---
title: "The fence"
description: "The fence makes the safe path enforceable and makes bypasses fail loudly."
sources:
  - https://github.com/joelhooks/rat-stack/blob/main/AGENTS.md
  - https://github.com/joelhooks/rat-stack/blob/main/oxlint.config.ts
  - https://github.com/joelhooks/rat-stack/blob/main/lefthook.yml
  - https://github.com/joelhooks/rat-stack/blob/main/.brain/resources/lint-rule-limits.svx
---

“Cheating is uncomfortable” means the repo should stop a bad shortcut, not merely ask an agent to behave. Type-aware Oxlint checks project boundaries and patterns. Effect language-service diagnostics run through TypeScript. Lefthook runs checks before a commit, and harness hooks block `git … --no-verify`. The fence wins over prose: if a rule and a paragraph disagree, follow the enforced rule and fix the paragraph.

The pieces live in `oxlint.config.ts`, `scripts/oxlint-plugin-boundaries.ts`, `scripts/oxlint-plugin-patterns.ts`, `tsconfig.base.json`, `lefthook.yml`, and `scripts/vcs-command-policy.js`. `pnpm turbo run check test build` is the repo gate. Do not weaken a hook to get a green result.

A fence has limits. The lint rules use syntax and known aliases; they do not resolve every dynamic import, package condition, or cross-file re-export. The public Brain note [Oxlint rule limits](/resources/lint-rule-limits.svx) lists those edges. Treat a missed case as a reason to improve the rule or boundary, not as proof that lint can establish whole-program behavior.

See [no comments](/lore/no-comments) for one house rule the fence enforces and [tests that earn their place](/lore/tests-that-earn-their-place) for the testing law.