# External Repo Guidelines

> Inject external repo contributing guidelines as cataractae context. Use when working on fork-mode repos to follow the upstream project's conventions.

- Skill: `michieldean/external-repo-guidelines` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add michieldean/external-repo-guidelines`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/michieldean/external-repo-guidelines/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: michieldean (https://skillmd.com/u/michieldean)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/michieldean/external-repo-guidelines

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# External Repo Guidelines

When working on a fork-mode repo, you have access to contributing guidelines extracted from the upstream repository.

## How to Use

1. Check CONTEXT.md for a `## Contributing Guidelines` section. If present, it contains the upstream repo's own `AGENTS.md`, `CONTRIBUTING.md`, and/or `.github/CONTRIBUTING.md`.

2. Follow the repo's conventions for:
   - Coding style and formatting
   - Test commands and frameworks
   - Commit message format
   - PR description format
   - Any other contributing rules

3. When repo-specific conventions conflict with general Cistern patterns, **prioritize the repo's conventions**. For example, if the repo's `CONTRIBUTING.md` specifies `./gradlew test` as the test command, use that instead of a generic `go test ./...`.

4. If the Contributing Guidelines section is empty or missing, proceed with Cistern's default conventions. The absence of guidelines means either the repo is direct-mode or no guideline files were found in the upstream repository.