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Technical.md

Define your team’s coding standards.

What is Technical.md?

Technical.md is a markdown file that defines your project’s coding standards. Candid reads it during reviews and flags violations.

Quick Start

Auto-Generate

/candid-init

Analyzes your codebase and generates a Technical.md based on detected patterns.

Control analysis depth with --effort:

/candid-init --effort quick     # Fast (~30 sec)
/candid-init --effort medium    # Balanced (~1-2 min)
/candid-init --effort thorough  # Comprehensive (~5-10 min, default)

The thorough setting launches sub-agents that read ALL files in your codebase in parallel, generating rules with specific file evidence.

Use a Template

Copy a template from the Candid repo:

  • Technical-minimal.md - Starter with 15 rules
  • Technical-react.md - React projects
  • Technical-node.md - Node.js backend
  • Technical-python.md - Python projects

File Location

Place Technical.md in either:

  • Project root: ./Technical.md
  • Claude directory: ./.candid/Technical.md

Keep It Focused

The most important rule: every rule should be actionable and verifiable.

  • Under 500 lines (thorough mode generates ~500, quick ~50)
  • Only rules you’d block a PR for
  • Skip what your linter already handles
  • Prune rules that aren’t violated

Learn More

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Focus ModesAuto-Commit