Protocols — Development skill for Claude Code
Engineering protocols for Claude Code /plan mode workflows — TDD, ADRs, specs, feature branches, changelogs, releases, DRY, production-ready code, and more.
How to install Protocols
This entry records only its repository, not the path inside it, so there is no
exact command to give. Open cgbarlow/protocols and copy the folder into
~/.claude/skills/, or the file into ~/.claude/agents/.
What Protocols does
Engineering protocols for Claude Code /plan mode workflows — TDD, ADRs, specs, feature branches, changelogs, releases, DRY, production-ready code, and more. Reference as @protocols.md in your prompts.
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README
protocols
Engineering protocols for Claude Code `/plan` mode workflows.
What this is
A small, opinionated set of non-negotiable protocols I follow when planning and implementing software with Claude Code. They cover ADRs, specs, TDD, feature branches, changelogs, releases, dependency hygiene, README accuracy, DRY, agent usage, and frontend security.
→ [`protocols.md`](protocols.md)
How to use it
Reference the protocols file from your prompt when entering plan mode:
Follow /plan mode, do xyz, follow @protocols.mdClaude Code resolves `@protocols.md` from your project's working directory. Either:
- Vendor the file into each project — copy
protocols.mdto your project root (ordocs/) and reference it directly. Pin to a specific commit if you want stability. - Submodule or subtree — add this repo as a git submodule under e.g.
protocols/and reference@protocols/protocols.md. - Symlink — for local-only workflows, symlink
protocols.mdinto each project from a single working copy.
I generally vendor — copy and pin — because the protocols are short and stable, and a vendored copy survives offline sessions and submodule confusion.
What's in the file
The 12 always-on protocols and 1 optional Svelte-only protocol:
| # | Protocol | Always on? |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Architecture Decision Records | yes |
| 2 | Specifications | yes |
| 3 | Test-Driven Development | yes |
| 4 | Feature Branches | yes |
| 5 | Changelog | yes |
| 6 | Releases | yes |
| 7 | Context7 MCP for Language Research | yes |
| 8 | Production-Ready Code Only | yes |
| 9 | Claude Agent Teams | yes |
| 10 | Latest Stable Dependencies | yes |
| 11 | README Accuracy | yes |
| 12 | Don't Repeat Yourself | yes |
| 13 | Frontend Security — {@html} Protocol |
only for Svelte projects |
Author
Chris Barlow — [github.com/cgbarlow](https://github.com/cgbarlow)
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