gut-checklisted

# Gut Check ## The spine Don't lock in a decision or assert a fact from a thin basis: memory, the handoff, the first framing, an unexamined pick. Ground it first, then proceed. **Violating the letter of this is violating the spirit of it.** "I'm confident, so I can skip the check" is the exact failure this skill exists to catch. ## When this fires You are about to do one of these AND the basis is thin (not verified this session): - Lock in a non-trivial or hard-to-reverse decision - Fire AskUserQuestion to offload a decision you could ground yourself - Proceed on your own preferred option without weighing alternatives - Assert something is done / found / tested / fixed / "that's how X works" Skip it for trivial, reversible steps, and for claims already backed by output you produced **this turn**. When unsure whether it's trivial, it isn't, engage. ## Shared opening (both modes) Name the thin basis in one line: "I'm about to [decide X / claim Y] based on [memory / the handoff / first framing / my own pick]." Naming it is what flips you from asserting to grounding. Then pick the mode: grounding a **decision** → DECIDE. Grounding a **fact** → VERIFY. ## DECIDE mode 1. **Validity gate.** For each option, is it even real/valid? Drop the bogus ones. 2. **Consult existing context.** Read the relevant ADRs, docs, code, prior decisions. The answer is often already settled there, don't reason in a vacuum. 3. **Per-option tradeoffs.** One by one: pros/cons, plus effort (e