Vibe Scope Guard

vibe-scope-guard

The best code is the code you don't write. Stay focused on what was asked.

When to Use This Skill

• During any implementation task
• When you notice you're "improving" code that wasn't in the request
• When implementation is taking longer than expected
• When you're about to create an abstraction "for later"

When NOT to Use This Skill

• During brainstorming (ideas should be unconstrained)
• When the user explicitly asks for broad improvements
• When scope expansion is necessary for correctness

Scope Creep Signals

Watch for these patterns:

| Signal | Example | Response | |--------|---------|----------| | Unrequested features | "While I'm here, let me add caching" | Stop. Was caching requested? | | Premature abstraction | "Let me create a generic helper for this" | Is it used more than once? | | Gold plating | "Let me add comprehensive error messages for every case" | Only at system boundaries | | Refactoring drive-by | "This function could be cleaner" | Was refactoring requested? | | Over-engineering | "Let me make this configurable" | Does anyone need configuration? | | Documentation creep | "Let me add docstrings to all these functions" | Only to functions you changed | | Test over-expansion | "Let me test every possible input" | Test the boundaries, not every input |

The Rule

Three similar lines of code is better than a premature abstraction.

Before adding anything not explicitly requested, ask:

1. Was this requested? → No → Don't do it
2. Is it necessary for correctness? → No → Don't do it
3. Will it break without this? → No → Don't do it
4. Is the user watching time/cost? → Yes → Definitely don't do it

Steps

When you detect scope creep:

1. Stop — Don't commit the extra work
2. Acknowledge — "I notice I'm adding [X] which wasn't requested"
3. Offer — "Would you like me to also [X], or should I stay focused on [original task]?"
4. If declined — Revert the extra work, continue with original scope
5. If accepted — Proceed, but track it separately

Output

This skill doesn't produce formal output. It modifies behavior. When triggered explicitly:

Scope Audit

Original request: [what was asked] Current work: [what's being done] Scope additions detected: X

| Addition | Requested? | Necessary? | Recommendation | |----------|-----------|------------|----------------| | [extra work] | No | No | Remove |

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: ash1794
• Source: ash1794/vibe-engineering
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.