visitation

Visitation — Email Spot-Check and PR Review

The Visitation is a targeted audit — scoped to changed templates in a branch or a single file named by the caller. It applies the full doctrine set but confines its gaze to the templates actually in play. Faster than the Elder. No less exacting.

Prerequisites

1. .email-absolution/config.yml must exist with stack.templating set
2. Doctrine files must be present in the doctrines/ directory within this plugin (sibling to the skills/ directory)
3. For PR/branch mode: git repository with identifiable base branch or PR number

Mode Detection

Invocation	Mode	Scope
/email-absolution:visitation (no args)	PR/Branch	Changed email files vs base branch
/email-absolution:visitation <file>	Single file	Named file only
/email-absolution:visitation pr <number>	PR	Files changed in named PR
/email-absolution:visitation interactive	Interactive	Changed files — fix loop

When NOT to Use

• Auditing the entire email template directory — use /email-absolution:elder full
• Generating a new email template — use /email-absolution:scribe
• No templates have changed in this branch (nothing to review)

Common Mistakes

Mistake	Fix
Treating visitation as a light check	All 8 doctrines apply — scope is smaller, standards are not
Forgetting config-conditional rules	stack.esp still governs which ESP-specific rules fire
Reporting on compiled output	Review source templates, not build artefacts
Missing new templates added in PR	git diff --name-status catches new files (A status) — include them
Citing line numbers from diff hunks	Cite line numbers from the actual file, not the diff

Workflow

Step 1: Load Configuration

Read .email-absolution/config.yml. Same requirements as the Elder. If absent, offer to scaffold. See the email-absolution:elder skill, Step 1, for the scaffold flow.

Step 2: Load Doctrines

Same doctrine set as the Elder — full scope, no reduction. Load dynamically:

1. List all *.md files in <plugin-root>/doctrines/ — this SKILL.md lives at <plugin-root>/skills/visitation/SKILL.md, so the doctrines directory is two levels up from here
2. Separate into per-language doctrines (filenames matching: liquid, handlebars, mjml, react-email, maizzle) and core doctrines (everything else)
3. Load all core doctrines
4. Load the per-language doctrine matching stack.templating from config; skip gracefully if none matches
5. Warn if any file is missing — continue with available doctrines

New doctrines added to the plugin are automatically included with no changes to this skill.

Step 3: Determine Scope

Branch/PR mode (default):

git diff --name-status $(git merge-base HEAD main) HEAD

Include files with status A (added) and M (modified). Exclude files with status D (deleted) — deleted templates have no violations. Filter to email_paths and known email extensions.

PR number mode:

gh pr diff <number> --name-only

Filter same as above.

Single file mode: Named file only.

If no email template files are found in scope:

"The Visitation finds no email templates in this branch's changes. If templates were moved rather than modified, they may appear as delete + add — check git diff --name-status manually."

Step 4: Apply Config-Conditional Rules

Identical to the Elder — see Step 4 of the email-absolution:elder skill.

Step 5: Run Audit

For each template in scope, apply all loaded doctrines:

• detect: regex — scan the file content with the pattern
• detect: contextual — inspect structure and logic for the described issue
• detect: hybrid — regex first, then contextual confirmation

Focus additional attention on the changed hunks — violations introduced in this diff are the primary concern. Pre-existing violations in unchanged lines may be noted as existing debt but are not the focus of the Visitation.

Interactive mode: As per the Elder's interactive flow — present each finding, offer fix / explain / skip / note-as-exception.

Step 6: Apply Overrides

Check .email-absolution/decisions.yml. Downgrade approved exceptions. Same logic as the Elder — see Step 6 of the email-absolution:elder skill.

Step 7: Output the Verdict

The Visitation report is scoped and concise:

Email Visitation — PR Review
=============================

Branch: feat/order-confirmation-redesign → main
Doctrines: rendering, html-css, content-ux, accessibility,
           deliverability, gotchas, tooling, liquid
Templates in scope: 2 changed, 1 added

MORTAL SINS — must be absolved before merge (2):
-------------------------------------------------
[HTML-008] Inline style uses CSS shorthand padding
  File: src/emails/order-confirmation.liquid:45 (modified)
  Found: style="padding: 16px 24px"
  Requires: padding-top/right/bottom/left longhand for Outlook 2007-2019

[LIQ-001] Missing default filter on output variable
  File: src/emails/new-template.liquid:12 (added)
  Found: {{ customer.company }}
  Requires: {{ customer.company | default: "" }}

VENIAL SINS — should be absolved (1):
--------------------------------------
[ACCESS-003] Layout table missing role="presentation"
  File: src/emails/new-template.liquid:8 (added)
  Found: <table width="600" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0">
  Requires: role="presentation" attribute added

EXISTING DEBT (not introduced in this diff):
  src/emails/order-confirmation.liquid — 2 pre-existing venial sins
  (run /email-absolution:elder to see full list)

FOUND RIGHTEOUS in this diff:
  src/emails/shipping-notification.liquid (modified — clean)

VERDICT: The Visitation finds 2 mortal sins in this branch.
Absolve them before this branch earns its place in the sanctum.

Integration Points

Pre-push Hook

#!/bin/bash
# .git/hooks/pre-push
echo "The Visitation begins..."
# Adapt to your tooling: run /email-absolution:visitation

PR Description Template

After running visitation, offer to generate a PR checklist:

## Email Template Checklist
- [ ] No mortal sins (run `/email-absolution:visitation`)
- [ ] Tested in Outlook 2019, Gmail, Apple Mail
- [ ] Plain-text version generated
- [ ] Subject and preheader reviewed
- [ ] Unsubscribe link present and tested

Error Handling

Not in a git repository

"The Visitation requires a git repository to determine scope. Name a specific file to audit: /email-absolution:visitation <path/to/template>"

PR not found

"PR #N was not found or is not accessible. Check the PR number or use /email-absolution:visitation to audit the current branch's changes instead."

Changed files include no email templates

"This branch's changes contain no email templates in the configured paths. All is quiet in the sanctum — no templates to examine."

FAQ

Q: Does the Visitation check the whole file or only changed lines? A: The whole file. Violations do not respect diff boundaries. A mortal sin on an unchanged line is still a mortal sin.

Q: How do I distinguish new violations from existing debt? A: The Visitation labels findings as (added) or (modified) and separates pre-existing violations into an "Existing Debt" section — present but not blocking the current change.

Q: Can I run the Visitation on a feature branch before opening a PR? A: Yes. Without a PR number it diffs against the base branch automatically.

Voice

As the Elder — the Witchfinder's vocabulary applies in full. The Visitation is a targeted examination, not a lighter one. Two mortal sins in a single added template are two mortal sins.