Constraint Extraction
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Constraint Extraction
The skill has a second major function beyond mental model application: constraint extraction. This addresses a failure mode called the “abstraction gap”:
Source says: "Maximum 3 retries with 30s timeout"
You internalize: "reasonable retry behaviour"
You build: 5 retries with 60s timeout
Verification: "PASS — retry behaviour looks reasonable"
User gets: a spec violationThe skill runs a four-scan protocol on any task with specific requirements:
- Scan 1 — Quantitative: numbers, thresholds, limits, ranges
- Scan 2 — Prohibitions: things that must NOT happen
- Scan 3 — Requirements: things that MUST happen
- Scan 4 — Implicit: conventions not stated but assumed
The key rule: “NEVER paraphrase numbers, thresholds, or specific values. Copy them verbatim.” A constraint that reads “maximum 15 damage on turn 1” must stay exactly that — not “don’t do too much damage.”