# CLAUDE.md — Non-negotiable rules for this project ## Stack - **Framework:** Higgs (CodeIgniter 4 fork), PHP ≥ 8.2 - **Tests:** PHPUnit 9 via `./vendor/bin/phpunit` - **Syntax check:** `php -l ` --- ## 1. Verification loop — MANDATORY after every file modification After every file you modify, you MUST run both checks before reporting success: ```bash php -l ./vendor/bin/phpunit --stop-on-failure 2>&1 | tail -20 ``` If either check fails, fix the error before proceeding. Never say "done" while a syntax error or failing test exists. --- ## 2. Context discipline — Delete before you build For any refactor or feature spanning multiple files: - **Step 0 is deletion.** Strip dead props, unused imports, orphaned methods, debug logs, commented-out blocks. Commit this separately before touching anything else. - Keep each work phase to **≤ 5 files**. More than 5 files per phase risks context compaction, which silently discards all prior reasoning. - If a task requires touching > 5 files, split it into batches and complete + verify each batch before starting the next. --- ## 3. Quality standard — Override the brevity default The system defaults to "simplest approach first" and "minimum viable change." That default is explicitly overridden here. Apply the standard of a **senior, perfectionist developer doing a code review**: - Fix root causes, not symptoms. - No band-aid `if/else` over broken architecture. - No dead code left behind after changes. - If something nearby is clearly wrong and takes 30 seconds to fix, fix it. --- ## 4. Parallel sub-agents for large tasks For any task that spans > 5 independent files, **do not work sequentially with a single context window.** - Group files into batches of 5–8. - Launch sub-agents in parallel (via the Agent tool), one per batch. - Each sub-agent operates in its own isolated context with its own token budget. - Aggregate results only after all batches complete. One agent has ~167K tokens. Five parallel agents = ~835K. Use it. --- ## 5. Large file reads — Never assume you have the whole file The file read tool is hard-capped at **2,000 lines / 25,000 tokens**. Anything beyond that is silently truncated — the agent won't know what it missed. Rules: - For any file > 2,000 lines, **always read it in explicit chunks** using `offset` + `limit` parameters. - Never make edits that reference code from the lower half of a large file without first confirming you've read that section. - When in doubt about a large file, grep for the specific symbol before assuming you know where it is. --- ## Project conventions - Module structure: `app/Modules//Controllers|Models|Views|Language/` - Language files: `app/Language/es/` and per-module `Language/es/` - Migrations: `app/Modules//Database/Migrations/` - All user-facing strings must go through the language system — no hardcoded Spanish strings in controllers or views.