ericlitman · ericlitman · Sep 8, 2026 · Sep 8, 2026 · Sep 8, 2026 · Sep 8, 2026
diff --git a/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json b/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
       "name": "pstack",
       "source": "./plugins/pstack",
       "description": "if you want to go fast, go deep first. pstack helps you write less, but higher quality code. rigorous agent workflows you can parallelize with confidence.",
-      "version": "1.3.0",
+      "version": "1.4.0",
       "author": {
         "name": "Lauren Tan (original)"
       },

diff --git a/CHANGES.md b/CHANGES.md
@@ -2,6 +2,18 @@
 
 This port applies the Cursor → Claude Code substitutions in skill bodies. Earlier drafts left them flagged; this revision resolves them. A later pass added a Codex build that shares the same skills; see [Codex port](#codex-port) below.
 
+## 1.4.0 syncs to Cursor pstack 0.15.0
+
+Open Pstack tracks Cursor pstack 0.15.0 at `71ed0d1076fec562c1b74ee353121a8d00f75382`. The shared catalog contains 54 skills, including 23 principles. This sync imports the skill density and punctuation passes, the 361,140-byte logo, and the verbatim upstream README. How, Why, and Teach take the shorter explanation guidance. Reflect runs only on explicit invocation. Poteto-mode no longer requires reading the whole principle index as the first todo, but still requires reading any applied leaf and citing it truthfully. Unslop adds the mannered-prose and over-compression rules, preserving stable rule numbers. Technical-writing proposes new abstract-metaphor offenders and replacements without editing Unslop automatically.
+
+How's critique mode and `how critics` role are retired, and its two review references are deleted. Architect and Investigation use explain-only How. Setup now renders 15 role rows. An old 16-row sheet's `how critics` row has no consumer in ordinary dispatch. Setup reports it as an unknown role before any probe or write. Remove that row before rerunning the normal validated setup flow. On Codex, the editable sheet and bounded AGENTS block must agree. Invalid state or a failed probe leaves both unchanged.
+
+Two new leaves carry narrow local correctness corrections, also reflected in their descriptions and Poteto-mode's index. `principle-test-behavior-not-implementation` warns conditionally about assertions that miss relevant behavior. `toBeDefined`, `toBeTruthy`, `toBeInstanceOf`, and `toBeGreaterThan(0)` do fail on `undefined`, and useful negative-path, prompt/configuration, and relational contract checks remain valid. `principle-attack-the-premise` limits the actor census and reassignment prescription to imbalance problems. An even census is evidence against an asymmetry hypothesis, not proof that a shared premise is correct. Later syncs take upstream's equivalent corrections if they land.
+
+Opening a PR adopts the "briefing, not the lab notebook" guidance and links detailed evidence. The "about 40 lines" squash-body cutoff is omitted. The port's required installed-version, user-action, and observed-result evidence sections remain unchanged. The PR 44 shipping rules, parent-owned provider dispatch, Sol defaults for bug-fix, perf-issue, and hillclimb, and no-fallback/no-implicit-timeout contracts remain in place. The Autopilot chooser and Multi-phase plan reference remain intact.
+
+Existing exclusions remain: `make-bot-ui`, Benny automations, Cursor-only guide and sticky-mode content, Cursor-only solo-model defaults, invocation-blocking flags on How, Why, Unslop, and TypeScript best practices, and the unsupported Claude manifest logo field. Those four skills stay user-invocable and model-invocable. The principle leaves keep `user-invocable: false`, which hides them from the slash menu but leaves model invocation open. The Cursor manifest is not imported. Watcher and orchestrator directories, package metadata, and lockfile have no upstream changes in this range. The unrelated Grok Voice plugin remains outside this sync.
+
 ## 1.3.0 syncs to Cursor pstack 0.14.7
 
 Open Pstack now tracks Cursor pstack 0.14.7 at `efa2a531985e0a8084d36ff3cf87233be8a9f34b`.
@@ -197,7 +209,7 @@ pstack diverges from superpowers in one respect, and it is deliberate. superpowe
 
 **Verified.** Codex discovers the skills and namespaces them under `pstack` (`pstack:poteto-mode` and so on) in a live session. Mapping resolution mid-task and `spawn_agent` fan-out follow the `superpowers` pattern and are worth confirming per session.
 
-**Maintenance.** The open-pstack version string lives in `plugins/pstack/.claude-plugin/plugin.json`, `.claude-plugin/marketplace.json`, `plugins/pstack/.codex-plugin/plugin.json`, and the current-version row in `UPSTREAM.md`. A version bump must update all four. `tests/skill-collision-repro.sh` checks that they match. `.agents/plugins/marketplace.json` carries no version field. The canonical default panel quad is the model matrix in `provider-dispatch.md` (`provider:model@default` in family-row order). It is copied into the four panel skills (`arena`, `architect`, `how`, `interrogate`) and the `setup-pstack` first-run sheet. Keep those copies grep-identical when models change. The static test derives the quad from the matrix. After a sync that touches `skills/poteto-mode/scripts/`, run `bun install --frozen-lockfile`, `bun run test`, and `bun run typecheck` from that directory. `hooks/session-start-context.md` restates skill one-liners. Re-verify it whenever skill names or descriptions change. The package must not contain a `commands/` layer. Claude Code and Codex load the native `skills/` tree directly, and a command layer duplicates that inventory. The 21 `principle-*` leaves carry `user-invocable: false` to request exclusion from the user picker while `poteto-mode` reads them by path. Claude honors the metadata; Codex 0.149.0 currently does not ([#8](https://github.com/ericlitman/open-pstack/issues/8)). They must not carry `disable-model-invocation`, which would make them unreachable to the model. Re-run the behavioral mode of `tests/skill-collision-repro.sh` after Claude Code upgrades to check both model-initiated and user-initiated native skill invocation.
+**Maintenance.** The open-pstack version string lives in `plugins/pstack/.claude-plugin/plugin.json`, `.claude-plugin/marketplace.json`, `plugins/pstack/.codex-plugin/plugin.json`, and the current-version row in `UPSTREAM.md`. A version bump must update all four. `tests/skill-collision-repro.sh` checks that they match. `.agents/plugins/marketplace.json` carries no version field. The canonical default panel quad is the model matrix in `provider-dispatch.md` (`provider:model@default` in family-row order). It is copied into the three panel skills (`arena`, `architect`, `interrogate`) and the `setup-pstack` first-run sheet. Keep those copies grep-identical when models change. The static test derives the quad from the matrix. After a sync that touches `skills/poteto-mode/scripts/`, run `bun install --frozen-lockfile`, `bun run test`, and `bun run typecheck` from that directory. `hooks/session-start-context.md` restates skill one-liners. Re-verify it whenever skill names or descriptions change. The package must not contain a `commands/` layer. Claude Code and Codex load the native `skills/` tree directly, and a command layer duplicates that inventory. The 23 `principle-*` leaves carry `user-invocable: false` to request exclusion from the user picker while `poteto-mode` reads them by path. Claude honors the metadata; Codex 0.149.0 currently does not ([#8](https://github.com/ericlitman/open-pstack/issues/8)). They must not carry `disable-model-invocation`, which would make them unreachable to the model. Re-run the behavioral mode of `tests/skill-collision-repro.sh` after Claude Code upgrades to check both model-initiated and user-initiated native skill invocation.
 
 ## 0.9.2 sync (against upstream `e46364b`)
 

diff --git a/NOTICE.md b/NOTICE.md
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ This plugin is a port of upstream MIT-licensed work. All upstream copyright noti
 | `plugins/pstack/skills/teach/`, `plugins/pstack/skills/principle-model-the-domain/`, `plugins/pstack/skills/create-verification-skill/`, `plugins/pstack/skills/maintain-verification-skill/` (v0.11.3 additions) | [cursor/plugins/pstack @ 3fe2823](https://github.com/cursor/plugins/tree/3fe2823ce17c1656c222d4b7c59d3f82fbf20143/pstack) | (c) 2026 Lauren Tan | MIT | [LICENSE](LICENSE) |
 | `plugins/pstack/skills/{swarm,no-comments,technical-writing,bro}/`, `plugins/pstack/agents/comment-sicko.md`, `plugins/pstack/skills/poteto-mode/playbooks/{babysit,shipping,orchestrate,autopilot-full,autopilot-stack,worktree-cleanup,multi-phase-plan}.md`, `plugins/pstack/skills/poteto-mode/references/bugbot-triage.md`, `plugins/pstack/skills/poteto-mode/scripts/`, `plugins/pstack/skills/architect/references/design-red-flags.md`, `plugins/pstack/skills/create-verification-skill/references/feature-map-example/` (v0.14.2 additions, v0.14.3 checklist) | [cursor/plugins/pstack @ bdf7aa3](https://github.com/cursor/plugins/tree/bdf7aa355337897f167153e05069aca505dae17c/pstack) | (c) 2026 Lauren Tan | MIT | [LICENSE](LICENSE) |
 | `plugins/pstack/skills/poteto-mode/playbooks/{shipping,babysit,autopilot-full,autopilot-stack,opening-a-pr,multi-phase-plan}.md`, `plugins/pstack/skills/poteto-mode/references/bugbot-triage.md`, `plugins/pstack/skills/poteto-mode/SKILL.md`, `plugins/pstack/skills/typescript-best-practices/{SKILL.md,references/patterns.md}`, `plugins/pstack/assets/logo.png` (v0.14.6 and v0.14.7 changes) | [cursor/plugins/pstack @ efa2a53](https://github.com/cursor/plugins/tree/efa2a531985e0a8084d36ff3cf87233be8a9f34b/pstack) | (c) 2026 Lauren Tan | MIT | [LICENSE](LICENSE) |
+| `plugins/pstack/skills/` (0.15.0 prose changes and the new `principle-attack-the-premise` and `principle-test-behavior-not-implementation` leaves), `plugins/pstack/assets/logo.png`, `README-UPSTREAM.md` | [cursor/plugins/pstack @ 71ed0d1](https://github.com/cursor/plugins/tree/71ed0d1076fec562c1b74ee353121a8d00f75382/pstack) | (c) 2026 Lauren Tan | MIT | [LICENSE](LICENSE) |
 
 ## What changed in the port
 

diff --git a/README-UPSTREAM.md b/README-UPSTREAM.md
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ use [`/poteto-mode`](./skills/poteto-mode/SKILL.md) at the start of a task. it r
 
 ### just use [`/poteto-mode`](./skills/poteto-mode/SKILL.md)
 
-this skill is the main shortcut. i use it whenever i need the agent to do rigorous engineering work. it comes with twenty-two playbooks:
+this skill is the main shortcut. i use it whenever i need the agent to do rigorous engineering work. it comes with twenty-three playbooks:
 
 ```
 /poteto-mode this pr has a subtle bug where the scroll drifts every 750ms even when idle. repro
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ morning.
 ```
 
 <details>
-<summary>the twenty-two playbooks</summary>
+<summary>the twenty-three playbooks</summary>
 
 | playbook | for |
 |---|---|
@@ -74,17 +74,17 @@ morning.
 | [pause safely](./skills/poteto-mode/playbooks/pause-safely.md) | suspend in-flight work cleanly so it can be resumed later. |
 | [multi-phase plan](./skills/poteto-mode/playbooks/multi-phase-plan.md) | work that spans phases or stacked PRs. |
 | [worktree cleanup](./skills/poteto-mode/playbooks/worktree-cleanup.md) | reclaim disk by pruning merged or abandoned worktrees and stale ios simulators, safety-gated. |
+| [opening a pr](./skills/poteto-mode/playbooks/opening-a-pr.md) | open a ready pr from small ordered commits with a conventional commits title and a briefing-style body. invoked at the end of every other playbook. |
 
 </details>
 
 
 
 when invoked it:
 
-1. opens a todo list. the first item is reading the inline principles index in the skill.
-2. matches your task to a [playbook](./skills/poteto-mode/playbooks/) and copies the steps in verbatim.
-3. routes to the other skills as the steps fire.
-4. writes unslopped replies framed for the consumer and the maintainer.
+1. matches your task to a [playbook](./skills/poteto-mode/playbooks/) and opens a todo list whose first items are its steps, copied in verbatim.
+2. routes to the other skills as the steps fire.
+3. writes unslopped replies framed for the consumer and the maintainer.
 
 the full rules and playbooks live in [`skills/poteto-mode/SKILL.md`](./skills/poteto-mode/SKILL.md).
 
@@ -193,16 +193,17 @@ pstack also ships [Comment Sicko](./agents/comment-sicko.md), a read-only commen
 
 ## principles
 
-twenty-one short skills, one principle each. `poteto-mode` indexes them inline and reads that index at task start. the standalone files are there so other skills can reference a principle by name, and so the index can point at the full rule for each.
+twenty-three short skills, one principle each. `poteto-mode` indexes them inline and reads that index at task start. the standalone files are there so other skills can reference a principle by name, and so the index can point at the full rule for each.
 
 <details>
-<summary>all twenty-one principles</summary>
+<summary>all twenty-three principles</summary>
 
 | principle | group | rule |
 |---|---|---|
 | [laziness-protocol](./skills/principle-laziness-protocol/SKILL.md) | core | Bias toward deletion and the smallest change that solves the problem. |
 | [foundational-thinking](./skills/principle-foundational-thinking/SKILL.md) | core | Apply before writing logic: choosing core types and data structures, sequencing scaffold-vs-feature work, asking what concurrent actors share. Get the data structures right so downstream code becomes obvious. |
 | [redesign-from-first-principles](./skills/principle-redesign-from-first-principles/SKILL.md) | core | Redesign as if the requirement had been a foundational assumption from day one, instead of bolting it on. |
+| [attack-the-premise](./skills/principle-attack-the-premise/SKILL.md) | core | Apply when two or more fixes that share one premise have failed the same gate. Take a census of which actors hold the imbalance before the next fix, then question the premise instead of writing another fix that assumes it. |
 | [subtract-before-you-add](./skills/principle-subtract-before-you-add/SKILL.md) | core | Remove dead weight, redundant validators, and stub references first, then build on the simpler base. |
 | [minimize-reader-load](./skills/principle-minimize-reader-load/SKILL.md) | core | Count layers between question and answer, and hidden state in the reader's head; collapse one-caller wrappers and shrink mutable scope. |
 | [outcome-oriented-execution](./skills/principle-outcome-oriented-execution/SKILL.md) | core | Apply during planned rewrites and migrations with explicit phase boundaries. Converge on the target architecture; don't preserve smooth intermediate states with throwaway compatibility code. |
@@ -218,6 +219,7 @@ twenty-one short skills, one principle each. `poteto-mode` indexes them inline a
 | [prove-it-works](./skills/principle-prove-it-works/SKILL.md) | verification | Apply after completing a task, before declaring done. Verify against the real artifact (run the feature, read the actual value, inspect the diff), not a proxy, self-report, or 'it compiles.'. |
 | [fix-root-causes](./skills/principle-fix-root-causes/SKILL.md) | verification | Trace each symptom to its root cause and fix it there; reproduce first, ask why until you reach it, resist nil-check guards that silence crashes. |
 | [sequence-verifiable-units](./skills/principle-sequence-verifiable-units/SKILL.md) | verification | Apply to multi-step work (sweeps, migrations, runs of similar edits) and to how you stack commits and PRs. Break work into small units that each end in a verifiable state, check each before the next, and order delivery so the sequence proves itself to a reviewer. |
+| [test-behavior-not-implementation](./skills/principle-test-behavior-not-implementation/SKILL.md) | verification | Apply when you write, change, or keep a test. Call the code the way its users do and assert the result they observe against a literal expected value. If the test would still pass when every imported function returns undefined, rewrite the assertion or delete the test. |
 | [guard-the-context-window](./skills/principle-guard-the-context-window/SKILL.md) | delegation | Route bulk to subagents; keep summaries in the main thread, not raw payloads. |
 | [never-block-on-the-human](./skills/principle-never-block-on-the-human/SKILL.md) | delegation | Proceed, present the result, let the human course-correct after the fact; reserve confirmation for irreversible actions. |
 | [encode-lessons-in-structure](./skills/principle-encode-lessons-in-structure/SKILL.md) | meta | Encode the rule as a lint, metadata flag, runtime check, or script instead of more text. |

diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
@@ -153,7 +153,7 @@ This repository also keeps:
 
 ## Staying close to Lauren's pstack
 
-Open Pstack 1.3.0 tracks pstack 0.14.7 at Cursor commit [`efa2a531985e0a8084d36ff3cf87233be8a9f34b`](https://github.com/cursor/plugins/commit/efa2a531985e0a8084d36ff3cf87233be8a9f34b).
+Open Pstack 1.4.0 tracks pstack 0.15.0 at Cursor commit [`71ed0d1076fec562c1b74ee353121a8d00f75382`](https://github.com/cursor/plugins/commit/71ed0d1076fec562c1b74ee353121a8d00f75382).
 
 The two projects have separate version numbers. The pstack version identifies Lauren's upstream content. The Open Pstack version identifies the Claude Code and Codex package built from it.
 

diff --git a/UPSTREAM.md b/UPSTREAM.md
@@ -8,11 +8,11 @@ open-pstack tracks [Cursor's pstack](https://github.com/cursor/plugins/tree/main
 | --- | --- |
 | Repository | `https://github.com/cursor/plugins.git` |
 | Path | `pstack/` |
-| Commit | `efa2a531985e0a8084d36ff3cf87233be8a9f34b` |
-| Upstream version | `0.14.7` |
-| open-pstack version | `1.3.0` |
+| Commit | `71ed0d1076fec562c1b74ee353121a8d00f75382` |
+| Upstream version | `0.15.0` |
+| open-pstack version | `1.4.0` |
 
-The table above is the current Cursor sync point. Open Pstack 1.3.0 keeps this 0.14.7 sync. `README-UPSTREAM.md` preserves its pstack README verbatim. `CHANGES.md` and `NOTICE.md` describe the adaptations and provenance.
+The table above is the current Cursor sync point. Open Pstack 1.4.0 imports this 0.15.0 sync. `README-UPSTREAM.md` preserves its pstack README verbatim. `CHANGES.md` and `NOTICE.md` describe the adaptations and provenance.
 
 ## Upstream-only exclusions
 
@@ -33,8 +33,8 @@ Fetch and inspect only commits that touched pstack after the recorded sync point
 
 ```shell
 git fetch cursor main
-git log --oneline efa2a531985e0a8084d36ff3cf87233be8a9f34b..cursor/main -- pstack
-git diff --stat efa2a531985e0a8084d36ff3cf87233be8a9f34b..cursor/main -- pstack
+git log --oneline 71ed0d1076fec562c1b74ee353121a8d00f75382..cursor/main -- pstack
+git diff --stat 71ed0d1076fec562c1b74ee353121a8d00f75382..cursor/main -- pstack
 ```
 
 No output means the tracked pstack tree has not changed. This comparison does not need a polling service or generated mirror branch.