# Codd Propagate

> Reverse-propagate source code changes back to affected CoDD design documents. Use after code changes when the user needs to map changed source files to modules, identify impacted design docs, and optionally update those docs while preserving CoDD coherence.

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

---


# CoDD Propagate

Reverse-propagate source code changes to design documents. When source code changes, `codd propagate` identifies which design docs are affected via the `modules` field and optionally updates them using AI.

## When to Use

- After modifying source code and before committing
- When you want to check which design docs are affected by code changes
- When you want to auto-update design docs to reflect code changes
- As part of the modification flow (code changed → propagate → review → commit)

Do NOT use this for:

- Document-to-document propagation — use `/codd-impact` instead
- Initial design doc generation — use `/codd-generate` (greenfield) or `/codd-restore` (brownfield)

## Propagation Direction

CoDD supports two propagation directions:

| Direction | Command | Trigger | Mechanism |
|-----------|---------|---------|-----------|
| Forward (doc → doc) | `codd impact` | Design doc changed | CEG dependency graph (`depends_on`) |
| Reverse (code → doc) | `codd propagate` | Source code changed | `modules` field in frontmatter |

`/codd-propagate` handles the **reverse** direction only.

## How It Works

```
git diff HEAD              # 1. Detect changed source files
  ↓
source_dirs mapping        # 2. Map files to modules (e.g. src/auth/service.py → "auth")
  ↓
modules field lookup       # 3. Find design docs with matching modules
  ↓
Analysis report            # 4. Show which docs need attention
  ↓ (--update only)
AI update                  # 5. AI updates affected doc bodies
```

## Prerequisite Checks

Before running propagate, verify:

1. `codd/codd.yaml` exists with `source_dirs` configured in `scan`.
2. Design docs have `modules` field in their frontmatter.
3. There are uncommitted source code changes (or specify `--diff` target).
4. Confirm you are in the intended project root.

If `modules` fields are missing, run `codd plan --init` to regenerate wave_config with modules, then regenerate or restore design docs.

## Recommended Workflow

### Analysis Only (Default)

```bash
codd propagate --path .
```

This shows:

- Changed source files and their module mappings
- Design docs affected by those changes
- Suggestion to run with `--update` if updates are needed

Review the analysis before deciding whether to update.

### With AI Update

```bash
codd propagate --path . --update
```

This additionally:

- Calls AI to update each affected design doc body
- Preserves frontmatter exactly as-is
- Leaves doc body unchanged for bug fixes or refactoring that don't affect design

After update, review every changed document before committing.

## HITL Gates

1. **After analysis**: Review the file → module → doc mapping. Confirm the affected docs list is correct before running with `--update`.
2. **After update**: Read every updated design doc. Confirm:
   - Changes accurately reflect the code modification
   - No unrelated sections were altered
   - Bug fixes / refactoring correctly left the doc body unchanged
   - Frontmatter was preserved exactly

## When NOT to Update

Not every code change needs a design doc update. The AI prompt explicitly tells the model to leave the body unchanged for:

- Bug fixes that don't change the design
- Minor refactoring (rename, extract method)
- Performance optimizations that don't change architecture
- Test additions or modifications

Use analysis-only mode (`codd propagate` without `--update`) to check which docs are affected, then decide manually whether an update is warranted.

## Options

| Flag | Description |
|------|-------------|
| `--path` | Project root (default: current directory) |
| `--diff` | Git diff target (default: `HEAD`) |
| `--update` | Actually update affected docs via AI (default: analysis only) |
| `--ai-cmd` | Override AI command for this run |

## Complete Modification Flow

After modifying source code:

```bash
# 1. Check reverse impact (code → docs)
codd propagate --path .

# 2. If design docs need updating
codd propagate --path . --update

# 3. Rebuild dependency graph
codd scan --path .

# 4. Check forward impact (doc → doc) if design docs changed
codd impact --path .

# 5. Validate and commit
codd validate --path .
git add -A && git commit
```

## Troubleshooting

- `No changed files detected`
  - Ensure you have uncommitted changes, or specify a different `--diff` target (e.g. `--diff HEAD~3`).
- `No affected design docs found`
  - Check that `source_dirs` is configured in `codd.yaml` → `scan`.
  - Check that design docs have `modules` fields in their frontmatter.
  - Verify the module names match (e.g. `src/auth/service.py` maps to module `auth`).
- Updated doc body is empty or garbled
  - Re-run with `--update`. If the AI output is still bad, manually edit the doc.

## Guardrails

- Use the `codd` command, not `python -m codd.cli`.
- Always run analysis first (without `--update`) to confirm affected docs before updating.
- Do not skip human review of updated documents.
- Do not combine with `codd impact` in the same step — propagate handles code→doc, impact handles doc→doc.
- After propagate with `--update`, always run `codd scan` to refresh the dependency graph.