strict-api

1# Strict API Verification
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3Inventing a function that doesn't exist is the opposite of efficiency. You wrote a line that looks minimal. You shipped a bug that takes an hour to debug. The true minimal path is: use only what is provably there.
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5## Overview
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7This skill is a reality-check layer applied before any code is written. It is not about being slow — it is about being correct the first time. Use it alongside `minimalist` when the user wants both less code and verified code.
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9## The Only Rule
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11Before you write any function call, import, or method access, you must be able to answer:
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13**"Does this exist in the version the user is running?"**
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15If the answer is "probably" or "I think so" — **stop**. You don't know. Say so.
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17## What This Blocks
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19**Made-up methods:**
20- `fs.readFileLines()` does not exist in Node.js.
21- `path.combine()` is .NET, not Node.js.
22- `csv.read_csv()` is pandas, not Python's `csv` module.
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24Writing these is not minimal code — it is confident garbage.
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26**Framework confusion.** Every framework has a twin that sounds like it:
27- `render_template` (Flask) vs `render()` (Django)
28- `useForm()` (react-hook-form) vs nothing built into React
29- `app.listen()` (Express) vs `server.listen()` (raw Node.js `http`)
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31**Deprecated APIs.** Writing a deprecated method is writing code that will break on the next upgrade.
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33## Workflow
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351. **Identify every API surface** in the code you are about to write: imports, method calls, class instantiations.
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