agent-instruction-drift-checklisted

## Purpose Agent-facing instruction files (AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md, or similar) are read by coding agents at the start of a task, not exercised by tests or compilers — nothing forces them to stay correct when the code changes underneath them. A stale instruction file actively misleads whichever agent reads it next: it can point at a command that no longer exists, describe a directory layout that moved, or state a rule the codebase no longer follows. Use this skill periodically, before a release, or whenever you suspect an instruction doc has gone stale. ## When to use it - Before cutting a release, as part of a documentation pass. - After a significant refactor, migration, or dependency upgrade that could have invalidated commands or paths described in the doc. - When an agent visibly acts on a rule that turns out to be wrong or outdated — that's a signal to check the whole doc, not just the one rule. - On a regular cadence (e.g. monthly) for actively-developed projects, even with no specific trigger. ## Procedure 1. **Inventory the doc's claims.** Read through the instruction file section by section and list every concrete, checkable claim: commands, file paths, directory structures, described behaviors, architectural statements, named tools or dependencies. 2. **Verify each claim against the real thing**, not against memory or the doc's own earlier version: - Commands: actually run them (or confirm they exist in package.json/Makefile/pyproject.toml/etc.) with the flags