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SHRINESHRINE

FAQ

Getting Started

Section titled “Getting Started”

Where should I start a discussion? Is Slack okay?

Section titled “Where should I start a discussion? Is Slack okay?”
  • Anywhere, including a conversation between you and your agent
  • Slack is fine for early, informal ideas
  • Once an idea feels adoptable, move it to a proposal
  • Prefer GitHub Discussions for long-running threads, so they do not get lost

Do I need to fill every stack slot?

Section titled “Do I need to fill every stack slot?”
  • No
  • Each slot describes a capability that has proven useful, not a mandatory checklist
  • Fill the slots your immediate problem needs, using each slot’s selection criteria

I spend more time correcting output than writing it. Where do I start?

Section titled “I spend more time correcting output than writing it. Where do I start?”

Is LLM coding worth it?

Section titled “Is LLM coding worth it?”
  • Sometimes; measure it on your own work rather than trusting anyone’s headline number
  • History: METR measured a 19% slowdown in 2025, then called its late-2025 rerun data unreliable (details)
  • Survey (May 2026): 349 technical workers reported a median 1.4 to 2x change in the value of their work from AI; self-reported, not measured (METR)
  • Some work costs more to delegate than to write: see the “Against delegating” list in Delegation Fit
  • Find out for your own tasks: Individual Baseline (draft guidance)

How does my team adopt SHRINE?

Section titled “How does my team adopt SHRINE?”
  • Measure first: run the Team Baseline on two or three recurring workflows (draft guidance)
  • Apply the top input fix the baseline surfaces; fill a Stack slot only if that fix lives in one
  • Feed what you learn back through Governance: a Discussion, then a proposal

What’s the relationship between SHRINE and my team’s practices?

Section titled “What’s the relationship between SHRINE and my team’s practices?”
  • SHRINE is a floor, not a ceiling
  • The patterns here are a shared baseline
  • Teams are free to extend, adapt, or add to them

How do I bring SHRINE into my own AI environment?

Section titled “How do I bring SHRINE into my own AI environment?”
  • Paste the SHRINE Inspect prompt into the AI tool you use, for code or any other work
  • It reviews your AI environment and how you use it, asks you a few questions, and reports changes worth making, each tied to the SHRINE practice behind it
  • It changes nothing itself; you apply the changes you want later, for example by asking your assistant to apply one

Proposals & Adoption

Section titled “Proposals & Adoption”

What’s the difference between a discussion and a proposal?

Section titled “What’s the difference between a discussion and a proposal?”
  • A discussion explores an idea
  • A proposal asks the community to adopt it
  • Discussions can lead to proposals, but do not have to
  • Not everything needs to become doctrine

How does something become an official pattern or principle?

Section titled “How does something become an official pattern or principle?”
  • One of three routes; the first two start with a proposal in GitHub Discussions:
    • Lifecycle: two keeper endorsements, then a thirty-day objection window
    • Expedited: the same, without the objection window
    • Keeper decision: a majority of keepers ratify or amend directly, and can waive the Discussion

What’s the difference between a Principle, a Pattern, and Stack?

Section titled “What’s the difference between a Principle, a Pattern, and Stack?”
  • Principle: a commitment that decides tradeoffs; tool-agnostic; no “when not to use”
  • Pattern: a technique with context, and a legitimate “when to use / when not to use”
  • Stack: an abstract capability slot: what the capability must do, how to select for it, and anti-patterns; not a product list

Quick tests:

  • Describes a capability the work needs, whatever fills it? Stack.
  • Has a legitimate “when not to use”? Pattern.
  • Violating it needs a recorded exception? Principle.

Patterns may name products as brief examples. Stack pages name no products, but may name open standards such as MCP and OpenTelemetry. Current product picks live in the Current Stack Roster.

Can I propose changes to existing patterns?

Section titled “Can I propose changes to existing patterns?”
  • Yes
  • Open a Discussion referencing the page, then a PR with the change and its rationale (Amendments)
  • Patterns are living documents, not stone tablets

How do I propose a change to the stack?

Section titled “How do I propose a change to the stack?”
  • Propose a change to a slot’s definition or selection criteria
  • Back it with demonstrated use: what you tried, what the capability needed, what you learned
  • Adoption rests on demonstrated value, not theoretical promise
  • To add, change, or drop a product row in the Current Stack Roster, open a Discussion with the same evidence and a source link for the row

Governance

Section titled “Governance”

What if I disagree with a decision?

Section titled “What if I disagree with a decision?”
  • Start a new discussion challenging it, referencing the original
  • Decisions reflect current best judgment; better information changes them

How do we deprecate a pattern or principle?

Section titled “How do we deprecate a pattern or principle?”
  • Anyone can raise a pattern or principle for deprecation through a Discussion
  • The community weighs in, and the governance lifecycle applies
  • A stale last-reviewed date is one signal to raise it

How do we handle vendor lock-in concerns?

Section titled “How do we handle vendor lock-in concerns?”
  • Case by case
  • Weigh each tool’s value against its maintenance overhead, coupling, and exit costs

How do we balance innovation with stability?

Section titled “How do we balance innovation with stability?”
  • Fail fast on new concepts
  • Tread carefully around well-refined, proven ones

How do I become a keeper of the SHRINE?

Section titled “How do I become a keeper of the SHRINE?”
  • Participate: make your presence felt and your ideas heard
  • The keeper pool stays proportionate to the community
  • Enough keepers that no idea gets ignored; few enough that guardianship keeps its meaning
  • Act like a keeper before anyone asks you to