# Code Is Authority

> On how a system actually behaves, read the source first; code is authoritative, prose and docs can be stale.

- Skill: `kalabint/code-is-authority` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add kalabint/code-is-authority`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/kalabint/code-is-authority/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: Kalabint (https://skillmd.com/u/kalabint)
- Updated: 2026-09-21
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/kalabint/code-is-authority

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# Code is the authority

Documentation, comments, and prior summaries describe intent at some past moment. Behavior is defined by the code that runs now.

**Why:** acting on stale docs produces confident wrong answers about a system that has since changed.

**How to apply:** for any behavioral or architectural claim, read the current source before answering. Treat notes and design docs as intent to verify, not as fact.