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What NOT to Do

Code​

  • Don't add features or refactoring beyond what's asked.
  • Don't add error handling for scenarios that can't happen.
  • Don't create abstractions for one-time operations.
  • Don't add docstrings, comments, or type annotations to code you didn't change.
  • Don't create documentation files unless explicitly asked.
  • Don't use go vet suppressions or //nolint without explicit approval.
  • Don't duplicate helper functions -- check shared.go and helpers.go first.
  • Don't use http.Error() -- always use jsonError() or internalError().
  • Don't pass r.Context() to goroutines -- use context.Background().
  • Don't define sanitizeID or generatePassword locally in engine packages -- use engine.shared.go.
  • Don't import internal/ packages from the sdk/ module.
  • Don't create circular dependencies between packages.

Security​

  • Don't store the master key on disk in plaintext. KMS references only.
  • Don't log secret values, tokens, passwords, or key material.
  • Don't trust plugin packages without signature verification.
  • Don't allow plugins to access other plugins' data.
  • Don't give plugins direct network or filesystem access -- all through host functions.
  • Don't expose internal error details to HTTP clients.
  • Don't store tokens in plaintext -- SHA-256 hash only.
  • Don't use http.Error() for auth failures -- use jsonError() with specific guidance.
  • Don't skip TLS -- required in all modes (Standalone and Multi-node).

Architecture​

  • Don't put business logic in middleware -- middleware handles cross-cutting concerns only.
  • Don't call store methods from internal/engine/ -- engines are stateless, core owns data.
  • Don't hardcode engine-specific logic in handlers -- use the engine registry.
  • Don't build plugin management into the server process -- use separate CLI commands.
  • Don't skip migrations -- always create a new numbered migration for schema changes.
  • Don't give plugins their own database connections -- core manages all connections via internal/connection/.
  • Don't assume Go-only SDK -- design contracts that work across languages.

Data​

  • Don't use local time -- always time.Now().UTC().
  • Don't use offset-based pagination -- cursor-based only.
  • Don't hard delete audit-sensitive records -- soft delete with deleted_at.
  • Don't query across tenant boundaries -- always scope by realm.