Dorodango

Dorodango Polishing Workflow

Named after the Japanese art of polishing a ball of

dirt into a high-gloss sphere. Applied to code: take

the initial implementation (the "mud ball") and refine

it through successive quality passes until it shines.

When To Use

• After initial implementation is complete and tests

pass

• Code works but needs refinement across multiple

quality dimensions

• Preparing code for review or release
• Resuming a previous polishing session

When NOT To Use

• Code does not compile or pass basic tests (fix first)
• Single-dimension improvement needed (use the specific

skill directly: pensive:code-refinement, etc.)

• Greenfield design phase (use brainstorming instead)

Pass Sequence

Four quality dimensions, each a self-contained pass:

• Correctness - run tests, fix failures
• Clarity - code readability and structure
• Consistency - naming, patterns, style alignment
• Polish - documentation, error messages, edges

See modules/pass-definitions.md for detailed scope

of each pass type.

Convergence Model

• Each pass targets one dimension
• A pass that finds issues_found: 0 marks that

dimension as converged

• Convergence is irreversible per run; a converged

dimension is not re-run

• When all 4 dimensions converge, polishing is complete
• Maximum 10 total passes (hard limit)
• If not converged after 10 passes, surface state to

human with recommendation to split into smaller units

State Persistence

State tracked in .attune/dorodango-state.json:

{
  "target": "plugins/foo",
  "started_at": "2026-03-18T12:00:00Z",
  "pass_count": 3,
  "passes": [
    {
      "type": "correctness",
      "issues_found": 2,
      "issues_fixed": 2
    },
    {
      "type": "clarity",
      "issues_found": 5,
      "issues_fixed": 5
    },
    {
      "type": "consistency",
      "issues_found": 0
    }
  ],
  "converged_dimensions": ["consistency"],
  "converged": false
}

This file enables resume across sessions. On resume,

skip converged dimensions and continue from the next

unconverged dimension.

Subagent Isolation

Each pass dispatches a self-contained subagent to

prevent context accumulation. The subagent receives:

• Target directory/files
• Pass type and scope (from pass-definitions module)
• Previous pass results (summary only, not full context)

Subagent dispatch is optional for targets under 100

lines of code; in-session review is sufficient for

small files.

Workflow

• Initialize state file (or load existing)
• Determine next unconverged dimension
• Dispatch subagent for that dimension
• Record results in state file
• If dimension converged (0 issues), mark it
• If all dimensions converged or 10 passes reached,

stop

• Otherwise, proceed to next dimension

Cross-References

• pensive:code-refinement - used in clarity pass
• conserve:code-quality-principles - KISS/YAGNI/SOLID
• imbue:latent-space-engineering - frame pass prompts

with emotional framing for better results

Exit Criteria

• [ ] .attune/dorodango-state.json exists with "converged": true and all four dimensions

(correctness, clarity, consistency, polish) listed under converged_dimensions.

• [ ] Total pass_count in the state file is <= 10; if 10 passes complete without full

convergence, the skill surfaces the unconverged dimensions to the user with a recommendation

to split the target into smaller units.

• [ ] The correctness dimension converges only after all tests pass (exit code 0); a

correctness pass that finds failing tests never marks the dimension as converged.

• [ ] Each pass is dispatched as a separate subagent for targets over 100 lines, confirmed by

the state file recording individual pass results rather than a single bulk entry.