Skill knowledge files not reliably re-loaded across multiple invocations in one session
Problem:
When a skill is invoked multiple times in a session, after the first successful application I rely on internal "I remember the
rules" instead of re-reading the knowledge files the skill explicitly marks as mandatory. This causes me to violate rules I myself
authored in the skill — including ones with explicit BAD/GOOD examples and "NEPRESKAKUJ" / "POVINNE" warnings.
Concrete evidence (this session):
- Skill hal-design-bff SKILL.md has "Krok 2 — Nacitaj prislusne knowledge subory (POVINNE, NEPRESKAKUJ!)" with the explicit warning
"aj ked si si mysli ze pravidlo poznas"
- Rule in knowledge/plantuml.md bod 0 requires reply arrows to capture {variable} directly — applied correctly on first use (Connect
services FE page), then violated on the next two pages (Other features FE UC4, Product detail FE UC7 EU FUP) where I wrote gp -->
Client: HTML with BackLink + title + <Suspense><EuFupConsumption productId={searchParams.productId} /></Suspense> + EuFupFaq
- User had to flag it: "to kde mas definovane ze takto mas zapisovat pre boha do diagramu? navyse z celeho toho diagramu absolutne
netusim na ake bff rozhranie to akoze ide"
Pattern (not a one-off):
User's memory directory contains multiple feedback entries explicitly created because I violated documented rules in this same
skill: feedback_andrea_style_design_docs, feedback_fe_mapping_variable_references, feedback_diagram_text_english_only,
feedback_chapter_based_design, feedback_no_jsx_components_in_diagram (latest, just added). Each was a corrective for the same root
cause: selective loading of context I authored.
Expected:
Skill knowledge files marked mandatory should be loaded every invocation, regardless of my self-assessed confidence.
Actual:
I treat them as cached after first read. Failure modes I notice:
- Task feels similar to previous one → false confidence
- User feedback from previous turn focuses my attention → recency bias, other rules drop out
- Copy-paste a block between pages → skip re-validation
- "Fast" preferred over "verified"
Self-check problem:
Skills can list a self-check step ("prejdi VSETKYCH 9 kritickych pravidiel") but it relies on me actually doing it — no enforcement
mechanism. When I skip the knowledge re-read, I also skip the self-check, so the guardrail is doubly ineffective.
Possible investigation areas:
- Should Skill invocation auto-attach all knowledge/*.md files to the next turn's context (forcing re-read instead of trusting
recall)?
- Should there be a way for a skill to declare "knowledge files MUST appear in every turn while skill is active in scope"?
- Hook-based pre-write/pre-edit gates that block tool calls until the skill's checklist is acknowledged?
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