# AGENTS.md — Build guide for Tower

## Project scope
Build a focused visual Git client for one selected local repository with status, diff, stage/unstage, commit and history views.

Catalogue verdict: yes. A focused visual wrapper around Git can cover everyday local review and commits. Tower also supplies mature branch, conflict and recovery workflows; reproducing that breadth and polish is a larger project than the scoped client here.
Use the implementation prompt below to define the deliverable. Complete each phase's acceptance checks before extending the scope.

## Working agreement
- Inspect the repository and its existing instructions before choosing paths, dependencies or commands. Keep one coherent stack and explain changes to the proposed architecture.
- Plan a vertical slice that accepts a real input and produces the useful output described below. Persist only the state the prompt calls for; respect memory-only and upstream-managed workflows. Use fixtures only when they are clearly labelled.
- After scaffolding, document the actual install, development, check and build commands in README and keep them synchronized with the package or project manifest. Do not report commands as successful unless they ran.
- Work in small steps. At handoff, list implemented flows, checks actually performed, remaining blockers, and any credentials or provider setup the owner must supply.
- Do not publish, spend money, contact customers, delete source data or run irreversible migrations without the project owner's authorization.

## Prerequisites
- Runtime and tools: SwiftUI/AppKit and the installed Git command-line client, with local UI preferences; Git owns repository state.
- Before starting: A Mac with Xcode, Git on PATH and a disposable local repository with staged, unstaged and conflicted examples; no model API is required.

## Stack and architecture
- SwiftUI/AppKit and the installed Git command-line client, with local UI preferences; Git owns repository state
- Data design: Store RepositorySelection and UI preferences; Git remains the authoritative data store. Track working-tree/index state separately and refresh after every operation.
- Setup: A Mac with Xcode, Git on PATH and a disposable local repository with staged, unstaged and conflicted examples; no model API is required

## Security and data integrity
- Pass Git arguments without a shell and separate working-tree changes from staged changes. Refresh state after commands and require explicit confirmation for destructive operations.
- Correct the prior AI-agent scope. Invoke Git with argument arrays, display commands and require explicit confirmation for reset/rebase/force-push; defer destructive operations until their recovery UX is designed.
- Keep secrets outside client bundles and exported projects; document what leaves the device and make retention/deletion controls visible.

## Agent implementation rules
- Project rule — domain: Store RepositorySelection and UI preferences; Git remains the authoritative data store. Track working-tree/index state separately and refresh after every operation.
- Project rule — scope and recovery: Correct the prior AI-agent scope. Invoke Git with argument arrays, display commands and require explicit confirmation for reset/rebase/force-push; defer destructive operations until their recovery UX is designed.
- Project rule — acceptance: Stage one hunk, edit another and commit; the commit contains only the staged hunk, while a failed commit leaves unstaged work intact and visible.
- Project rule — delivery: document real setup commands and permissions; do not claim a build, accuracy level, performance result or security certification that has not been demonstrated.

## Optional agent skills and references
- Recommended skill: [swiftui-expert-skill](https://github.com/AvdLee/SwiftUI-Agent-Skill/blob/main/skills/swiftui-expert-skill/SKILL.md) — design native SwiftUI state, accessible controls and permission/error views for the proposed Apple-platform interface. Follow the maintainer's installation instructions and match its requirements to the chosen runtime.
- Recommended skill: [swift-concurrency](https://github.com/AvdLee/Swift-Concurrency-Agent-Skill/blob/main/skills/swift-concurrency/SKILL.md) — isolate capture, background work and UI updates, and make cancellation invalidate late callbacks. Follow the maintainer's installation instructions and match its requirements to the chosen runtime.

Read the linked SKILL.md and its dependencies before adding a skill. Select only the skills matching this project's runtime and task; their documentation does not supply API access, credentials or approval to perform external actions. Pin the reviewed revision where the tool supports it. Follow the chosen agent's documented project-level installation mechanism.

## Distribution ideas
These are optional planning notes. Obtain the owner's approval before publishing or contacting anyone.
- Demonstrate this working slice using synthetic or explicitly authorized non-sensitive examples: Build a focused visual Git client for one selected local repository with status, diff, stage/unstage, commit and history views.
- Share a synthetic example export and the acceptance walkthrough; keep real customer, health, financial and source data private: Stage one hunk, edit another and commit; the commit contains only the staged hunk, while a failed commit leaves unstaged work intact and visible.
- State the limits before asking someone to replace their existing tool: Correct the prior AI-agent scope. Invoke Git with argument arrays, display commands and require explicit confirmation for reset/rebase/force-push; defer destructive operations until their recovery UX is designed.

## Engineering roadmap
1. Phase 1 — Pin the working slice and create its example input: Build a focused visual Git client for one selected local repository with status, diff, stage/unstage, commit and history views. Confirm setup: A Mac with Xcode, Git on PATH and a disposable local repository with staged, unstaged and conflicted examples; no model API is required.
2. Phase 2 — Implement persistence and write-time invariants before decorating the UI: Store RepositorySelection and UI preferences; Git remains the authoritative data store. Track working-tree/index state separately and refresh after every operation.
3. Phase 3 — Connect the working view to real saved state. Pass Git arguments without a shell and separate working-tree changes from staged changes. Refresh state after commands and require explicit confirmation for destructive operations.
4. Phase 4 — Expose the app-specific limits and recovery path in context: Correct the prior AI-agent scope. Invoke Git with argument arrays, display commands and require explicit confirmation for reset/rebase/force-push; defer destructive operations until their recovery UX is designed.
5. Phase 5 — Walk through this concrete acceptance case and preserve its exported evidence: Stage one hunk, edit another and commit; the commit contains only the staged hunk, while a failed commit leaves unstaged work intact and visible. Finish the README and backup/restore instructions; report unfinished capabilities explicitly.

## Paid-product capabilities outside this build
- mature undo and recovery workflows
- interactive rebase and conflict-resolution assistance
- hosting integrations and advanced branch workflows
- Mac and Windows polish and ongoing support

## Implementation prompt
Build the following focused alternative to Tower. Implement the focused workflow below first; the verdict is not evidence of a completed or production-certified build.

WORKING SLICE
Build a focused visual Git client for one selected local repository with status, diff, stage/unstage, commit and history views.

SETUP AND ARCHITECTURE
Use SwiftUI/AppKit and the installed Git command-line client, with local UI preferences; Git owns repository state. Prerequisites: A Mac with Xcode, Git on PATH and a disposable local repository with staged, unstaged and conflicted examples; no model API is required. Before integrating anything, record actual versions and permissions, plus model files or provider limits only where used, in the README; make unavailable dependencies visible rather than simulating success.

DOMAIN MODEL AND INVARIANTS
Store RepositorySelection and UI preferences; Git remains the authoritative data store. Track working-tree/index state separately and refresh after every operation.

IMPLEMENTATION CONTRACT
Pass Git arguments without a shell and separate working-tree changes from staged changes. Refresh state after commands and require explicit confirmation for destructive operations. Provide an input/setup view, the main work view, and a review/export view appropriate to this workflow. Preserve the last saved state if a job or save fails. Include empty, loading, permission-denied, partial and retryable-error states. Log identifiers and error categories without secret values or unnecessary private content.

APP-SPECIFIC BOUNDARY AND RECOVERY
Correct the prior AI-agent scope. Invoke Git with argument arrays, display commands and require explicit confirmation for reset/rebase/force-push; defer destructive operations until their recovery UX is designed.

ACCEPTANCE SCENARIO
Stage one hunk, edit another and commit; the commit contains only the staged hunk, while a failed commit leaves unstaged work intact and visible. Also reopen the app after an interrupted operation, confirm the saved record/export remains inspectable, and document the recovery action. These are implementation acceptance requirements, not a claim that this guide has been tested.

DELIVERY
Deliver a runnable repository with migrations or project-format versioning, a non-sensitive example, environment/permission setup, the exact manual acceptance steps, and a backup/export-and-restore walkthrough. Implement the working slice before optional integrations; list any deferred paid-product capabilities honestly. Do not add capabilities outside the working slice just to resemble the original product.

PROJECT RULES FOR AGENTS.md
Keep the domain invariants above executable at the write boundary. Propose scope changes before adding providers or permissions. Never fabricate source evidence, publish results, identity matches or successful delivery. Preserve user originals and require an explicit confirmation for destructive changes or external publication.

## Completion evidence
Demonstrate the prompt's acceptance scenarios against the scoped workflow. Include setup from a clean checkout and failure recovery. Check persistence across restart and export/restore only for the state the prompt says to store; for memory-only tools, confirm that temporary content is discarded as specified. Record actual results and remaining limitations. A detailed plan alone does not establish a working replacement.