Create Standard

Standard Creator

This skill provides a complete walkthrough for creating coding standards via the Packmind CLI.

About Coding Standards

Coding standards are collections of rules that capture team conventions, best practices, and coding guidelines. They help maintain consistency across codebases and enable AI coding assistants to follow your team's specific practices.

What Standards Provide

1. Consistent code style - Rules that enforce naming conventions, formatting, and structure
2. Best practices - Guidelines for error handling, testing, security, and performance
3. Domain knowledge - Company-specific patterns, architectural decisions, and business logic
4. Code examples - Positive/negative examples that demonstrate correct vs incorrect usage

Standard Structure

Every standard consists of:

{
  "name": "Standard Name",
  "description": "What the standard covers and why",
  "summary": "One-sentence description of when to apply the rules (optional)",
  "scope": "Where/when the standard applies (e.g., 'TypeScript files', 'React components')",
  "rules": [
    {
      "content": "Rule description starting with action verb",
      "examples": {
        "positive": "Valid code example",
        "negative": "Invalid code example",
        "language": "TYPESCRIPT"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Note: The Packmind CLI currently requires the scope field. The summary field is used in other workflows (like MCP) but not yet supported by the CLI.

Understanding scope vs summary

• scope (required by CLI): WHERE the standard applies - file patterns, technologies, specific locations
  • Examples: "TypeScript test files (*.spec.ts, *.test.ts)", "React functional components"
• summary (optional, not yet CLI-supported): WHEN/WHY to apply - high-level purpose and trigger condition
  • Examples: "Apply when writing tests to ensure consistency", "Use when handling user data for privacy compliance"

Prerequisites

Before creating a standard, verify that the required tools are available:

Python 3

Check if Python 3 is installed:

python3 --version

If not available, install it:

• macOS: brew install python3
• Ubuntu/Debian: sudo apt-get install python3
• Windows: Download from https://python.org or use winget install Python.Python.3

Packmind CLI

Check if packmind-cli is installed:

packmind-cli --version

If not available, install it:

npm install -g @packmind/cli

Then login to Packmind:

packmind-cli login

Standard Creation Process

To create a standard, follow this process in order, skipping steps only if there is a clear reason why they are not applicable.

Step 1: Understanding the Standard's Purpose

Skip this step only when the standard's scope and rules are already clearly defined. It remains valuable even when working with an existing standard.

To create an effective standard, clearly understand:

1. What problem does this standard solve?

   • Example: "Inconsistent error handling across services"
   • Example: "New team members don't know our naming conventions"

2. Who will benefit from this standard?

   • AI coding agents working on this codebase
   • New team members onboarding
   • Existing developers maintaining consistency

3. Where does this standard apply?

   • Specific file types (e.g., "*.spec.ts files")
   • Specific frameworks (e.g., "React components")
   • Specific domains (e.g., "API controllers")

Example clarifying questions:

• "What coding conventions do you want to enforce?"
• "Can you give examples of code that follows vs violates these rules?"
• "Which file types or areas of the codebase should this standard apply to?"

Conclude this step when there is a clear sense of the standard's purpose and scope.

Step 2: Gathering and Writing Rules

Transform the understanding from Step 1 into concrete rules.

Rule Writing Guidelines

Each rule should follow these format requirements:

1. Start with an action verb - Use imperative form (e.g., "Use", "Avoid", "Prefer", "Include")
2. Be concise - Max ~25 words per rule
3. Be specific and actionable - Avoid vague guidance
4. Focus on one concept - One rule per convention

Avoid Rationale Phrases

Rules describe WHAT to do, not WHY. Strip justifications and benefits—let examples demonstrate value.

Common fluff patterns to remove:

• "to improve/provide/ensure..." (benefit phrases)
• "while maintaining/preserving..." (secondary concerns)
• "for better/enhanced..." (quality claims)
• "and enable/allow..." (future benefits)

Bad (includes rationale):

Document props with JSDoc comments to provide IDE intellisense and improve developer experience.

Good (action only):

Document component props with JSDoc comments (/** ... */) describing purpose, expected values, and defaults.

Rule Splitting

If a rule addresses 2+ distinct concerns, proactively split it into separate rules:

Bad (too broad):

Create centralized color constants in dedicated files for consistent palettes, using semantic naming based on purpose rather than specific color values.

Good (split into focused rules):

• Define color constants in theme/colors.ts using semantic names (e.g., primary, error)
• Use semantic color tokens instead of literal hex values in components

Inline Examples in Rules

Inline examples (code, paths, patterns) within the rule content are optional. Only include them when they clarify something not obvious from the rule text.

Types of useful inline examples:

• Code syntax: const, async/await, /** ... */
• File paths: infra/repositories/, domain/entities/
• Naming patterns: .spec.ts, I{Name} prefix

Good rules with inline examples:

• "Use const instead of let for variables that are never reassigned"
• "Prefix interface names with I (e.g., IUserService)"
• "Place repository implementations in infra/repositories/"

Good rules without inline examples:

• "Name root describe block after the class or function under test"
• "Run linting before committing changes"
• "Keep business logic out of controllers"

Bad rules:

• "Write good code" (too vague)
• "Use const and prefix interfaces with I" (multiple concepts)
• "Don't use var" (no positive guidance)

Adding Examples (Recommended)

Examples dramatically improve rule effectiveness. For each rule, consider adding:

• positive: Code that correctly follows the rule
• negative: Code that violates the rule
• language: The programming language for syntax highlighting

Valid language values:

• TYPESCRIPT, TYPESCRIPT_TSX
• JAVASCRIPT, JAVASCRIPT_JSX
• PYTHON, JAVA, GO, RUST, CSHARP
• PHP, RUBY, KOTLIN, SWIFT, SQL
• HTML, CSS, SCSS, YAML, JSON
• MARKDOWN, BASH, GENERIC

Step 3: Creating the Playbook File

Before running the script, verify that python3 is available (see Prerequisites section). If not installed, install it first.

When creating a new standard from scratch, use the init_playbook.py script to generate a template playbook file:

python3 scripts/init_playbook.py <standard-name> --path <output-directory>

Example:

python3 scripts/init_playbook.py typescript-conventions --path .

The script generates a JSON file (named <standard-name>.playbook.json) with the following structure:

{
  "name": "Your Standard Name",
  "description": "A clear description of what this standard covers, why it exists, and what problems it solves.",
  "scope": "Where this standard applies (e.g., 'TypeScript files', 'React components', '*.spec.ts test files')",
  "rules": [
    {
      "content": "First rule starting with action verb"
    },
    {
      "content": "Second rule with examples",
      "examples": {
        "positive": "const x = getValue();",
        "negative": "let x = getValue();",
        "language": "TYPESCRIPT"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Validation Requirements

• name: Non-empty string
• description: Non-empty string explaining purpose
• scope: Non-empty string describing applicability (required by CLI)
• summary: One-sentence description (optional, not yet supported by CLI)
• rules: Array with at least one rule
• rules[].content: Non-empty string starting with action verb (max ~25 words)
• rules[].examples (optional): If provided, must include positive, negative, and language

Validating the Playbook

Before creating the standard via CLI, validate the playbook to catch errors early:

python3 scripts/validate_playbook.py <path-to-playbook.json>

Example:

python3 scripts/validate_playbook.py typescript-conventions.playbook.json

The validator checks:

• All required fields are present (name, description, scope, rules)
• No TODO placeholders remain
• Rules start with action verbs
• Example fields are complete when provided
• Language values are valid

If validation fails, fix the reported errors and run validation again before proceeding.

Step 4: Creating the Standard via CLI

Run the packmind-cli command to create the standard:

packmind-cli standard create <path-to-playbook.json>

Example:

packmind-cli standard create ./typescript-conventions.playbook.json

Expected output on success:

packmind-cli Standard "Your Standard Name" created successfully (ID: <uuid>)

Troubleshooting

"Not logged in" error:

packmind-cli login

"Failed to resolve global space" error:

• Verify your API key is valid
• Check network connectivity to Packmind server

JSON validation errors:

• Ensure all required fields are present
• Verify JSON syntax is valid (use a JSON validator)
• Check that rules array has at least one entry

Step 5: Verifying the Standard

After creation, verify the standard was created correctly:

1. Check in Packmind UI: Navigate to your organization's standards to see the new standard
2. Verify rules: Ensure all rules appear with correct content
3. Check examples: Confirm code examples are properly formatted

Step 6: Iterate and Improve

Standards benefit from iteration. Consider:

1. Add more rules as new conventions emerge
2. Add examples to rules that lack them
3. Refine rule wording based on how AI agents interpret them
4. Update scope as the standard's applicability becomes clearer

To add rules to an existing standard, use the Packmind UI or API.

Complete Example

Here's a complete example creating a TypeScript testing standard:

File: testing-conventions.playbook.json

{
  "name": "TypeScript Testing Conventions",
  "description": "Enforce consistent testing patterns in TypeScript test files to improve readability, maintainability, and reliability of the test suite.",
  "scope": "TypeScript test files (*.spec.ts, *.test.ts)",
  "rules": [
    {
      "content": "Use descriptive test names that explain the expected behavior",
      "examples": {
        "positive": "it('returns empty array when no items match filter')",
        "negative": "it('test filter')",
        "language": "TYPESCRIPT"
      }
    },
    {
      "content": "Follow Arrange-Act-Assert pattern in test structure",
      "examples": {
        "positive": "const input = createInput();\nconst result = processInput(input);\nexpect(result).toEqual(expected);",
        "negative": "expect(processInput(createInput())).toEqual(expected);",
        "language": "TYPESCRIPT"
      }
    },
    {
      "content": "Use one assertion per test for better error isolation",
      "examples": {
        "positive": "it('validates name', () => { expect(result.name).toBe('test'); });\nit('validates age', () => { expect(result.age).toBe(25); });",
        "negative": "it('validates user', () => { expect(result.name).toBe('test'); expect(result.age).toBe(25); });",
        "language": "TYPESCRIPT"
      }
    },
    {
      "content": "Avoid using 'should' at the start of test names - use assertive verb-first naming"
    }
  ]
}

Creating the standard:

packmind-cli standard create testing-conventions.playbook.json

Quick Reference