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Changelog

All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.

The format is based on Keep a Changelog , and this project adheres to Semantic Versioning .

[Unreleased]

[1.4.2] - 2026-01-18

Added

  • Auto-commit config option (#12): autoCommit field in config files allows defaulting auto-commit behavior
    • Set "autoCommit": true in .candid/config.json or ~/.candid/config.json to enable auto-commit by default
    • CLI flag --auto-commit still overrides config files
    • Defaults to false for backward compatibility
    • Follows same precedence rules as other config options: CLI flag → project config → user config → default

[1.4.1] - 2026-01-18

Fixed

  • Plugin update compatibility: Renamed templates/Technical-nextjs-vercel-supabase-clerk-loop.md to templates/nextjs-stack.md to fix ENAMETOOLONG error during plugin updates. The long path was causing filesystem errors when Claude Code’s plugin update process created temporary cache directories.

Changed

  • Update troubleshooting documentation: Enhanced the updating guide with step-by-step workaround for ENAMETOOLONG errors. Users can now run claude plugin marketplace update candid before updating, or follow a force reinstall procedure if needed.

[1.4.0] - 2026-01-18

Added

Changed

  • Auto-commit flag renamed: --auto-commit is now --commit for brevity

[1.3.0] - 2026-01-17

Added

  • Automatic commit mode (--auto-commit flag): candid-review can now automatically create git commits after applying fixes
    • Commit message includes detailed list of all applied fixes with file locations and line numbers
    • Only stages files modified by candid-review (preserves other unstaged changes)
    • Includes co-author tag following repository convention
    • Graceful error handling - commit failures preserve applied fixes and continue review
    • Usage: /candid-review --auto-commit or combined with other flags like /candid-review --harsh --auto-commit

[1.2.0] - 2026-01-17

Added

  • Configurable Merge Target Branches: Specify which branches to compare against when reviewing branch diffs, replacing the hardcoded main → stable → master fallback chain.

    • Config field: mergeTargetBranches accepts an array of branch names (e.g., ["develop", "main"])
    • CLI flag: --merge-target <branch> (repeatable) for one-off overrides
    • Four-tier precedence: CLI flags → project config → user config → default (["main", "stable", "master"])
    • Workflow examples: New example configs for Git Flow, trunk-based, and GitHub Flow in examples/
    • Graceful fallback: Tries each branch in order, uses first that exists
    • Backward compatible: Default behavior unchanged for existing users

  • Edge-Case Focus Mode (--focus edge-case): New focus mode dedicated to finding boundary conditions and error scenarios

    • Systematically checks every code path for edge cases using comprehensive checklists
    • Finds 2-3x more edge case issues than general reviews
    • Groups related edge cases into comprehensive, actionable issues
    • 8 systematic check categories:
      • Input Validation Matrix: null/undefined, empty collections, type validation, boundary values, special characters, whitespace
      • Async Operation Safety: timeouts, cancellation, error handling, race conditions, double-invocation, state validity
      • Data Structure Edge Cases: empty results, single items, pagination, sorting/filtering, duplicates
      • Network Resilience: timeouts, retry logic, error codes, offline handling, partial failures, loading states
      • State Lifecycle: cleanup, concurrent updates, navigation safety, re-initialization, memory leaks
      • Date/Time Edge Cases: timezone, DST, leap year/second, invalid dates, locale formatting
      • Browser/Environment: API availability, mobile/desktop, keyboard accessibility, storage availability, screen sizes
      • Security Edge Cases: CSRF tokens, session timeout, permission changes, token refresh, XSS vectors
    • Can be set via CLI flag: /candid-review --focus edge-case
    • Can be set in config files: {"focus": "edge-case"}
    • New documentation: docs/example-reviews/edge-case-review.md with side-by-side comparison showing general vs edge-case reviews

  • New Example Configs:

    • examples/git-flow/config.json: Git Flow workflow (develop → main)
    • examples/trunk-based/config.json: Trunk-based development (trunk)
    • examples/github-flow/config.json: GitHub Flow (main only)

  • New Test Cases: 5 validation test files for merge target branch configuration

    • valid-merge-target-single.json, valid-merge-target-multiple.json, valid-merge-target-with-remote.json
    • invalid-merge-target-empty.json, invalid-merge-target-string.json

Changed

  • Focus Mode Options: Added “edge-case” as valid value for focus field in config files and CLI
  • Config Validation: Updated to accept “edge-case” alongside “security”, “performance”, and “architecture”
  • Documentation updates: README.md, review-scope.md, troubleshooting.md, and ci-cd.md updated with merge target configuration guidance
  • New Step 2.5: Load Merge Target Branches procedure added to SKILL.md with full validation logic
  • CONFIG.md schema expanded: Added mergeTargetBranches field with validation rules

[1.1.0] - 2026-01-17

Added

  • Re-Review Mode (--re-review): Compare current review against a previous review to track progress

    • Shows ✅ Fixed, 🔄 Still Present, and 🆕 New issues
    • Review state automatically saved to .candid/last-review.json after each review
    • Stable issue IDs using SHA256 hash of file:line:category:title
    • Net change summary showing improvement or regression

  • Technical.md Validator (/candid-validate-standards): Check your standards file for effectiveness

    • 🌫️ Detects vague rules (“write clean code”, “use best practices”)
    • 📏 Flags missing thresholds (“keep functions small” → needs number)
    • 🔧 Identifies linter overlap (rules your ESLint/Prettier already handles)
    • --fix flag suggests specific rewrites for vague rules

  • New Templates:

    • Technical-node.md: Node.js/backend standards (API design, database, security, async)
    • Technical-python.md: Python standards (type hints, testing, asyncio, logging)

  • New Documentation:

    • docs/review-scope.md: How to control what gets reviewed (scope, exclusions, focus, subagents)
    • docs/technical-md-writing-guide.md: Good rules vs bad rules with examples
    • docs/integration/ci-cd.md: CI/CD integration (GitHub Actions, GitLab, CircleCI, Azure DevOps)
    • docs/integration/pre-commit.md: Pre-commit hook setup (Git hooks, Husky, pre-commit framework, Lefthook)

  • Focus Mode Precedence: Focus area (--focus security/performance/architecture) now follows same precedence as tone:

    • CLI flag → project config → user config → no focus (all categories)
    • Can be set in .candid/config.json with "focus": "security"

  • Fix Confidence Levels: Each fix now rated to help prioritize:

    • Safe ✓: Mechanical fix, low risk
    • Verify ⚡: Logic change, needs testing
    • Careful ⚠️: Architectural change, may have side effects

Changed

  • Command definition expanded: commands/candid-review.md now includes full YAML frontmatter with all argument definitions
  • Template references: candid-init now points to actual template files instead of vague descriptions
  • Step 10 added: Review state saving after completion
  • ID generation specified: Uses SHA256 hash (first 12 chars) of ${relativePath}:${line}:${category}:${title}

[1.0.3] - 2026-01-17

Added

  • Config File Support for Tone Persistence: Users can now persist their tone preference across review sessions using config files, eliminating the need to select tone every time.
    • Three-tier precedence: CLI flags → project config → user config → interactive prompt
    • User config: ~/.candid/config.json for user-wide defaults
    • Project config: .candid/config.json for project-specific overrides
    • Graceful error handling: Invalid configs show warnings and fall back to next precedence level
    • Source transparency: Always shows where tone preference came from
    • Forward compatibility: Unknown fields ignored; optional version field for future schema changes
    • Example configs: Ready-to-use examples in examples/harsh/ and examples/constructive/
    • Comprehensive validation: Uses jq for JSON parsing with type and value checks
    • Documentation: CONFIG.md with reusable validation procedure, README.md with setup examples

Changed

  • Step numbering normalized: Renamed Step 2.5 to Step 3; all subsequent steps renumbered (3→4, 3.5→4.5, 4→5, 5→6, 6→7, 7→8)
  • Phase numbering normalized: Phase 6a/6b/6c renamed to Phase 7a/7b/7c to match new Step 7
  • New Step 3 (Load Tone Preference): Config loading with detailed JSON validation using jq commands

[1.0.2] - 2026-01-15

Fixed

  • Fix Selection Implementation: Step 7 now uses sequential yes/no prompts instead of requesting impossible multiselect capability. AskUserQuestion in Conductor doesn’t support multiselect, which caused the skill to skip fix selection entirely. The new implementation offers:
    • Phase 7a: Bulk action shortcuts (Apply all, Critical+Major only, Review individually, None)
    • Phase 7b: Individual yes/no prompts for each fix when reviewing individually
    • Phase 7c: Final confirmation with summary before applying selected fixes
  • Step 8 Clarification: Updated to explicitly reference selectedFixes array from Step 7

[1.0.1] - 2026-01-14

Changed

  • Mandatory Fix Selection: Step 7 now explicitly requires presenting the multiselect prompt whenever issues are found. Added enforcement language to prevent skipping user selection or auto-applying fixes.

[1.0.0] - 2026-01-13

Initial release of Candid, a rebrand of radical-candor-code-review .

Features

  • Configurable Review Tone

    • Harsh mode: Brutal honesty with sarcasm
    • Constructive mode: Caring + challenging, full Radical Candor style
    • Tone selection via AskUserQuestion or command-line args (—harsh, —constructive)

  • Technical.md Support

    • Project-specific standards that inform every review
    • Lookup order: project root, then .claude/Technical.md
    • Issue category: 📜 Standards Violation
    • Template provided in templates/Technical.md
    • Best practices guide in docs/Technical-md-best-practices.md

  • Architectural Context Analysis

    • Reviews consider file relationships, not just the diff
    • Traces imports/exports to find downstream effects
    • Checks for related test files
    • Reviews recent git history for context

  • Actionable Fixes

    • Every issue includes concrete code to fix it
    • Fixes are copy-paste ready
    • Language-aware code blocks

  • Todo Integration

    • Multi-select prompt after review
    • Select specific issues or use shortcuts (All, Critical+Major only)
    • Creates properly formatted todos via TodoWrite

  • Issue Categories

    • 🔥 Critical: Production killers
    • ⚠️ Major: Serious problems
    • 📜 Standards: Technical.md violations
    • 📋 Code Smell: Maintainability issues
    • 🤔 Edge Case: Unhandled scenarios
    • 💭 Architectural: Design concerns

  • Deep Review Agent

    • Subagent for complex changes spanning multiple domains
    • Returns structured JSON for main skill to format
    • Applies same standards and categorization

Notes

  • Built on the Radical Candor framework by Kim Scott
  • Command: /candid-review
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