coding-skills

Use when designing or reviewing .NET Core project architecture, layer responsibilities, dependency direction, type boundaries, error handling strategy, or placement of cross-cutting concerns such as middleware and action filters.

Use when implementing or reviewing EF Core usage in .NET Core projects. Covers DbContext setup, Repository implementation, Unit of Work pattern, query optimization, migration management, and common pitfalls.

Use when refactoring .NET Core code, reviewing architecture, or checking if code follows James's style in C# projects. Triggers on: private methods, God Class, DI lifetime issues, impure service layer, mutable variables, scattered model conversions, if/switch branch implementations.

Use when writing or reviewing unit tests in .NET Core C# projects. Applies to test structure, naming, mocking, assertions, and framework setup using TUnit, NSubstitute, and FluentAssertions.

Apply Kent Beck's "Tidy First?" methodology before implementing features or fixes. Use when: (1) about to change code and the structure feels messy, (2) asked to refactor or clean up code, (3) a PR mixes structural and behavioral changes, (4) code is hard to read or understand. Guides developer through separating structural tidyings from behavioral changes, and sequencing them correctly.