microsoft/guidelines

User Input

You MUST consider the user input before proceeding (if not empty).

Purpose

Guidelines are curated, domain-specific knowledge bases providing:

• Migration patterns: Technology-to-technology recipes
• Transformation rules: Concrete mappings and conversion templates
• Checklists: Step-by-step validation criteria

Directory Structure

skills/guidelines/
├── SKILL.md                    # This file - lookup mechanism
├── struts-to-spring/           # Struts 2 → Spring Boot 3.x
│   └── SKILL.md
└── {domain}/                   # Future guideline domains
    └── SKILL.md

Lookup Mechanism

When other skills need guideline lookup:

1. Context Analysis: Extract technology keywords from spec/plan/code.
2. Guideline Discovery: Search skills/guidelines/ subdirectories for matching patterns.
3. Application: Load matching SKILL.md, extract applicable rules for current phase.

Integration Points

| Workflow Step | Guideline Application | |---------------|----------------------| | Specification | Domain constraints, scope boundaries | | Planning | Technology decisions, architecture patterns | | Tasks | Transformation tasks, file-by-file changes | | Implementation | Code transformation rules, test patterns | | Completeness | Validation checklists, coverage criteria |

Creating New Guidelines

1. Create directory: skills/guidelines/{domain}/
2. Create SKILL.md with:
   • Metadata header (name, description, triggers)
   • Rules organized by migration step
   • Concrete transformation examples (before/after)
   • Validation checklist

Documenting Applied Guidelines

When guidelines are applied, document in the relevant artifact:

## Applied Guidelines
- **Guideline**: struts-to-spring
- **Rules Used**: convert-action-to-controller, convert-validation
- **Reference**: skills/guidelines/struts-to-spring/SKILL.md