The /to-quick-fix Skill
Solves routine, small-scope problems with natural ease and surgical precision without burying minor edits in bureaucratic paperwork, while maintaining test rigor.
"To apply a rule to the letter, rigidly, unquestioningly... is pedantry. To apply a rule with natural ease, with judgment, noticing the cases where it fits... is mastery. Always use your own brains first." — George Pólya, Pedantry and Mastery (1945)
/to-quick-fix Fix broken null-check in auth interceptor and add regression unit assertion.What it does
to-quick-fix is the pragmatic fast-track bypass mode of the Pólya SDLC. It embodies George Pólya's principle of Pedantry vs. Mastery: avoiding bureaucratic SDLC ceremonies for mechanical, localized, or routine problems (≤ 2 files: minor refactors, typo fixes, configuration tweaks, isolated null-checks) while enforcing uncompromising engineering rigor in code quality and testing.
It applies the Pólya-Ponytail 6-Rung Decision Ladder to find the shortest, cleanest diff. It executes in one fluid pass without writing formal planning documents for routine tasks, but mandates two-layer test verification (micro-assertion + full test suite pass with 0 failures) and Floor-Guard anti-cheat compliance.
When to reach for it
Where the work currently lives decides whether this is the right skill:
| The work is… | Reach for |
|---|---|
| A routine, localized bugfix, typo, or config edit (≤ 2 files) | /to-quick-fix (Tier 1: Broom Rule one-shot) |
| A localized task touching 3–5 files with minor architectural nuances | /to-quick-fix (Tier 2: Fast-Track Mini-Plan) |
| An elusive defect with unknown root cause needing bisection search | /to-fix (First-Principles Remediation) |
| A major new feature, DB schema migration, or domain restructuring | /to-spec (Tier 3: Excavator hard pushback) |
| An approved implementation plan ready to build | /to-code |
Prerequisites
- Strict Scope Boundaries: Limited to routine tasks touching ≤ 2 files (or 3–5 files with a fast-track mini-plan).
- Two-Layer Testing Mandate: Must be verified with a localized micro-assertion and leave the main test suite 100% green.
- Floor-Guard Anti-Cheat: Adding suppressions (
@ts-ignore) or skipping tests is strictly prohibited.
What one run does
A single quick-fix run executes fluidly across six rungs:
- Mental Micro-Understanding: Isolates Unknown, Data, and Condition before editing. Avoids confident wrong fixes.
- 3-Tier Complexity Gate Triage: Confirms task is Tier 1 (Broom Rule, ≤ 2 files) for immediate one-shot execution, or Tier 2 (3–5 files) for a fast-track mini-plan. Pushes back if Tier 3.
- The 6-Rung Decision Ladder: Stops at the first rung that holds: 1. YAGNI → 2. Codebase Reuse → 3. Standard Library (house components beat raw native widgets) → 4. Existing Dependencies → 5. Simplicity & Deletion → 6. Surgical Execution.
- Root-Cause Seam Inspection: Greps for all callers of modified utilities. Fixing one guard at the root seam fixes all callers simultaneously.
- Surgical Code Modification: Performs targeted line replacements. Preserves adjacent comments, docstrings, formatting, and unrelated logic intact.
- Two-Layer Verification: Adds an accompanying micro-assertion and runs the test suite (100% green required). Tags any intentional corner-cut with
// shortcut: <ceiling>, <upgrade trigger>.
Common questions
When will /to-quick-fix refuse to execute my request?
The Excavator Rule! If your request touches ≥ 6 files, introduces database schema changes, creates new public DTO contracts, or alters core business domains, it is non-routine and will be refused with instructions to invoke /to-spec.
What is the difference between /to-quick-fix and /to-fix?
/to-quick-fix is for routine, known fixes with low complexity where the solution is obvious. /to-fix is for elusive bugs where the root cause is unknown, requiring First Principles seam tracing, bisection search, and automated reproduction tests.
It's working if
- It modifies ≤ 2 files in a single fluid pass without bureaucratic document ceremonies.
- It adds an accompanying micro-test or assertion to verify the fix.
- The test suite passes with zero failures before declaring completion.
- It uses surgical targeted line edits rather than rewriting entire files.
- It tags intentional shortcuts with
// shortcut: <ceiling>, <upgrade trigger>.
Where it fits
to-quick-fix is the fast-track bypass running parallel to the main SDLC spine:
/to-explore → /to-prd → /to-spec → /to-clarify → /to-plan → 🛑 PAUSE → /to-code → /to-review → /to-docs
└── (Routine Fixes <= 2 files) ──▶ ⚡ /to-quick-fix ──▶ [Verified Commit]
It handles localized routine tasks immediately, committing directly to your active branch once verified.