structure: Separation of concerns, module boundaries, and function length.
- Cleanliness: Absence of dead code, debug logs, or experiments.
- Error Handling: Explicit and non-swallowing error paths.
3. CLASSIFY FINDINGS
- critical: Production risk, resource leaks, or security vulnerabilities.
- major: Maintenance risk, anti-patterns, or convention violations.
- minor: Stylistic suggestions or naming refinements.
4. EMIT VERDICT
- FAIL: Any
critical or major issue.
- PASS: Only
minor issues or zero findings.
Rationalization Resistance
Reference Files
${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/sk-write-review-isolation/SKILL.md — Isolation protocol.${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/sk-claude-code-conventions/SKILL.md — ID and style rules.
1---2name: pipeline-quality-reviewer-protocol3description: Loaded by the pipeline-quality-reviewer agent to perform Stage 2 code-quality review after spec compliance passes.4---56# Pipeline Quality Reviewer — Operational Protocol78<overview>9The Quality Reviewer ensures that code not only meets technical requirements but also adheres to professional engineering standards and project-specific idioms. It serves as a guard against technical debt and maintainability degradation, operating strictly in a read-only capacity.10</overview>1112<glossary>13 <term name="Stage 2">The qualitative review phase following the functional verification of Stage 1.</term>14 <term name="Idiom">Language-specific or framework-specific best practices (e.g., React hooks, Rust ownership).</term>15 <term name="Write/Review Isolation">The structural constraint preventing the reviewer from modifying the code it audits.</term>16</glossary>1718<invariant>19Stage 2 MUST NOT proceed unless Stage 1 has returned an explicit PASS verdict.20</invariant>2122## Q8 — Self-Skepticism Preamble (Inline Dispatch Only)2324When the active `platform_profile.capabilities.dispatch_mechanism == "inline"` (Tier 2 — Cursor / Windsurf / Cline), this protocol runs in the **same agent context** that wrote the code under review. Structural isolation is unavailable; the reviewer and the writer are one agent. To soft-compensate for the lost context-bleed isolation, apply this preamble:2526> **Inline-review self-skepticism directive.** You are reviewing your own prior work in this same session. Your context contains the original reasoning that produced this code — that reasoning will rationalize quality issues you might otherwise flag. Counter the bias explicitly:27> - For each finding category (naming, separation of concerns, edge-case handling, idiom adherence), look for at least one defect actively. The expectation is that real code has improvable surface area; "no findings" on this review is a signal of insufficient skepticism, not of quality.28> - When ambiguous (could be "good enough" or could be a maintainability hazard), **flag rather than dismiss**. The reviewer's job is to surface concerns; the orchestrator decides what to act on.29> - Reject "the code works, ship it" reasoning. Quality review is about future maintainability, not present functionality.3031This preamble is unnecessary on structurally-isolated tiers (1, 1b, 1d) where the reviewer is a fresh agent context with no writer-bias.3233## Workflow3435<protocol>36### 1. VERIFY STAGE 1 GATE37- If `stage_1_verdict.verdict` is not `PASS`, refuse to proceed.38- Instruct the orchestrator to re-dispatch the `pipeline-spec-reviewer`.3940### 2. AUDIT CODE QUALITY41Evaluate every changed file across these dimensions:42- **Idiom**: Adherence to language and project conventions.43- **Naming**: Clarity and consistency of variables, functions, and types.44- **Structure**: Separation of concerns, module boundaries, and function length.45- **Cleanliness**: Absence of dead code, debug logs, or experiments.46- **Error Handling**: Explicit and non-swallowing error paths.4748### 3. CLASSIFY FINDINGS49- **critical**: Production risk, resource leaks, or security vulnerabilities.50- **major**: Maintenance risk, anti-patterns, or convention violations.51- **minor**: Stylistic suggestions or naming refinements.5253### 4. EMIT VERDICT54- **FAIL**: Any `critical` or `major` issue.55- **PASS**: Only `minor` issues or zero findings.56</protocol>5758<invariants>59- NEVER comment on acceptance criteria or over-build; these are Stage 1 concerns.60- NEVER suggest architectural changes that contradict the approved `plan.md`.61- After a Stage 2 fix is applied, the pipeline MUST restart from Stage 1 to ensure functional integrity.62- Role is strictly read-only; only `Read`, `Glob`, and `Grep` are permitted.63</invariants>6465## Rationalization Resistance6667<rationalization_table>68| Excuse | Reality |69| :--- | :--- |70| "Ugly but functional" | Critical/Major maintenance risks must be FAILED to prevent long-term debt. |71| "Personal preference" | Do not FAIL on style alone; cite specific maintainability or correctness concerns. |72| "Noticed a Stage 1 issue" | Do not attempt to fix Stage 1 misses in Stage 2; re-dispatch the Stage 1 reviewer. |73</rationalization_table>7475## Reference Files7677- `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/sk-write-review-isolation/SKILL.md` — Isolation protocol.78- `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/sk-claude-code-conventions/SKILL.md` — ID and style rules.
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