Guideline Formatting Compliance
Guidelines are topic-oriented rules that apply during planning and implementation. They are more detailed than principles but less prescriptive than recipes — structured guidance with clear requirements.
Applicability
This category applies to any file with type: guideline in its frontmatter. All files in guidelines/ (and its subdirectories) MUST have this type.
Checks
gf-frontmatter-complete
All required YAML frontmatter fields MUST be present per introduction/conventions.md.
Applies when: always.
Required fields: id, title, domain, type, version, status, language, created, modified, author, copyright, license, summary, platforms, tags, depends-on, related, references.
Guidelines:
gf-type-field
The type field MUST be guideline.
Applies when: always.
gf-title-heading
The first H1 heading MUST match the frontmatter title field exactly.
Applies when: always.
gf-summary-statement
A summary statement MUST appear immediately after the H1 heading. This is the guideline's core message — typically 1-3 sentences that a reader can act on without reading further.
Applies when: always.
gf-structured-guidance
The guideline MUST include structured guidance in the form of bullet points, tables, subsections, or a combination. Unstructured prose without actionable items is not sufficient.
Applies when: always.
gf-rfc-keywords
Requirements within the guideline MUST use RFC 2119 keywords (MUST, MUST NOT, SHOULD, SHOULD NOT, MAY) to indicate obligation levels. Keywords MUST be bold or uppercase when used normatively.
Applies when: the guideline contains requirements or rules (not purely informational content).
gf-change-history
The file MUST end with a ## Change History section containing a table with columns: Version, Date, Author, Summary.
Applies when: always.
Guidelines:
gf-compliance-section
The guideline MAY include a ## Compliance section listing evaluated compliance checks and their status. This is recommended when the guideline is referenced by compliance checks in other categories.
Applies when: the guideline is referenced by one or more compliance check definitions.