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description: Five named dev principles from Karpathy observations on LLM coding pitfalls. Reference only — operational detail live in dev-standards skills.
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# Karpathy Development Principles

Five principles govern dev in this project. Each short on purpose; skill below each carry detail.

## 1. Goal-Driven Execution

Turn imperative instructions into declarative goals with verification loops. No blind checklist. Know what "done" look like before start.

See `dev-standards:grill-task` for extracting goal at intake, `superpowers:verification-before-completion` for verifying success.

## 2. Push Back on Assumptions

Request ambiguous? Surface ambiguity before acting. No guess when asking cheap. No "run with it" when unsure which branch of decision tree applies.

See `dev-standards:grill-task` for interrogation pattern.

## 3. Surface Tradeoffs Before Deciding

Two approaches both defensible? Present tradeoff — no silent pick. Applies during planning, not design only.

See `dev-standards:grill-task` (design layer) and `dev-standards:refactor-first-assessment`.

## 4. Verify Before Claiming Success

Evidence before assertions. No report task complete until verification step ran and returned expected output.

See `superpowers:verification-before-completion`.

## 5. No Stealth Scope Creep

Every change trace to current task acceptance criteria. Work found during execution become plan update proposal, not silent edit.

See `dev-standards:refactor-discipline.md` and `dev-standards:review-for-plan-updates`.