Agent Foundry

Skill

constraint-then-solve

Before solving, restate the problem, list unknowns, and catalog every constraint. Verify the solution against every constraint at the end. Use on any non-trivial reasoning task before jumping to a solution.

Category
core
Version
0.2.0
License
MIT
Status
active
Length
82 lines
Source
skills/core/constraint-then-solve/SKILL.md

Install and discovery

npx --yes --package @youcisla/agent-foundry agent-foundry-install

After the installer runs, this record is available as constraint-then-solve. See the docs for harness roots and verification steps.

Contents

Constraint Then Solve

Reasoning fails when the solver answers a different problem than the one asked. Restate the problem, separate hard from soft constraints, then solve.

Procedure

1 - Restate the problem

One short paragraph: goal, known context, unknowns, assumptions. If the request is unambiguous, the restatement can be a sentence.

2 - State the unknowns

Name what you do not have and what you will infer. Example: "I do not have the production schema; I infer the column from the migration." Do not silently fill a gap with a confident guess.

3 - Catalog constraints

Number them and mark each hard or soft:

Hard:
1. Must run on Python 3.10.
2. Must not change the public response shape.
Soft:
3. Prefer fewer dependencies.

Hard constraints can fail the solution. Soft constraints trade off against each other and must be named as tradeoffs.

4 - Derive requirements

State what the solution must satisfy, derived from the catalog. This catches a constraint that the obvious solution violates.

5 - Solve

Generate the smallest solution that satisfies the hard constraints. If a soft constraint is violated, say which one and why.

6 - Verify each constraint

Mark every item pass, fail, or unverified, with the evidence. A solution that passes the tests but violates a hard constraint is not done.

When to Use

  • Ambiguous requests with costly wrong assumptions
  • Compatibility or migration work
  • Debugging before choosing a fix
  • Any decision where constraints conflict

Anti-patterns

  • Solving before listing the constraints.
  • Treating a preference as a hard requirement.
  • Hiding an unverified assumption inside confident prose.
  • Declaring success after checking only the easy constraints.
  • Adding style rules about how the reasoning must be phrased.

Verification Checklist

  • [ ] The problem is restated in one short paragraph.
  • [ ] Unknowns and inferred assumptions are explicit.
  • [ ] Constraints are numbered and marked hard or soft.
  • [ ] Every hard constraint is marked pass, fail, or unverified.
  • [ ] Any violated soft constraint is named as a tradeoff.

View the source on GitHub

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