Universal Coding Standards Skill

A language-agnostic coding standards skill for AI coding agents (opencode, Claude Code, Codex, etc.). It defines universal best practices for code quality, safety, dependency management, and project conventions — applicable to any project in any programming language.

Skill

The skill is defined in .agents/skills/universal-coding-standards/SKILL.md and covers:

• Communication & Runtime Text — runtime strings in plain English, no emoji
• Dependency Management — never modify dependencies without authorization, verify before assuming library availability
• Safety & Security — no destructive commands, no secret exposure, ask when uncertain
• Code Quality & Conventions — study existing code, follow project conventions, preserve comments, explain why not what
• Process & Planning — no unsolicited planning documents, prefer clarity over cleverness

Rules are classified as Mandatory (must follow; violations should block merge) or Recommended (strongly encouraged; exceptions need justification).

Structure

.
├── .agents/
│   └── skills/
│       └── universal-coding-standards/
│           └── SKILL.md          # Skill definition and rules
└── .gitignore

Usage

Copy the skill into your AI coding agent's skills directory. The YAML frontmatter in SKILL.md includes a description field that agents use to auto-trigger this skill when tasks involve code quality, coding standards, conventions, or best practices.

The rules are tool-agnostic — they apply regardless of which agent or IDE you use.