Tracer Bullets

Name: Tracer Bullets
Author: oakoss

oakoss/agent-skills

69 installs
14 repo stars
Updated March 2, 2026
oakoss/agent-skills

Helps with ai & agent building tasks during AI-assisted development.

About

tracer-bullets is a Claude Code skill for ai & agent building. It helps solo builders move faster with AI-assisted coding.

tracer-bullets
AI & Agent Building
AI-coding skill

Tracer Bullets by the numbers

69 all-time installs (skills.sh)
+3 installs in the week ending Aug 4, 2026 (Skillselion tracking)
Ranked #5,786 of 16,546 AI & Agent Building skills by installs in the Skillselion catalog
Data as of Aug 4, 2026 (Skillselion catalog sync)

npx skills add https://github.com/oakoss/agent-skills --skill tracer-bullets

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Installs	69
repo stars	★ 14
Last updated	March 2, 2026
Repository	oakoss/agent-skills ↗

What it does

Helps with ai & agent building tasks during AI-assisted development.

Files

SKILL.mdMarkdownGitHub ↗

Tracer Bullets

Build features as vertical slices through all layers, verifying each slice before starting the next. From The Pragmatic Programmer: get feedback as quickly as possible. Don't build horizontal layers in isolation (all endpoints, then all UI, then all tests). Build one thin vertical path, verify it works, then expand.

Skip for single-layer changes, one-file bug fixes, or work already decomposed into ordered vertical slices by a task tracker.

Quick Reference

Principle	Practice
Vertical over horizontal	Build one slice through all layers, not one layer across all features
Verify before advancing	Tests pass, page renders, round-trip works before next slice
One slice per session	Each slice should be completable in a single agent session
First feature sets pattern	First CRUD establishes conventions; subsequent CRUDs go faster
Check before building	Task trackers may already decompose the work into slices
Skip when trivial	Single-layer work or proven patterns don't need this ceremony

CRUD Feature Slices

Slice	Scope	Verifies
1	Backend/API + tests (no UI)	Data layer works, conventions set, tests prove it
2	List page with real data	Data flows DB -> server -> rendered page
3	Create dialog	Full round-trip: form -> server -> DB -> refresh
4	Edit + delete	Full CRUD cycle, mutation patterns, confirm dialog
5	E2E test	Locks in the whole feature

Non-CRUD Adaptations

Same principle, different slices:

Import flow: parse one row -> display one row -> validate + dedupe -> review + commit
Dashboard: one widget with real data -> empty/onboarding state -> layout with all widgets
Search/palette: one entity type -> all entity types -> quick actions
Multi-step wizard: first step end-to-end -> add steps one at a time -> final submission

Common Mistakes

Mistake	Correct Pattern
Building all API endpoints before any UI	Build one endpoint + its UI + its test, then the next
Starting UI before the backend is tested	Slice 1 is backend-only with tests; prove the data layer first
Building the full create/edit/delete UI in one pass	Create dialog first (slice 3), then edit + delete (slice 4)
Skipping verification between slices	Run tests and check output before starting the next slice
Making slices too large for one session	Split further; a slice that can't finish in one session is too big
Applying tracer bullets to trivial single-layer work	Skip for one component, one utility, or patterns already proven

Delegation

Decompose into subtasks: Use the project's task tracker to create ordered vertical subtasks before writing code
Isolate each slice: Delegate each slice to a subagent so failures stay contained and context stays fresh
Find slice boundaries for non-CRUD work: Pick the smallest path through all layers as slice 1, then expand