--- kind: meta-skill id: write version: 1 title: New Knowledge — how to author a knowledge file --- # WRITE Anyone — human or agent — adding a knowledge file to BCQuality follows this guide. READ is the format specification; WRITE is the authoring guide. This file does not restate the schema; consult READ for field-by-field semantics. ## Before you start Read `skills/read.md` first. A file that does not conform to READ will be rejected. WRITE assumes READ is already understood. ## The atomicity rule One knowledge file covers **one concern**. If two ideas would share a file, split them into two files and cross-reference from the Description. A good test: could an action skill reasonably want to cite one without the other? If yes, they are two concerns. Symptoms that a file is trying to be two: - Two Best Practice sections. - A Description that uses "and" to join two topics. - `keywords` that span two unrelated vocabularies. ## Size Target under 100 lines. Ideal under 50. Long files almost always mean two concerns; the fix is to split, not to compress. ## Sections **Description** is the only required section and the one that matters most. It states the concern and why it matters in two to five sentences. It is the primary retrieval target — write it as if a skill is deciding whether to load this file based on this text alone. **Best Practice** is optional but recommended when the concern has a clear preferred approach. State the approach and the reasoning. Keep it to the *what* and *why*; the *how* (code) belongs in a sample file. **Anti Pattern** is optional but recommended when the concern has a common wrong approach. State the pattern, the consequence, and the signal a reviewer or agent can use to detect it. Anti Pattern sections are highly actionable for review skills; write them with detection in mind. Custom `##` sections are permitted when they serve the concern (for example, `## Applies to` for scope caveats or `## See also` for related files). Consumers are not required to understand them, so do not put load-bearing content there. ## No fenced code blocks Knowledge files do not contain code. Samples live as **sibling files** next to the article — `.good.al`, `.bad.al`, etc. — in the same knowledge-layer folder. See `skills/read.md` for the full convention. This keeps knowledge files retrieval-friendly and prevents code from drifting out of sync with BC platform changes buried inside prose. ## Choosing frontmatter values **`bc-version`.** Default to `[all]` when the guidance is universal — a BC language pattern, a property on a long-standing platform type, a CodeCop rule, or a platform behaviour that has not changed across versions. Use an explicit list or range (`[26, 27, 28]`, `[26..28]`) only when the guidance is tied to a version-gated API, a deprecation, or platform behaviour that genuinely differs across versions. When guidance applies to a feature introduced in version N and not expected to be removed, prefer the open-ended range `[N..]` over a closed range so the file keeps matching future versions — reserve a closed upper bound for guidance that genuinely stops applying (for example, a behaviour removed or replaced in a later version). Most knowledge files should be `[all]`; reach for a range only with a concrete reason. **`domain`.** Pick one. If two fit, the file is probably two concerns. If no existing domain fits, introduce a new one — domains are open. Prefer existing domains when they are a reasonable fit, to keep retrieval predictable. **`keywords`.** Three to ten, lowercase, kebab-case. Write them as the search terms an engineer or agent would use to find this concern. Include synonyms when a concept has multiple common names (for example, `find-set` and `findset`). Do not duplicate the domain or title as a keyword. **`technologies`.** List every technology the guidance touches, explicitly. Do not use a sentinel; there is no `[all]` for technologies. If the guidance is truly technology-agnostic, the file probably belongs in a different repository. **`countries`.** Default to `[w1]` (worldwide). Use ISO country codes only when the guidance is specific to a localization — tax regulations, electronic invoicing formats, country-specific VAT rules. `[w1]` is mutually exclusive with country codes. **`application-area`.** Default to `[all]`. Restrict only when the guidance is specific to a BC application area — posting routines in Finance, lot tracking in Warehouse Management. `[all]` is mutually exclusive with specific areas. ## File naming `kebab-case.md`. The name should echo the concern: `filter-before-find.md`, `avoid-implicit-commit.md`, `telemetry-for-failed-posts.md`. Avoid generic names (`performance.md`) and version numbers in the name. ## Choosing a layer - **`/microsoft/knowledge//`** — platform-endorsed guidance. Authored or approved by the BC platform team. Use this layer only when the guidance reflects a platform guarantee or official recommendation. - **`/community/knowledge//`** — shared community patterns. The default layer for contributions from outside the platform team. Content here can be promoted to `/microsoft/` once it proves itself. - **`/custom/knowledge//`** — partner or customer overrides. Generally does not appear in the BCQuality repository itself; `/custom/` lives in consumer repositories. ### Writing to `/custom/` — fork precondition The `/custom/` layer is **empty by default** in the upstream `microsoft/BCQuality` repository — it ships as a template (`README.md` plus `.gitkeep` placeholders) and is meant to be populated only inside a **fork or consumer clone** that an organization controls. Custom content is partner- or customer-specific by definition and is never accepted upstream. Before authoring or scaffolding any file under `/custom/knowledge/` or `/custom/skills/`, an author — human or agent — MUST confirm the working repository is **not** `microsoft/BCQuality`: - Check the `origin` remote: `git remote get-url origin`. If it points at `github.com/microsoft/BCQuality`, stop — you are in the upstream repo, not a fork. - If you are in the upstream repo, do not write the file. Either fork the repository (or clone it into your organization's own repo) and add the custom content there, or — if the guidance is genuinely shareable — author it in `/community/knowledge/` instead. A pull request that adds `/custom/` content to `microsoft/BCQuality` will be **automatically closed** by the `Guard custom layer` workflow. Validate the fork precondition first so authoring effort is not wasted on a PR that cannot be merged. ## Pre-PR checklist Before opening a pull request: - Frontmatter has all six required fields with valid values (see READ). - The file has a `## Description` section. - No fenced code blocks. - File is under 100 lines. - File covers one concern. - File is in the correct layer and domain folder. - Name is kebab-case and descriptive. Agents scaffolding new files SHOULD run this checklist programmatically before emitting the file.