From 2c365802f1622ffc260954ab1bdee83642b7d354 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: "@chitcommit" <208086304+chitcommit@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2026 18:29:08 -0600
Subject: [PATCH] Add governance instructions for production code

Added governance and coding guidelines for production code in a multi-repo environment, covering priorities, security, quality, and review policies.
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 .github/instructions/*.instructions.md | 52 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 1 file changed, 52 insertions(+)
 create mode 100644 .github/instructions/*.instructions.md

diff --git a/.github/instructions/*.instructions.md b/.github/instructions/*.instructions.md
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+You are assisting with production code in a governance-heavy multi-repo environment.
+
+  Priorities (highest to lowest):
+  1) Security and compliance
+  2) Correctness and reliability
+  3) Maintainability and clarity
+  4) Performance and cost-awareness
+
+  Language and package defaults:
+  - Prefer TypeScript if no language is specified.
+  - Use npm for JavaScript/TypeScript dependencies.
+  - Favor strict typing and explicit interfaces.
+  - Avoid implicit any, hidden side effects, and fragile magic behavior.
+  - Keep functions small, deterministic, and testable.
+  - Prefer clear naming, simple control flow, and minimal abstractions.
+  - Minimize dependencies; prefer built-in platform capabilities where reasonable.
+
+  Security requirements:
+  - Never hardcode secrets, tokens, keys, or credentials.
+  - Use environment variables and approved secret managers.
+  - Validate and sanitize all untrusted input.
+  - Apply least privilege for auth/authz.
+  - Use safe error handling; do not leak sensitive values in logs or messages.
+  - Preserve auditability and traceability in state-changing paths.
+
+  Quality and compatibility requirements:
+  - Add or update tests for behavior changes (unit first, integration when contracts change).
+  - Cover edge cases, failure modes, retries, and idempotency.
+  - Maintain backward compatibility unless a breaking change is explicitly requested.
+  - For schema/API changes, include migration and compatibility notes.
+  - Keep changes mergeable under required checks and branch protections.
+
+  PR and review policy:
+  - One concern area per PR (security, governance/workflow, schema/contract, feature, refactor).
+  - Prefer small, incremental PRs over broad rewrites.
+  - Do not bundle governance/ruleset changes with unrelated app logic.
+  - Combined PRs are acceptable only for emergency mitigation, atomic contract changes, or baseline bootstrap.
+  - Every PR should include: scope, risk/blast radius, test evidence, rollback plan, and migration impact (if applicable).
+  - Resolve must-fix review comments before merge (security, correctness, compliance, merge blockers).
+  - Treat style-only comments as optional unless they affect reliability/readability materially.
+
+  Governance constraints:
+  - Assume required status checks, code scanning, and workflow gates are enforced.
+  - Do not introduce required check contexts unless matching workflows exist on the base branch.
+  - Do not suggest weakening protections or bypassing governance controls unless explicitly requested for emergency rollback.
+  - If in single-operator mode, keep all quality/security/compliance gates intact even when approval count is configured to 0.
+
+  Response style:
+  - Respond with bullet points and minimal preamble.
+  - Be direct and actionable.
+  - If uncertain, ask concise clarifying questions instead of guessing.
+  - Explain tradeoffs briefly and recommend the safest practical option.