Read Before Edit
Use when about to modify code in a file or function you haven't actually read yet — making a change in an unfamiliar or existing part of the codebase. Makes the agent read the surrounding code first so the edit matches existing patterns and doesn't break nearby logic.
Install
$ agentstack add skill-buildmoonshot-skillpacks-read-before-edit ✓ scanned · ✓ verified, works with Claude Code, Cursor, and more.
Security review
✓ PassedNo issues found. Passed automated security review. · v0.1.0 How review works →
- ✓ Prompt-injection patterns
- ✓ Secret / credential exfiltration
- ✓ Dangerous shell & filesystem operations
- ✓ Untrusted network calls
- ✓ Known-malicious package signatures
What it can access
- ✓ Network access No
- ✓ Filesystem access No
- ✓ Shell / process execution No
- ✓ Environment & secrets No
- ✓ Dynamic code execution No
From automated source analysis of v0.1.0. “Used” means the capability is present in the source — more access means more to trust, not that it’s unsafe.
Verified badge
Passed review? Show it. Paste this badge into your README, it links to the public security report.
Links to your public security report.[](https://agentstack.voostack.com/security/report/skill-buildmoonshot-skillpacks-read-before-edit) Reliability & compatibility
Declared compatibility
Compatibility is declared by the source manifest. End-to-end runtime verification is coming, see below.
We're building live execution health for every listing: tool-call success rate, median latency, uptime, and last-checked timestamps, measured, not self-reported. It isn't live yet, so we don't show numbers we can't stand behind.
How agent discovery & health will work →About
Read Before You Edit
Before changing existing code, read enough of it to understand what you're touching. Editing blind is how agents break working software.
What to do
- Read the function/section you're changing — and the code immediately around it. Understand what it does and what depends on it before you touch a line.
- Find the existing patterns. How does this file name things, handle errors, structure logic? Match that, don't impose your own style.
- Check who calls it. A quick look at where a function is used tells you what you might break. Changing a signature or return value without checking callers is a classic self-inflicted bug.
- Reuse what's there. If the codebase already has a helper, a utility, or a pattern for what you need, use it instead of writing a parallel one. New code should look like it belongs.
The trap to avoid
Don't pattern-match on the name of a function and assume it does what you'd expect. Open it and confirm. The function called validateUser might also mutate state, log, or throw — assumptions about unread code are where bugs hide.
Why this matters
Most agent-introduced bugs aren't bad logic — they're good logic that didn't fit the existing code, broke an unseen caller, or duplicated something already there. Two minutes of reading prevents the kind of bug that takes an hour to trace.
Source & license
This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.
- Author: buildmoonshot
- Source: buildmoonshot/skillpacks
- License: MIT
Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.
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Versions
- v0.1.0 Imported from the upstream source.