/ca-chore — non-behavioral change lane
The sanctioned path for work that has no behavioral surface to test-drive. Three types, each with
the gates that fit it — and nothing it doesn't need. Everything still exits through commit-gate
(classification docs / chore / revert) and lands via branch/PR.
Types
docs — README, comments, CHANGELOG, .codearbiter/ prose, typo fixes.
- Gates: secrets scan over the diff; diff review (no behavioral code change smuggled in);
anti-slop copy pass on any user-facing doc in the change;
commit-gate. - Anti-slop copy pass — for any user-facing doc the change touches (repo-root community docs
and
docs/**; not codeArbiter's own framework bodies), load<plugin-root>/includes/anti-slop-design/INDEX.md, thencore.mdand themedium-documentsleaf (§7.A.1), and run the §3.A em-dash ban and the §3.B copy self-audit over the authored prose beforecommit-gate. TheH-13PostToolUse reminder surfaces §3.A separator dashes as you write, so the pass is a confirmation, not a discovery. - No
tdd— prose has no failing test to write.
deps — bump an existing dependency's version (manifest + lockfile together, never one without the other).
- Gates: dispatch
dependency-reviewer(same vetting as/ca-add-dep— license, provenance, supply chain, changelog of the bump); full test suite green after the bump;commit-gate. - A bump that requires code changes to adopt is not a chore — route the code change through
/ca-featureor/ca-fix.
revert — back out a named commit.
- Gates:
git revert <SHA>(never hand-edited backout); full suite green after the revert; the commit message references the reverted SHA and the reason;commit-gate. - No new regression test demanded — the revert restores already-tested behavior. If the revert is
fixing a defect the suite missed, open
/ca-fixafterward to pin it.
Flow
- Classify
$ARGUMENTSinto one of the three types. Anything with a behavioral code change beyond a mechanical revert is NOT a chore — redirect to/ca-featureor/ca-fixand stop. - Run the type's gates above.
- Exit through
commit-gatewith the matching classification, thenfinishing-a-development-branchas usual.
Hard gate
MUST reject a change containing behavioral code (beyond the revert itself) — that is /ca-feature
or /ca-fix territory. MUST keep manifest and lockfile changes in the same commit for deps.
MUST run the full suite for deps and revert. MUST run the anti-slop copy pass on any user-facing
doc a docs change authors or edits. Never skips commit-gate.
When NOT to use
- Any new or changed behavior →
/ca-feature//ca-fix. - Adding a NEW dependency →
/ca-add-dep. - Restructuring code →
/ca-refactor.