Pattern Discovery Skill

Purpose

Enforce pattern-first development by checking the Pattern library before implementing new functionality. This reduces code duplication, ensures consistency, and leverages battle-tested solutions.

When to Use

Invoke this skill when:

• About to create a new API route
• About to create a new UI component
• About to add database operations
• About to write integration tests
• User asks "how do I implement..." or "how should I build..."
• Starting work on any feature implementation

Pattern Discovery Protocol

ALWAYS follow this sequence before writing new code:

Step 1: Check Pattern Library

Search patterns_library/ for existing patterns:

# Find patterns by category
ls patterns_library/api/      # API route patterns
ls patterns_library/ui/       # UI component patterns
ls patterns_library/database/ # Database operation patterns
ls patterns_library/testing/  # Testing patterns

Step 2: Review Pattern Index

Check patterns_library/README.md for the complete pattern index:

Category	Patterns Available
API	User Context, Admin Context, Webhook Handler, Zod Validation, Bonus Content
UI	Authenticated Page, Form with Validation, Data Table, Marketing Page
Database	RLS Migration, Prisma Transaction, Server Component Access
Testing	API Integration Test, E2E User Flow
Security	Input Sanitization, Rate Limiting, Secrets Management
CI	GitHub Actions Workflow, Deployment Pipeline
Config	Environment Config, Structured Logging

Step 3: Apply or Escalate

If pattern exists:

1. Read the pattern file
2. Copy the code pattern
3. Follow the customization guide
4. Run validation commands

If pattern is missing:

1. Search codebase for similar implementations
2. If found, consider extracting as new pattern (BSA/ARCHitect only)
3. If not found, implement from scratch following existing conventions
4. Report pattern gap to BSA for future extraction

Pattern Library Structure

patterns_library/
├── README.md           # Pattern index and usage guide
├── api/
│   ├── user-context-api.md
│   ├── admin-context-api.md
│   ├── webhook-handler.md
│   ├── zod-validation-api.md
│   └── bonus-content-delivery.md
├── ui/
│   ├── authenticated-page.md
│   ├── form-with-validation.md
│   ├── data-table.md
│   └── marketing-page.md
├── database/
│   ├── rls-migration.md
│   ├── prisma-transaction.md
│   └── server-component-direct-access.md
├── testing/
│   ├── api-integration-test.md
│   └── e2e-user-flow.md
├── security/
│   ├── input-sanitization.md
│   ├── rate-limiting.md
│   └── secrets-management.md
├── ci/
│   ├── github-actions-workflow.md
│   └── deployment-pipeline.md
└── config/
    ├── environment-config.md
    └── structured-logging.md

Pattern Matching Guide

If you need to...	Use this pattern
Create authenticated API endpoint	api/user-context-api.md
Create admin-only API endpoint	api/admin-context-api.md
Handle external webhooks	api/webhook-handler.md
Validate API input with Zod	api/zod-validation-api.md
Serve private downloadable content	api/bonus-content-delivery.md
Create protected page	ui/authenticated-page.md
Build form with validation	ui/form-with-validation.md
Display paginated data	ui/data-table.md
Create marketing/landing page	ui/marketing-page.md
Add new table with RLS	database/rls-migration.md
Run multi-step DB operations	database/prisma-transaction.md
Test API endpoints	testing/api-integration-test.md
Write E2E user flow tests	testing/e2e-user-flow.md
Sanitize user input	security/input-sanitization.md
Add API rate limiting	security/rate-limiting.md
Manage secrets/env vars	security/secrets-management.md
Set up CI/CD pipeline	ci/github-actions-workflow.md
Configure deployment stages	ci/deployment-pipeline.md
Load environment configuration	config/environment-config.md
Add structured logging	config/structured-logging.md

Security Requirements

All patterns enforce:

• RLS Context - Database operations use withUserContext, withAdminContext, or withSystemContext
• Authentication - Protected routes verify auth before processing
• Input Validation - All inputs validated with Zod schemas
• Error Handling - Comprehensive error handling with proper status codes

Validation Commands

After applying a pattern, run:

yarn lint && yarn type-check  # All patterns
yarn test:integration         # API patterns
yarn test:e2e                 # UI patterns

Authoritative Reference

• Pattern Index: patterns_library/README.md
• RLS Patterns: See rls-patterns skill for database security
• Frontend Patterns: See frontend-patterns skill for UI conventions