docs: add explicit PR-required rule for all non-planning changes (t297)

[marcusquinn]

Summary

• Adds explicit instruction to AGENTS.md: all non-planning file changes MUST go through worktree + PR + CI, no matter how small
• Exception files (direct to main): TODO.md, todo/, VERIFY.md
• Everything else: worktree + PR + CI, no exceptions

Context

The auto-dispatch label removal (issue-sync-helper.sh, 5 lines deleted) was pushed directly to main without PR/CI. The existing rule said "planning-only files go direct to main" but didn't explicitly state the inverse — that all other changes require a PR. This made it easy to rationalize skipping CI for "trivial" changes.

Changes

File	Change
.agents/AGENTS.md	Add "PR required for ALL non-planning changes" paragraph

Summary by CodeRabbit

• Documentation
  • Updated internal development guidelines to clarify code change workflow requirements, specifying that all non-planning modifications must proceed through a standardized development pipeline rather than direct main branch edits.

[gemini-code-assist]

Summary of Changes

Hello @marcusquinn, I'm Gemini Code Assist¹! I'm currently reviewing this pull request and will post my feedback shortly. In the meantime, here's a summary to help you and other reviewers quickly get up to speed!

This pull request formalizes and strengthens the development workflow by explicitly mandating that all code and configuration changes, no matter how minor, must undergo a full review and continuous integration process via a pull request. This aims to ensure consistent quality, prevent accidental regressions, and maintain the integrity of the main branch by eliminating ambiguity around when a PR is required.

Highlights

• Explicit PR Requirement: Added a mandatory rule stating that all non-planning file changes, regardless of size, must go through a worktree, pull request, and CI pipeline. This includes changes to scripts, agents, configs, and workflows.
• Exception Files Clarified: Explicitly listed TODO.md, todo/, and VERIFY.md as the only files that can be pushed directly to main without a PR.
• Rationale for Rule: Introduced this rule to prevent bypassing CI for 'trivial' changes, addressing a past instance where a small change was pushed directly to main.

Changelog

• .agents/AGENTS.md
  • Added a new paragraph detailing the mandatory PR requirement for all non-planning changes, including a list of exception files and a rationale against skipping CI for small changes.

Using Gemini Code Assist

The full guide for Gemini Code Assist can be found on our documentation page, here are some quick tips.

Invoking Gemini

You can request assistance from Gemini at any point by creating a comment using either /gemini <command> or @gemini-code-assist <command>. Below is a summary of the supported commands on the current page.

Feature	Command	Description
Code Review	/gemini review	Performs a code review for the current pull request in its current state.
Pull Request Summary	/gemini summary	Provides a summary of the current pull request in its current state.
Comment	@gemini-code-assist	Responds in comments when explicitly tagged, both in pull request comments and review comments.
Help	/gemini help	Displays a list of available commands.

Customization

To customize Gemini Code Assist for GitHub experience, repository maintainers can create a configuration file and/or provide a custom code review style guide (such as PEP-8 for Python) by creating and adding files to a .gemini/ folder in the base of the repository. Detailed instructions can be found here.

Limitations & Feedback

Gemini Code Assist may make mistakes. Please leave feedback on any instances where its feedback is incorrect or counter productive. You can react with 👍 and 👎 on @gemini-code-assist comments. If you're interested in giving your feedback about your experience with Gemini Code Assist for Github and other Google products, sign up here.

You can also get AI-powered code generation, chat, as well as code reviews directly in the IDE at no cost with the Gemini Code Assist IDE Extension.

Footnotes

1. Review the Privacy Notices, Generative AI Prohibited Use Policy, Terms of Service, and learn how to configure Gemini Code Assist in GitHub here. Gemini can make mistakes, so double check it and use code with caution. ↩

[coderabbitai]

Walkthrough

This PR adds policy documentation to .agents/AGENTS.md establishing that non-planning changes must follow a worktree + PR + CI workflow and cannot be directly edited on main. These policy blocks apply to scripts, agents, configs, and workflows, enforced by the pre-edit-check script.

Changes

Cohort / File(s)	Summary
Policy Documentation .agents/AGENTS.md	Added two policy blocks mandating worktree + PR + CI pipeline for all non-planning changes to enforce stricter edit controls.

Estimated code review effort

🎯 1 (Trivial) | ⏱️ ~2 minutes

Possibly related PRs

• docs: improve agent instructions based on session review #31: Both PRs modify agent documentation to enforce git worktrees for edits and establish stricter guidelines for change submission.
• chore: implement agent-review session improvements #27: Both PRs update .agents/AGENTS.md policy guidance, clarifying when direct main edits are permissible versus requiring worktree + PR workflows.
• refactor: deduplicate agent instructions for token efficiency (~888 tokens/session) #651: Both PRs modify agent-policy text in .agents/AGENTS.md governing routing of edits and worktree + PR requirements for non-planning changes.

Poem

🔒 A policy carved in stone so bold,
Worktrees and PRs, a pipeline of gold,
No stealth commits on main shall flow,
The pre-edit-check keeps the gatekeepers in tow! ✨

🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 3

✅ Passed checks (3 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Description Check	✅ Passed	Check skipped - CodeRabbit’s high-level summary is enabled.
Title check	✅ Passed	The title clearly and specifically summarizes the main change: adding an explicit rule requiring pull requests for all non-planning changes, with a reference to the tracking issue (t297).
Docstring Coverage	✅ Passed	No functions found in the changed files to evaluate docstring coverage. Skipping docstring coverage check.

_{✏️ Tip: You can configure your own custom pre-merge checks in the settings.}

✨ Finishing touches

🧪 Generate unit tests (beta)

• Create PR with unit tests
• Post copyable unit tests in a comment
• Commit unit tests in branch chore/t297-pr-required-rule

---

No actionable comments were generated in the recent review. 🎉

---

Thanks for using CodeRabbit! It's free for OSS, and your support helps us grow. If you like it, consider giving us a shout-out.

❤️ Share

• X
• Mastodon
• Reddit
• LinkedIn

_{Comment @coderabbitai help to get the list of available commands and usage tips.}

[github-actions]

🔍 Code Quality Report

�[0;35m[MONITOR]�[0m Code Review Monitoring Report

�[0;34m[INFO]�[0m Latest Quality Status:
SonarCloud: 0 bugs, 0 vulnerabilities, 8 code smells

�[0;34m[INFO]�[0m Recent monitoring activity:
Wed Feb 11 22:11:18 UTC 2026: Code review monitoring started
Wed Feb 11 22:11:18 UTC 2026: SonarCloud - Bugs: 0, Vulnerabilities: 0, Code Smells: 8

📈 Current Quality Metrics

• BUGS: 0
• CODE SMELLS: 8
• VULNERABILITIES: 0

Generated on: Wed Feb 11 22:11:21 UTC 2026

---

Generated by AI DevOps Framework Code Review Monitoring

[sonarqubecloud]

Quality Gate passed

Issues
0 New issues
0 Accepted issues

Measures
0 Security Hotspots
0.0% Coverage on New Code
0.0% Duplication on New Code

See analysis details on SonarQube Cloud

[gemini-code-assist]

Code Review

This pull request introduces a crucial documentation update to AGENTS.md, explicitly mandating that all non-planning code changes must go through a pull request and CI pipeline. The change is well-written, clear, and directly addresses a recent incident where a change was pushed to main without review. By formalizing this rule and listing the explicit exceptions, it significantly strengthens the development workflow and prevents regressions. The change is excellent and I have no further recommendations.