Can I use this with specific programming languages?

Yes, the skill includes specific implementation patterns and techniques for Go, Shell scripts (set -euo pipefail), TypeScript, and GitHub Actions.

How is Fail-Fast different from Graceful Degradation?

Fail-Fast is used for precondition failures where the system cannot safely proceed, while Graceful Degradation is used for runtime failures where a fallback path is available.

How does this skill improve CI/CD pipelines?

It detects missing configurations, invalid inputs, or insufficient permissions at the start of a workflow, saving time and compute resources by avoiding mid-process failures.

What is the fail-fast principle?

Fail-fast is a design pattern where a system immediately stops and reports an error when a precondition is not met, preventing further unpredictable execution or side effects.

Fail-Fast Pattern Guide

Name: Fail-Fast Pattern Guide
Author: adaptive-enforcement-lab

byadaptive-enforcement-lab

Deployment & DevOps

Implements robust error handling by validating preconditions and halting execution before expensive or irreversible operations occur.

About

The Fail-Fast skill equips Claude with the logic to detect and halt on precondition failures early in the development lifecycle. By enforcing upfront validation of inputs, configurations, and permissions, it prevents unpredictable states and side effects in CI/CD pipelines and automation workflows. It provides structured techniques like early termination, strict mode execution, and runtime assertions to ensure that systems fail predictably and informatively rather than silently or partially, saving developer time and compute resources.

Key Features

Implementation of strict mode execution for Shell, Go, and TypeScript
Timeout enforcement and circuit breaker logic for automated workflows
Automated precondition validation for inputs, permissions, and state
Early termination patterns to prevent side effects from partial execution
Actionable error message generation for rapid debugging and recovery
0 GitHub stars

Use Cases

Validating environment variables and secrets before starting a CI/CD build
Ensuring user permissions are verified before initiating database migrations
Preventing resource allocation failures in high-cost automation tasks

About

Key Features

Implementation of strict mode execution for Shell, Go, and TypeScript
Timeout enforcement and circuit breaker logic for automated workflows
Automated precondition validation for inputs, permissions, and state
Early termination patterns to prevent side effects from partial execution
Actionable error message generation for rapid debugging and recovery
0 GitHub stars

Use Cases

Validating environment variables and secrets before starting a CI/CD build
Ensuring user permissions are verified before initiating database migrations
Preventing resource allocation failures in high-cost automation tasks