Out-of-Scope Knowledge Base
The .out-of-scope/ directory in a repo stores persistent records of rejected feature requests. It serves two purposes:
- Institutional memory — why a feature was rejected, so the reasoning isn't lost when the issue is closed
- Deduplication — when a new issue comes in that matches a prior rejection, the skill can surface the previous decision instead of re-litigating it
Directory structure
.out-of-scope/
├── dark-mode.md
├── plugin-system.md
└── graphql-api.mdOne file per concept, not per issue. Multiple issues requesting the same thing are grouped under one file.
File format
The file should be written in a relaxed, readable style — more like a short design document than a database entry. Use paragraphs, code samples, and examples to make the reasoning clear and useful to someone encountering it for the first time.
# Dark Mode
This project does not support dark mode or user-facing theming.
## Why this is out of scope
The rendering pipeline assumes a single color palette defined in
`ThemeConfig`. Supporting multiple themes would require:
- A theme context provider wrapping the entire component tree
- Per-component theme-aware style resolution
- A persistence layer for user theme preferences
This is a significant architectural change that doesn't align with the
project's focus on content authoring. Theming is a concern for downstream
consumers who embed or redistribute the output.
// The current ThemeConfig interface is not designed for runtime switching: interface ThemeConfig { colors: ColorPalette; // single palette, resolved at build time fonts: FontStack; }
## Prior requests
- #42 — "Add dark mode support"
- #87 — "Night theme for accessibility"
- #134 — "Dark theme option"Naming the file
Use a short, descriptive kebab-case name for the concept: dark-mode.md, plugin-system.md, graphql-api.md. The name should be recognizable enough that someone browsing the directory understands what was rejected without opening the file.
Writing the reason
The reason should be substantive — not "we don't want this" but why. Good reasons reference:
- Project scope or philosophy ("This project focuses on X; theming is a downstream concern")
- Technical constraints ("Supporting this would require Y, which conflicts with our Z architecture")
- Strategic decisions ("We chose to use A instead of B because...")
The reason should be durable. Avoid referencing temporary circumstances ("we're too busy right now") — those aren't real rejections, they're deferrals.
When to check .out-of-scope/
During triage (Step 1: Gather context), read all files in .out-of-scope/. When evaluating a new issue:
- Check if the request matches an existing out-of-scope concept
- Matching is by concept similarity, not keyword — "night theme" matches
dark-mode.md - If there's a match, surface it to the maintainer: "This is similar to
.out-of-scope/dark-mode.md— we rejected this before because [reason]. Do you still feel the same way?"
The maintainer may:
- Confirm — the new issue gets added to the existing file's "Prior requests" list, then closed
- Reconsider — the out-of-scope file gets deleted or updated, and the issue proceeds through normal triage
- Disagree — the issues are related but distinct, proceed with normal triage
When to write to .out-of-scope/
Only when an enhancement (not a bug) is rejected as wontfix. The flow:
- Maintainer decides a feature request is out of scope
- Check if a matching
.out-of-scope/file already exists - If yes: append the new issue to the "Prior requests" list
- If no: create a new file with the concept name, decision, reason, and first prior request
- Post a comment on the issue explaining the decision and mentioning the
.out-of-scope/file - Close the issue with the
wontfixlabel
Updating or removing out-of-scope files
If the maintainer changes their mind about a previously rejected concept:
- Delete the
.out-of-scope/file - The skill does not need to reopen old issues — they're historical records
- The new issue that triggered the reconsideration proceeds through normal triage