Off Topic Improvements

Draining the off-topic-improvements backlog

plans/off-topic-improvements.md collects improvements spotted mid-task and parked as out-of-scope (the global "Suggest Improvements" rule writes to it). This skill drains that backlog deliberately: every item ends the session accounted for — landed, deferred, or dropped — and the file reflects only what's genuinely still open.

Procedure

1. Read the backlog. Open plans/off-topic-improvements.md. Absent or empty → say so and stop; there's nothing to drain. Otherwise enumerate every item (a list per item, so none gets lost).
2. Triage each item — do now / defer / drop — with a one-line reason. An item is:
   • do now — actionable, in scope for this pass, worth the effort;
   • defer — still valid but blocked, too large for now, or explicitly conditional ("revisit if X moves in-house") — leave it in the file, untouched;
   • drop — stale, already done elsewhere, or not worth it — remove it, with the reason stated to the user. Present the triage and confirm scope before editing code, unless the user already said to just do them all.
3. Isolate anything non-trivial. For a "do now" item beyond a one-file edit, work in a git worktree (invoke [[using-git-worktrees]] / [[worktree-setup]]); trivial items can be done in place. Parallel-independent items can each get their own worktree/agent.
4. One atomic commit per item. Never bundle multiple backlog items into one commit — each addressed item is its own logical change, its own commit (follow the repo's commit and version-bump conventions).
5. Get each change under test and verify it before committing — tests green, and the actual behaviour exercised, not just eyeballed (evidence before "done"; use [[verify]] where there's a runtime surface). If an item can't be tested yet, say so rather than claiming it works.
6. Keep the backlog file live. As each item lands, remove it from plans/off-topic-improvements.md in that item's commit (a drained backlog is a short live list, not a checked-off graveyard). Dropped items are removed too; deferred items stay.
7. Account for every item. Close with a per-item ledger: addressed (→ commit), deferred (→ still in file, why), dropped (→ removed, why). Nothing vanishes silently.

Completion criteria

• Every item that was in the backlog is accounted for as addressed / deferred / dropped — no item unaddressed and unexplained.
• Each addressed item has its own commit and is removed from plans/off-topic-improvements.md.
• The file's remaining items are all genuinely still-open (deferred), each with a reason.
• Tests are green and each addressed change was actually exercised.

Notes

• The write side is the global "Suggest Improvements" rule (park an out-of-scope idea in this file mid-task); this skill is the read/drain side — run it on a cadence or when the file has grown.
• Related: [[repo-review]] surfaces such items in the first place; this skill clears them.