adaptive-enforcement-lab/work-avoidance-techniques

Work Avoidance Techniques

When to Use This Skill

Each technique answers a specific question:

| Technique | Question | Best For | | ----------- | ---------- | ---------- | | Content Hashing | "Is the content different?" | File comparisons, config sync | | Volatile Field Exclusion | "Did anything meaningful change?" | Version bumps, timestamps | | Existence Checks | "Does it already exist?" | Resource creation (PRs, branches) | | Cache-Based Skip | "Is the output already built?" | Build artifacts, dependencies | | Queue Cleanup | "Should queued work execute?" | Mutex-locked workflows |

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Implementation

See the full implementation guide in the source documentation.

Techniques

Overview

Each technique answers a specific question:

| Technique | Question | Best For | | ----------- | ---------- | ---------- | | Content Hashing | "Is the content different?" | File comparisons, config sync | | Volatile Field Exclusion | "Did anything meaningful change?" | Version bumps, timestamps | | Existence Checks | "Does it already exist?" | Resource creation (PRs, branches) | | Cache-Based Skip | "Is the output already built?" | Build artifacts, dependencies | | Queue Cleanup | "Should queued work execute?" | Mutex-locked workflows |

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Combining Techniques

Techniques can be layered for maximum efficiency:

flowchart TD
    subgraph layer1[Layer 1: Existence]
        Exists{Resource exists?}
    end

    subgraph layer2[Layer 2: Content]
        Hash{Content hash matches?}
    end

    subgraph layer3[Layer 3: Semantic]
        Volatile{Only volatile fields changed?}
    end

    subgraph action[Action]
        Skip[Skip]
        Execute[Execute]
    end

    Exists -->|Yes| Hash
    Exists -->|No| Execute
    Hash -->|Yes| Skip
    Hash -->|No| Volatile
    Volatile -->|Yes| Skip
    Volatile -->|No| Execute

    %% Ghostty Hardcore Theme
    style Exists fill:#65d9ef,color:#1b1d1e
    style Hash fill:#fd971e,color:#1b1d1e
    style Volatile fill:#9e6ffe,color:#1b1d1e
    style Skip fill:#5e7175,color:#f8f8f3
    style Execute fill:#a7e22e,color:#1b1d1e

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Choosing a Technique

| Scenario | Recommended Technique | | ---------- | ---------------------- | | File distribution with version bumps | Volatile Field Exclusion | | OCI image rebuilds | Content Hashing | | PR/branch creation | Existence Checks | | Dependency installation | Cache-Based Skip | | API state synchronization | Content Hashing | | Generated file deployment | Volatile Field Exclusion | | Idempotent workflows with mutex locks | Queue Cleanup |

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Related

• Work Avoidance Overview - Pattern introduction
• Anti-Patterns - Common mistakes to avoid

Anti-Patterns to Avoid

Techniques for detecting when work can be safely skipped.

Layer Your Checks

Start with cheap checks (existence), then content hashes, then semantic comparison. Each layer catches different scenarios.

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Overview

Each technique answers a specific question:

| Technique | Question | Best For | | ----------- | ---------- | ---------- | | Content Hashing | "Is the content different?" | File comparisons, config sync | | Volatile Field Exclusion | "Did anything meaningful change?" | Version bumps, timestamps | | Existence Checks | "Does it already exist?" | Resource creation (PRs, branches) | | Cache-Based Skip | "Is the output already built?" | Build artifacts, dependencies | | Queue Cleanup | "Should queued work execute?" | Mutex-locked workflows |

---

Combining Techniques

Techniques can be layered for maximum efficiency:

See examples.md for detailed code examples.

---

Choosing a Technique

| Scenario | Recommended Technique | | ---------- | ---------------------- | | File distribution with version bumps | Volatile Field Exclusion | | OCI image rebuilds | Content Hashing | | PR/branch creation | Existence Checks | | Dependency installation | Cache-Based Skip | | API state synchronization | Content Hashing | | Generated file deployment | Volatile Field Exclusion | | Idempotent workflows with mutex locks | Queue Cleanup |

---

Related

• Work Avoidance Overview - Pattern introduction
• Anti-Patterns - Common mistakes to avoid

Overview

Each technique answers a specific question:

| Technique | Question | Best For | | ----------- | ---------- | ---------- | | Content Hashing | "Is the content different?" | File comparisons, config sync | | Volatile Field Exclusion | "Did anything meaningful change?" | Version bumps, timestamps | | Existence Checks | "Does it already exist?" | Resource creation (PRs, branches) | | Cache-Based Skip | "Is the output already built?" | Build artifacts, dependencies | | Queue Cleanup | "Should queued work execute?" | Mutex-locked workflows |

---

Combining Techniques

Techniques can be layered for maximum efficiency:

See examples.md for detailed code examples.

---

Choosing a Technique

| Scenario | Recommended Technique | | ---------- | ---------------------- | | File distribution with version bumps | Volatile Field Exclusion | | OCI image rebuilds | Content Hashing | | PR/branch creation | Existence Checks | | Dependency installation | Cache-Based Skip | | API state synchronization | Content Hashing | | Generated file deployment | Volatile Field Exclusion | | Idempotent workflows with mutex locks | Queue Cleanup |

---

Related

• Work Avoidance Overview - Pattern introduction
• Anti-Patterns - Common mistakes to avoid

Related Patterns

• Work Avoidance Overview
• Anti-Patterns

References

• Source Documentation
• AEL Patterns