JuliusBrussee/surgical-patchv1.1

surgical-patch

Fix bugs and small behavior changes at the narrowest responsible layer. Use when regression proof, preserved surrounding behavior, and task-relevant tests matter.

NewUpdated Sep 9, 2026

Surgical patch

Reproduce failure first when economical; otherwise capture strongest available evidence.

Trace symptom to responsible mechanism.
Change narrowest layer that owns incorrect behavior.
Preserve unrelated behavior and user changes.
Avoid cleanup, renaming, and abstraction outside fix.
Add only regression proof relevant to task.

Run focused proof plus nearest affected gate. Stop when failure is fixed and regression proof passes.

Files2

2 files · 1.6 KB

Select a file to preview

Overall Score

42/100

Grade

Below Average

Grades are signals, not a certification. Always review a skill yourself before use.

Safety

Quality

Clarity

Completeness

Summary

A methodology skill for surgical bug fixes that guides agents to reproduce failures, trace root causes, and apply narrowly-scoped changes at the responsible layer while preserving surrounding behavior. The skill emphasizes regression testing and avoiding cleanup/refactoring outside the fix scope.

Detected Capabilities

code analysisfailure reproductiontest executiontargeted code modification

Trigger Keywords

Phrases that agents use to match this skill to user intent.

fix regression bugnarrow targeted patchminimal behavior changesurgical code fixregression proof testisolate root cause

Use Cases

Fix a reported bug with minimal blast radius and regression proof
Apply a narrow behavior change that requires careful testing and preservation of adjacent functionality
Debug and correct issues while maintaining test suite integrity and avoiding unrelated refactoring
Isolate a symptom to its root cause and apply targeted fixes at the responsible abstraction layer

Quality Notes

Skill content is extremely minimal — the SKILL.md body is only 6 lines of condensed guidance
No concrete examples, code snippets, or step-by-step walkthrough provided
No specific mention of which tools or commands to use for reproduction, tracing, or testing
No error handling guidance or troubleshooting advice
No discussion of when this approach is inappropriate or trade-offs vs. larger refactors
Unclear scope for 'narrowest responsible layer' — abstract concept without concrete definition
No discussion of how to determine if a change is 'regression proof' or what test coverage is adequate
No mention of version control workflow (branches, commits, diffs) for surgical patches
Terminology like 'economic' reproduction and 'strongest available evidence' lacks clarification
No supporting documentation, templates, or examples in accompanying files

Model: claude-haiku-4-5-20251001Analyzed: Sep 9, 2026

Reviews

Add this skill to your library to leave a review.

No reviews yet

Be the first to share your experience.

Version History

v1.1
Content updated
✦ AINo functional changes to skill instructions or supporting files; safety grade lowered from C to D.
2026-09-09
LATEST
v1.0
2026-08-17
View This VersionInitial version

Use JuliusBrussee/surgical-patch in your dev environment — a Developer account adds skills to your library and syncs them via the SkillRepo CLI.

Start a Developer trial