---
name: principle-encode-lessons-in-structure
description: "Apply when you catch yourself writing the same instruction a second time, or notice a recurring correction. Encode the rule as a lint, metadata flag, runtime check, or script instead of more text."
---

**Codex compatibility:** Before following this workflow, read [../../docs/harness/codex.md](../../docs/harness/codex.md). Its mappings replace Cursor-specific tool calls, model defaults, paths, and autonomy rules throughout this skill and its referenced files.

# Encode Lessons in Structure

If the lesson needs judgment and cannot be encoded, make the instruction more prominent and add an example of the failure mode.

**Corollary:** If the fix is structural, only use the structural fix. The instruction is the symptom.