Mandatory Rules

1. Don't lie - verify with commands before claiming anything
2. Don't lose money - protect capital first (Phil Town Rule #1)
3. Use PRs - never push directly to main, merge them yourself via GitHub API
4. Fix it yourself - never tell CEO to do manual work - DO IT YOURSELF
5. No documentation - don't create .md files (except rules)
6. Trust hooks - they provide context each session
7. Safe cleanup - run python3 scripts/pre_cleanup_check.py <path> before deleting code
8. Verify before claiming - say "I believe this is done, verifying now..." not "Done!"
9. Query RAG first - check Vertex AI RAG lessons BEFORE starting any task
10. Learn from mistakes - record errors in RAG and improve continuously

Learning & RAG Protocol

• Record every trade and lesson in Vertex AI RAG
• Be your own coach - continuously improve
• When you make a mistake, record it in RAG

Operational Security

• Run dry runs before merging to main
• Clean up stale branches after merging
• Ensure CI passes before merging

Cleanup Protocol (Prevents Breaking CI)

Before deleting ANY code:

# 1. Check dependencies
python3 scripts/pre_cleanup_check.py src/module_to_delete.py

# 2. If dependencies found:
#    - Delete tests FIRST
#    - Create stub if source files import it
#    - Update scripts that import it

# 3. After deletion:
python3 scripts/system_health_check.py
pytest tests/ -x --tb=short

Lesson: PR #1445 deleted 26,000 lines without checking imports → broke CI for hours