constitution-guardian
Real-time Constitution compliance checker for devflow documents. Blocks partial implementations and hardcoded secrets during file editing.
Best use case
constitution-guardian is best used when you need a repeatable AI agent workflow instead of a one-off prompt.
Real-time Constitution compliance checker for devflow documents. Blocks partial implementations and hardcoded secrets during file editing.
Teams using constitution-guardian should expect a more consistent output, faster repeated execution, less prompt rewriting.
When to use this skill
- You want a reusable workflow that can be run more than once with consistent structure.
When not to use this skill
- You only need a quick one-off answer and do not need a reusable workflow.
- You cannot install or maintain the underlying files, dependencies, or repository context.
Installation
Claude Code / Cursor / Codex
Manual Installation
- Download SKILL.md from GitHub
- Place it in
.claude/skills/constitution-guardian/SKILL.mdinside your project - Restart your AI agent — it will auto-discover the skill
How constitution-guardian Compares
| Feature / Agent | constitution-guardian | Standard Approach |
|---|---|---|
| Platform Support | Not specified | Limited / Varies |
| Context Awareness | High | Baseline |
| Installation Complexity | Unknown | N/A |
Frequently Asked Questions
What does this skill do?
Real-time Constitution compliance checker for devflow documents. Blocks partial implementations and hardcoded secrets during file editing.
Where can I find the source code?
You can find the source code on GitHub using the link provided at the top of the page.
SKILL.md Source
# Constitution Guardian
## Purpose
Enforce CC-DevFlow Constitution compliance by detecting violations in real-time during document editing, preventing non-compliant content from being saved.
**Trigger**: PreToolUse hook when editing devflow documents (PRD.md, EPIC.md, TASKS.md, TECH_DESIGN.md)
## Enforcement Scope
**Focus Articles** (Real-time prevention):
- **Article I.1**: Quality First - No Partial Implementation
- **Article III.1**: Security First - No Hardcoded Secrets
**Note**: Full Constitution has 10 Articles. This guardrail focuses on the most critical real-time violations. Batch validation by `validate-constitution.sh` covers all Articles.
## Violation Patterns
### Article I.1: No Partial Implementation
#### Pattern 1: TODO placeholders
```markdown
# ❌ BLOCKED
## User Stories
### US1: User Registration
TODO later: Add email verification flow
FIXME: Implement password strength validation
```
**Regex Patterns**:
- `TODO.*later`
- `FIXME`
- `\[placeholder\]`
- `// TODO:.*later`
- `# FIXME:.*`
#### Pattern 2: Simplified/Partial notes
```markdown
# ❌ BLOCKED
## Implementation Notes
This is simplified for now, complete implementation would require...
```
**Regex Pattern**: `simplified for now`
#### Pattern 3: Version deferral
```markdown
# ❌ BLOCKED
## Acceptance Criteria
- [ ] Basic login (v1)
- [ ] Remember me (defer to v2)
```
**Regex Pattern**: `defer to v\d|will complete in v\d`
### Article III.1: No Hardcoded Secrets
#### Pattern 1: Environment variables with secrets
```markdown
# ❌ BLOCKED
## Configuration
API_KEY=sk-abc123def456
JWT_SECRET=mysecretkey123
PASSWORD=admin123
```
**Regex Patterns**:
- `API_KEY\s*=\s*['"]?[a-zA-Z0-9_-]{10,}`
- `SECRET\s*=\s*['"]?[a-zA-Z0-9_-]+`
- `PASSWORD\s*=\s*['"]?[^\s]+`
- `TOKEN\s*=\s*['"]?[a-zA-Z0-9_-]{10,}`
#### Pattern 2: Code snippets with hardcoded secrets
```typescript
// ❌ BLOCKED
const config = {
apiKey: "sk-abc123def456",
dbPassword: "postgres123"
};
```
**Regex Patterns**:
- `apiKey:\s*['"][^'"]+['"]`
- `password:\s*['"][^'"]+['"]`
- `secret:\s*['"][^'"]+['"]`
## Blocking Message
When violation detected, PreToolUse hook returns **exit code 2** (blocks file save):
```
⚠️ BLOCKED - Constitution Violation
Detected:
- [Line 42] TODO placeholder (Article I.1 - No Partial Implementation)
- [Line 58] Hardcoded API key (Article III.1 - No Hardcoded Secrets)
📋 ACTION:
1. Complete all TODOs/FIXMEs before saving
2. Move secrets to environment variables (.env, not committed)
3. Review `.claude/rules/project-constitution.md` v2.0.0
4. Run /flow-verify for comprehensive check
Source: Constitution Articles I.1, III.1
File: {file_path}
Constitutional Basis:
Article I.1: "NO PARTIAL IMPLEMENTATION: Complete implementation or no implementation"
Article III.1: "NO HARDCODED SECRETS: Use environment variables or secret management"
💡 SKIP: Add `@constitution-verified` comment or set SKIP_CONSTITUTION_CHECK=1
```
## Constitutional Basis
### Article I: Quality First
```yaml
I.1 Complete Implementation Mandate:
Prohibition: Any form of partial implementation or placeholder code
Requirement: Complete implementation or no implementation
Examples:
❌ Forbidden: "// TODO: Implement this later"
❌ Forbidden: "// Simplified for now, will complete in v2"
✅ Required: Fully functional, production-ready code
```
**Enforcement**:
- **Generation time**: prd-writer, tech-architect, planner agents check output
- **Edit time**: constitution-guardian guardrail blocks save (this skill)
- **Phase completion**: validate-constitution.sh batch validation
### Article III: Security First
```yaml
III.1 No Hardcoded Secrets:
Prohibited:
❌ API_KEY = "sk-abc123..." in source code
❌ PASSWORD = "admin123" in config files
❌ JWT_SECRET embedded in code
Required:
✅ Environment variables (.env files, not committed)
✅ Secret management services (AWS Secrets Manager, etc.)
✅ Configuration injection at runtime
Detection: Pre-push guard scans for secret patterns
```
**Enforcement**:
- **Generation time**: All agents avoid secrets in generated docs
- **Edit time**: constitution-guardian guardrail blocks save (this skill)
- **Pre-push**: Git pre-push hook scans for secrets
## Skip Conditions
Users can bypass Constitution guardian in specific scenarios:
### 1. Session Skip (One-time per session)
- **Mechanism**: `sessionSkillUsed: true` in skill-rules.json
- **Behavior**: Guardrail only triggers once per Claude session
- **Use case**: User acknowledged violation, working on fix
### 2. File Marker (Permanent skip for specific file)
- **Marker**: Add `@constitution-verified` comment in document
- **Example**:
```markdown
<!-- @constitution-verified: Legacy doc migration, compliance review completed -->
```
- **Use case**: Legacy documentation, special cases
### 3. Environment Variable (Temporary global skip)
- **Variable**: `SKIP_CONSTITUTION_CHECK=1`
- **Scope**: Current terminal session
- **Use case**: Bulk imports, automated migrations
## Relationship with Other Components
### validate-constitution.sh (Script)
- **Purpose**: Batch validation of all 10 Constitutional Articles
- **Scope**: Complete document/codebase scan
- **Timing**: Phase completion (e.g., /flow-prd Exit Gate)
- **Articles**: I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X
### constitution-guardian (Guardrail)
- **Purpose**: Real-time prevention of critical violations
- **Scope**: Single document being edited
- **Timing**: During file editing (PreToolUse hook)
- **Articles**: Focus on I.1, III.1 (most critical for documents)
**Relationship**: **Complementary (互补)**
- Guardrail: Real-time prevention (write-time, partial Articles)
- Script: Batch validation (phase-time, all Articles)
- Double insurance: Guardrail catches most issues, Script catches remaining
### Constitution Document
- **Source of Truth**: `.claude/rules/project-constitution.md` v2.0.0
- **Contains**: All 10 Articles with detailed rules
- **This guardrail**: Extracts Articles I.1, III.1 prohibition rules only
## Configuration
In `.claude/skills/skill-rules.json`:
```json
{
"constitution-guardian": {
"type": "guardrail",
"enforcement": "block",
"priority": "critical",
"description": "Real-time Constitution compliance, extracted from Constitution v2.0.0",
"fileTriggers": {
"pathPatterns": [
"devflow/requirements/**/PRD.md",
"devflow/requirements/**/EPIC.md",
"devflow/requirements/**/TASKS.md",
"devflow/requirements/**/TECH_DESIGN.md",
"devflow/requirements/**/contracts/**/*.yaml",
"devflow/requirements/**/data-model.md"
],
"contentPatterns": [
"TODO.*later",
"FIXME",
"\\[placeholder\\]",
"simplified for now",
"defer to v\\d",
"API_KEY\\s*=\\s*['\"]?[a-zA-Z0-9_-]{10,}",
"SECRET\\s*=\\s*['\"]?[a-zA-Z0-9_-]+",
"PASSWORD\\s*=\\s*['\"]?[^\\s]+",
"TOKEN\\s*=\\s*['\"]?[a-zA-Z0-9_-]{10,}",
"apiKey:\\s*['\"][^'\"]+['\"]",
"password:\\s*['\"][^'\"]+['\"]"
]
},
"blockMessage": "⚠️ BLOCKED - Constitution Violation\n\nDetected:\n- Partial implementation (Article I.1)\n- Hardcoded secrets (Article III.1)\n\n📋 ACTION:\n1. Complete all TODOs/FIXMEs\n2. Move secrets to config system\n3. Run /flow-verify\n\nSource: .claude/rules/project-constitution.md v2.0.0",
"skipConditions": {
"sessionSkillUsed": true,
"fileMarkers": ["@constitution-verified"],
"envOverride": "SKIP_CONSTITUTION_CHECK"
}
}
}
```
## Line Number Reporting (Enhancement)
**Goal**: Precise violation location reporting
**Implementation** (in PreToolUse hook):
```typescript
function detectViolations(content: string, patterns: string[]) {
const lines = content.split('\n');
const violations: Array<{line: number, pattern: string, text: string}> = [];
lines.forEach((line, index) => {
patterns.forEach(pattern => {
if (new RegExp(pattern, 'i').test(line)) {
violations.push({
line: index + 1,
pattern: pattern,
text: line.trim()
});
}
});
});
return violations;
}
```
**Enhanced Blocking Message**:
```
⚠️ BLOCKED - Constitution Violation
Detected 3 violations:
[Line 42] TODO placeholder (Article I.1)
→ "TODO later: Add email verification"
[Line 58] Hardcoded API key (Article III.1)
→ "API_KEY=sk-abc123def456"
[Line 73] FIXME comment (Article I.1)
→ "FIXME: Complete error handling"
📋 ACTION: ...
```
## Design Principle
**This guardrail does NOT contain**:
- ❌ Complete Constitution (all 10 Articles are in project-constitution.md)
- ❌ All violation patterns (only Articles I.1, III.1)
- ❌ Batch validation logic (that's in validate-constitution.sh)
**This guardrail ONLY contains**:
- ✅ Articles I.1, III.1 prohibition rule extraction
- ✅ Real-time violation detection (content pattern matching)
- ✅ Blocking mechanism (PreToolUse hook, exit code 2)
- ✅ Precise line number reporting
- ✅ Links to full Constitution document
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