# 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'.

- Skill: `xonovex/connascence-guide` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 8 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add xonovex/connascence-guide`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/xonovex/connascence-guide/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: xonovex (https://skillmd.com/u/xonovex)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/xonovex/connascence-guide

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# 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](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

```text
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](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)