Governance Skill for Claude Code

An agent skill for enforcing engineering standards and code governance. Provides proactive reminders during code reviews and commits.

Features

• Proactive Triggers — Activates on "code review", "commit", "standards", "compliance", "retro",
• Two-Document Model — Separates CLAUDE.md (operational) from standards.md (policy)
• Setup Verification — scripts/governance-check.mjs validates configuration with actionable fixes
• Anti-Pattern Tables — Code quality, documentation, workflow, and testing anti-patterns
• Pre-Commit Checklist — Reminds about typecheck, lint, test before commits
• PR Review Checklist — Standards for code review (correctness, security, performance)
• Ready-to-Use Default — standards.md works out of the box; extend with your own rules
• No Custom Agent Required — Uses the built-in reviewer subagent type (v2.1+)

Quick Start

Option A: Claude Plugin (Recommended)

claude plugin add github:wrsmith108/governance-claude-skill

Option B: Manual Installation

git clone https://github.com/wrsmith108/governance-claude-skill ~/.claude/skills/governance

Verify Setup

node scripts/governance-check.mjs

How It Works

When your agent (such as Claude) detects trigger phrases like "code review", "commit", "standards", or "compliance", this skill activates and provides:

1. Quick reference to relevant standards
2. Reminder to run npm run audit:standards
3. Checklists for PRs and commits
4. Links to authoritative documentation

The skill delegates to the built-in reviewer subagent for context efficiency (70–90% token savings vs. inline execution).

File Structure

governance-claude-skill/
├── .claude/
│   └── agents/
│       └── governance-specialist.md    # repo-local development agent
├── scripts/
│   └── governance-check.mjs           # setup verification script
├── templates/
│   ├── standards-template.md          # full-featured standards template
│   └── audit-standards-template.mjs   # configurable audit script
├── agent-prompt.md                    # full agent protocol
├── SKILL.md                           # thin dispatcher (v2.1.0)
└── standards.md                       # minimal working default

Note: .claude/agents/governance-specialist.md is kept for repo-local development use only. It is NOT required for the skill to work — the skill uses the built-in reviewer subagent type.

The Two-Document Model

Benefits:

• CLAUDE.md stays lean (better token efficiency)
• standards.md is the single source of truth for policy

Setting Up in Your Project

1. Install the skill (see Quick Start above)

2. Copy the starter standards.md to your project:

   hljs language-bash

   Copy

   cp ~/.claude/skills/governance/standards.md standards.md
   # Or to the traditional location:
   cp ~/.claude/skills/governance/standards.md docs/architecture/standards.md
   

   Edit it with your project-specific rules. Full template at templates/standards-template.md.

3. Add CLAUDE.md at project root with build commands and a cross-reference:

   hljs language-markdown

   Copy

   > **Standards**: [standards.md](standards.md)
   

4. Create audit script for automated compliance:

   hljs language-bash

   Copy

   cp ~/.claude/skills/governance/templates/audit-standards-template.mjs scripts/audit-standards.mjs
   # Add to package.json: "audit:standards": "node scripts/audit-standards.mjs"
   

5. Run setup check:

   hljs language-bash

   Copy

   node scripts/governance-check.mjs
   

Governance Check Output

🏛️  Governance Setup Check

1. CLAUDE.md (AI Operational Context)
✓ CLAUDE.md exists
✓ Has build commands section
✓ References standards.md
✓ Concise length (452 lines)

2. standards.md (Engineering Policy)
✓ standards.md found at root
✓ Has Code Quality section
✓ Has Testing section
✓ Has Workflow section

3. Audit Script (Automated Compliance)
✓ npm run audit:standards configured
✓ Audit script exists

4. Architecture Decision Records
✓ docs/adr/ directory exists
✓ ADR template exists

5. Pre-commit Hooks
✓ Husky pre-commit hook configured
✓ Hook runs quality checks

6. Governance Skill
✓ Governance skill installed

Governance Score: 100%

Anti-Patterns Enforced

Code Quality

Workflow

Changelog

See CHANGELOG.md for full history.

Contributing

Contributions welcome! Please submit issues and PRs.

License

MIT License — See LICENSE

Credits

Created for the Claude Code community. Patterns refined through real-world governance of AI-assisted development projects.