# Inspect Invariants

> Use when a design or diff cites architecture invariants (a `Respects` line naming ARCH-N, or a change under a repo that has `docs/architecture/`) and you need to judge whether it actually conforms — the advisory, LLM-judged invariant-conformance check invoked by `inspect-change`, `build-in-waves`'s task review, and `define-project` validate mode. Produces a per-citation respects / violates / unclear verdict with a one-line rationale.

- Skill: `jayden-dang/inspect-invariants` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add jayden-dang/inspect-invariants`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/jayden-dang/inspect-invariants/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: AI & ML
- Author: jayden-dang (https://skillmd.com/u/jayden-dang)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/jayden-dang/inspect-invariants

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# Inspect Invariants

Judge whether a design (or a diff) honors the architecture invariants it relies on.

This is the **semantic** counterpart to `audit-trace`. `audit-trace` checks that a
`Respects: ARCH-N` citation points at a live invariant — existence and liveness,
deterministically, by `grep`. It never reads whether the design *actually* respects
the rule. That judgment is this skill's job, and because it is a judgment it is
**advisory**: its verdicts inform review, they are never a hard merge gate.

## When there is nothing to check

If `docs/architecture/` does not exist, there is no spine — say so once and stop.
This skill only runs where a project has opted into the architecture layer.

## Inputs

- The **architecture spine**: `docs/architecture/INDEX.md` (+ any
  `docs/architecture/<domain>.md`). Read the invariants — each is a bold `**ARCH-N**`
  ID and one imperative rule. A struck-through `~~**ARCH-N**~~` is retired; ignore it.
- The **subject**: a feature `design.md`, or a diff (`git diff <base>...HEAD`). Collect
  its `Respects: ARCH-N` citations; for a diff, also weigh invariants the changed code
  plainly touches even if uncited.

## The judgment

For each cited invariant (and each clearly-relevant uncited one), read the rule, read
what the design/diff does, and return one verdict:

| Verdict | Meaning |
|---|---|
| **respects** | The design is consistent with the invariant. |
| **violates** | The design does something the invariant forbids, or omits something it requires. |
| **unclear** | The design neither clearly honors nor clearly breaks it — a human should look. |

Every verdict carries a one-line rationale naming the invariant and the concrete spot
(a design section, a file, a hunk). Do not restate the invariant as its own rationale.

## Output

```
inspect-invariants (3 citations, spine: docs/architecture/INDEX.md)
  violates ARCH-2  design.md §Cross-module sync calls the persistence module directly (invariant: only via the event bus)
  respects ARCH-4  every write goes through the migration guard
  unclear  ARCH-5  can't tell from the design whether the cache is invalidated on write
```

Report all verdicts; do not drop `unclear` ones — they are the point. This skill
returns findings, never a pass/fail. The caller (`inspect-change`, `build-in-waves`,
`define-project`) decides what to do with a `violates`.