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Run npx skillmds@latest add xonovex/connascence-guide in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

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Is Connascence Guide free to use?

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Who published Connascence Guide?

xonovex (@xonovex) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Connascence Guide by xonovex — Agent Skill

Name: Connascence Guide
Author: xonovex

Connascence Guide

Use when grading or loosening the coupling between two pieces of code, or judging how cohesive a module is. Triggers on connascence, coupling vs cohesion, 'too tightly coupled', decouple/loosen, the coupling ladder (content/common/control/stamp/data), the cohesion ladder, Law of Demeter / train wrecks like a.b().c(), positional vs named parameters, or reviewing a module boundary for coupling strength, even when the user doesn't say 'connascence' and only says 'tightly coupled'.

xonovex 67da70d 8 files · 19.7 KB Updated Sep 17, 2026

File contents

Connascence: a Precise Coupling Vocabulary

Grade a seam by naming its worst coupling and its strongest connascence, then weaken or localize it: "tight/loose" is unactionable.

Essentials

Name the connascence, don't say "tight" - classify the form and rate strength/locality/degree, see references/connascence.md
Two moves: weaken and localize - rule of degree (strong→weak forms) and rule of locality (distance→weakness), see references/connascence.md
Push every seam down the coupling ladder - content→common→control→stamp→data, worst to best, see references/coupling-ladder.md
Aim for functional cohesion - one job per module; temporal cohesion is the package-by-layer trap, see references/cohesion-ladder.md
Don't reach through strangers - Law of Demeter as the call-site detector for content coupling, see references/law-of-demeter.md

Gotchas

"Tightly coupled" is not actionable: name the connascence form and the coupling rung, then you know the fix.
Strong connascence is fine inside one module; it's only a problem across a boundary (rule of locality).
Law of Demeter is a heuristic, not a law: pure data pipelines are a deliberate exception; it targets reaching through a stranger to depend on or mutate its internals.
Coupling and cohesion trade off: splitting a module to "loosen coupling" can shred its cohesion; grade both before cutting.

Example

SEAM   a billing function reaches into an Order's private `total` field
GRADE  content coupling (reaches internals) + connascence of meaning across a boundary
FIX    Order exposes a neutral `amountDue()` value (rule of degree → data coupling);
       billing reads the value: agreement is now named, local, and weak

Progressive Disclosure

Read references/connascence.md - Load when classifying a coupling (static/dynamic forms, strength/locality/degree, the two rules)
Read references/coupling-ladder.md - Load when grading or improving a seam by the content→data ladder
Read references/cohesion-ladder.md - Load when judging whether a module's parts belong together, or spotting temporal cohesion
Read references/law-of-demeter.md - Load when a call site reaches through returned objects (train wrecks)

---name: connascence-guidedescription: Use when grading or loosening the coupling between two pieces of code, or judging how cohesive a module is. Triggers on connascence, coupling vs cohesion, 'too tightly coupled', decouple/loosen, the coupling ladder (content/common/control/stamp/data), the cohesion ladder, Law of Demeter / train wrecks like a.b().c(), positional vs named parameters, or reviewing a module boundary for coupling strength, even when the user doesn't say 'connascence' and only says 'tightly coupled'.---# Connascence: a Precise Coupling VocabularyGrade a seam by naming its worst coupling and its strongest connascence, then weaken or localize it: "tight/loose" is unactionable.## Essentials- **Name the connascence, don't say "tight"** - classify the form and rate strength/locality/degree, see [references/connascence.md](references/connascence.md)- **Two moves: weaken and localize** - rule of degree (strong→weak forms) and rule of locality (distance→weakness), see [references/connascence.md](references/connascence.md)- **Push every seam down the coupling ladder** - content→common→control→stamp→data, worst to best, see [references/coupling-ladder.md](references/coupling-ladder.md)- **Aim for functional cohesion** - one job per module; temporal cohesion is the package-by-layer trap, see [references/cohesion-ladder.md](references/cohesion-ladder.md)- **Don't reach through strangers** - Law of Demeter as the call-site detector for content coupling, see [references/law-of-demeter.md](references/law-of-demeter.md)## Gotchas- "Tightly coupled" is not actionable: name the connascence form and the coupling rung, then you know the fix.- Strong connascence is fine _inside_ one module; it's only a problem _across_ a boundary (rule of locality).- Law of Demeter is a heuristic, not a law: pure data pipelines are a deliberate exception; it targets reaching through a stranger to depend on or mutate its internals.- Coupling and cohesion trade off: splitting a module to "loosen coupling" can shred its cohesion; grade both before cutting.## Example```textSEAM a billing function reaches into an Order's private `total` fieldGRADE content coupling (reaches internals) + connascence of meaning across a boundaryFIX Order exposes a neutral `amountDue()` value (rule of degree → data coupling); billing reads the value: agreement is now named, local, and weak```## Progressive Disclosure- Read [references/connascence.md](references/connascence.md) - Load when classifying a coupling (static/dynamic forms, strength/locality/degree, the two rules)- Read [references/coupling-ladder.md](references/coupling-ladder.md) - Load when grading or improving a seam by the content→data ladder- Read [references/cohesion-ladder.md](references/cohesion-ladder.md) - Load when judging whether a module's parts belong together, or spotting temporal cohesion- Read [references/law-of-demeter.md](references/law-of-demeter.md) - Load when a call site reaches through returned objects (train wrecks)

Frequently asked questions