bvandeusen
85625de394
Step 2 of the snippet-merge milestone (#231). The dedup gate only PREVENTS new near-duplicates; merge is the CURE for the ones already scattered. - services/snippets.py: merge_snippets(user_id, target_id, source_ids) — keep the target's scalar fields (name/when_to_use/signature/language/ code), union the sources' locations + extra tags onto it (so the survivor carries every call site as a location), trash the sources (recoverable), re-embed the survivor. Pure merge_snippet_fields() factored out for unit testing. Returns (survivor_note, merged_ids). - mcp/tools/snippets.py: merge_snippets(target_id, source_ids) tool (5th), and a create_snippet dedup-path nudge toward merge over a forced copy. - routes/snippets.py: POST /api/snippets/<id>/merge {source_ids} — share- aware (can_write target + every source, rule #78) with a same-owner guard (cross-owner merge is out of scope). - plugin reusing-code skill + MCP _INSTRUCTIONS: point found-duplicates at merge as the cure (rule #119 surfaces, not a Scribe rule). plugin.json 0.1.13 -> 0.1.14 in the same change (the #1040 marketplace-ship lesson). - Tests: pure merge-helper union/dedup; MCP tool (requires a source, survivor+merged_ids, not-found); route handler + 5-tool registration. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com> Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01Pa2EsuB54BuWQ8GfJq9c7t
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name, description
| name | description |
|---|---|
| reusing-code | Use when you're about to write a helper, utility, hook, or reusable component — search recorded snippets FIRST so prior art is reused instead of re-solved. And the moment you build or notice something reusable, record it as a snippet so a later session finds it. Triggers on "write a util/helper", "I need a function that…", "let me add a component", or just having built something worth reusing. |
Reusing code — recall before you rebuild
Reusable code is worth writing once. Scribe stores snippets — a named, reusable function or component recorded with its language, signature, canonical location (repo · path · symbol), a one-line "when to reach for it," and the code itself — so prior art can surface before it's re-written as a one-off. Snippets are ordinary embedded notes, so a recorded one also surfaces on its own through recall/auto-inject; this skill is the active reflex around that.
Before you write a new helper — search first
- About to write a utility, hook, formatter, adapter, or a reusable component?
Search snippets before writing it.
list_snippets(q="…")(or a plainsearch) — a matching one may already exist, in this project or another. - If a snippet fits, pull it in full with
get_snippet(id)and reuse it — itslocationpoints at the reference implementation. Adapt, don't re-derive. - If auto-inject already surfaced a snippet title that looks relevant, that's
your cue to
get_snippetit rather than start from scratch.
The moment you build something reusable — record it
- Just wrote (or noticed) a helper, hook, pattern, or component worth repeating?
Record it with
create_snippetwhile it's fresh:- name — what it's called, e.g.
useDebouncedRef. - code — the implementation.
- when_to_use — one sharp line on when to reach for it. This becomes part of the title, so it's what a later recall menu shows — make it earn the pull.
- language, signature, and location (
repo/path/symbol) so the recorded copy points back at the canonical source. - project_id / system_ids to associate it with the work it belongs to.
- name — what it's called, e.g.
- Record the reference implementation, not every call site — one good entry
per reusable thing. If it already exists,
update_snippetit instead of recording a second copy (the create gate will flag a near-duplicate anyway).
Found the same thing in several places — unify it
When you notice the same reusable thing recorded (or written) as several
one-offs, don't leave the duplicates competing in recall — merge them.
merge_snippets(canonical_id, [other_ids]) keeps one canonical record, folds in
the others' call sites as locations, and retires the duplicates to the trash.
The result is a single entry that shows every place the thing is used — which is
exactly the signal that it was worth consolidating. This is the cure the create
gate only hints at when it blocks a near-duplicate.
Why this pays off
A one-off written a second time is the cost this avoids. Recording a snippet once — with a location and a crisp "when to use" — means the next session is offered the prior art instead of re-solving it. Search before writing; record what's worth reusing.