scoping-changes skill (riekelt): size the fix to its trigger

Makes Claude size a fix to its trigger and split big work into named parts instead of quietly shrinking it.

Installs: 20.3K; on skills.sh
Stars: 7; on GitHub
Updated: Sep 2026; last repo commit

scoping-changes guards against two opposite mistakes: growing a fix past its trigger, and quietly cutting an approved task below what was agreed. Claude is asked to keep the change as big as the defect or need that started it, put adjacent improvements in the tracker, and, when a task is too big, decompose it into named parts with the cut line stated. It also says an approved plan runs to completion without "want me to continue?" check-ins. It names principal-engineering as required background.

Good for

Developers whose diffs keep growing "while Claude is here"
Reviewers who want out-of-scope ideas in the tracker, not the diff
Anyone who has been handed a "pragmatic minimum" labeled complete

Install scoping-changes

Claude Code

Copy this prompt.

Install the scoping-changes skill in Claude Code. Run this command:

/plugin marketplace add riekelt/principal-engineer
/plugin install principal-engineer@principal-engineer

Then check that it loaded and tell me how to use it.

2
Paste it into Claude Code. It shows the change and asks before running it.

Pick one route. The plugin installs all 11 skills in the repo, plus one agent (change-verifier) and two commands (/verify and /preflight), counted from the git tree. scoping-changes names principal-engineering as required background, so the skills CLI and folder routes below install both. There is no Claude app upload route: the README documents only the Claude Code plugin and the other-agents routes.

From the project README. Source.

What's in the skill

When it loads

Use when deciding how big a fix should be, when scope is drifting mid-task, when a plan is being quietly trimmed to fit, or when "while you're at it" appears in any form. Encodes size-to-trigger, decompose-not-descope, and drive-to-completion. Use whenever the work is about to grow past its cause or shrink below its promise.

Sections in SKILL.md

Overview
Sizing to the trigger
Decompose, never silently descope
Driving to completion
Scope in review
Common mistakes

Key facts

Author: riekelt (named as author in the plugin manifest)
License: MIT per the README and plugin.json; the repo has no LICENSE file and GitHub shows none
Installs on skills.sh: 20,280 (Nov 2, 2026)
GitHub stars: 7 for the whole riekelt/principal-engineer repo (Nov 2, 2026)
Last repo commit: Sep 11, 2026
Audits on skills.sh: Gen Agent Trust Hub: pass, Socket: pass, Snyk: pass
What it includes: 1 file: SKILL.md (counted from the git tree)
Part of: The principal-engineer plugin: 11 skills, 1 agent and 2 commands (counted from the git tree)
Needs: The principal-engineering skill, named as required background in SKILL.md
Works in: Claude Code via the plugin; other agents via a plugin loader or symlinked skill folders, as the README describes

What it includes

Keeps the fix as big as its cause; adjacent ideas go to the tracker
Eight rules, including the borderline test: would it ship on its own merits if the main fix did not exist? If so it ships as its own change.
Write · Sizing to the trigger
Counts the same defect on another path as in scope
Reporting fixed while the defect lives on elsewhere is a half-true report.
Write · Same defect on a second path
Names the parts and the cut line instead of a quiet minimum
Deferred parts become tracked items with an owner. The report says which parts shipped and which did not.
Read · Decompose, never descope
Runs an approved plan without "want me to continue?" stops
It stops only for genuine blockers, destructive actions or hard gates. Settled decisions stay settled mid-execution.
Write · Driving to completion
Notes an unrelated defect once for the tracker and stays on the diff
When being reviewed, findings against the diff are fixed or answered; findings outside the diff are tracked.
Read · Scope in review

From the official docs

Permissions

Low risk

scoping-changes is instructions for Claude and the plugin route adds an agent and two commands. Our advice: review the diff after each session and keep your tool's permission prompts on.

What it can do

Read your data
Create and change things
Delete things
Read-only mode

Watch out for

It tells Claude not to pause on an approved plan
SKILL.md says to stop only for genuine blockers, destructive actions or hard gates. Our advice: approve a plan in small pieces if you want check-ins along the way. github.com
The plugin route adds an agent that can run shell commands
change-verifier lists the tools Read, Glob, Grep and Bash, and the plugin adds the /verify and /preflight commands. The repo tree has no hooks or MCP config files. Use the skills CLI route to install only this skill. github.com

Technical details

Turning on read-only	SKILL.md describes no read-only mode.
Sign-in and keys	SKILL.md names no account, key or token.
Scopes	Claude edits code to the scope of the approved plan The plugin route also installs 10 other skills, one agent and two commands

Questions

What does scoping-changes do?

It keeps a change as big as its cause. Claude puts adjacent improvements in the tracker, and when a task is too big it splits it into named parts instead of delivering a trimmed version labeled complete.

How do I install it?

Use the install box at the top. The skills CLI and folder routes add principal-engineering as well, because this skill names it as required background. The plugin route installs all eleven skills.

Will it stop Claude from fixing the same bug on other paths?

No. SKILL.md says the same defect found on a second path is in scope. What stays out is an adjacent improvement found only because the file was open.

Will Claude stop to ask me during a long plan?

Less often. SKILL.md says an approved plan runs to completion without "want me to continue?" checkpoints and stops only for genuine blockers, destructive actions or hard gates. Our advice: approve plans in smaller pieces if you want more check-ins.

Does it work in the Claude app or Codex?

The README documents the Claude Code plugin and, for other agents, a plugin loader pointed at plugins/principal-engineer/ or symlinked skill folders. It documents no Claude app upload route.

Is it safe to install?

The skill folder bundles no scripts. It changes how Claude sizes and sequences work. The plugin route also adds an agent that can run shell commands, covered under "Watch out for".

Information

updated Nov 2, 2026

Repository: riekelt/principal-engineer
Folder: plugins/principal-engineer/skills/scoping-changes

riekelt/principal-engineer skills.sh

Sources

Docs, issue trackers and discussions this page is built from.

Show all 5

scoping-changes SKILL.md · github.com
principal-engineering SKILL.md · github.com
README · github.com
plugin.json · github.com
change-verifier agent · github.com