Front Matter Writer Skill for Codex

Front Matter Writer (compatibility router)

Purpose: produce the paper-level shell while preserving the current output contract and approval gate.

Load Order

Always read:

• references/overview.md

Read by task:

• references/abstract_archetypes.md for sections/abstract.md
• references/context_projection.md when adjusting how chapter briefs are projected into Introduction / Related Work context
• references/introduction_jobs.md for Introduction body files
• references/related_work_positioning.md for Related Work body files
• references/discussion_conclusion_patterns.md for sections/discussion.md and sections/conclusion.md
• references/forbidden_stems.md before revising any reader-facing prose
• references/examples_good.md and references/examples_bad.md for calibration only

Machine-readable assets:

• assets/front_matter_context.schema.json
• assets/front_matter_context_schema.json (compatibility alias for checklist-aligned naming)
• assets/front_matter_contract.json
• assets/front_matter_templates.json
• assets/front_matter_context_projection.json

Inputs

Required:

• DECISIONS.md with Approve C2
• outline/outline.yml
• outline/mapping.tsv
• citations/ref.bib

Optional but useful:

• GOAL.md
• queries.md
• papers/retrieval_report.md
• papers/core_set.csv
• outline/coverage_report.md
• outline/writer_context_packs.jsonl

Outputs

Keep the current output contract:

• sections/abstract.md
• sections/S<sec_id>.md for front-matter H2 bodies
• sections/discussion.md
• sections/conclusion.md
• output/FRONT_MATTER_REPORT.md
• output/FRONT_MATTER_CONTEXT.json, including the base template bank, any

selected domain overlay, and their repository-relative SHA-256 hashes

Compatibility mode

Current mode is reference-first with script compatibility:

• writing guidance lives in references/
• the structured job contract lives in assets/front_matter_contract.json
• the hook bank used by the script lives in assets/front_matter_templates.json
• scripts/run.py still owns approval checks, metadata parsing, deterministic hook selection, file emission, and context-sidecar writing

That means:

• preserve current file shapes and approval behavior
• treat the assets as the active semantic source for section jobs, hook banks, and render guardrails
• avoid moving prose policy back into SKILL.md

Script boundary

Use scripts/run.py as a deterministic helper for:

• approval gate enforcement
• front-matter file discovery / path selection
• metadata extraction
• rendering from assets/front_matter_contract.json + assets/front_matter_templates.json
• writing the report and context sidecar

Do not treat the script as the main place for long-form writing guidance.

Output shape rules

Keep these stable:

• sections/abstract.md starts with ## Abstract or ## 摘要
• Introduction / Related Work sections/S<sec_id>.md files are body-only
• sections/discussion.md includes ## Discussion
• sections/conclusion.md includes ## Conclusion
• methodology note appears once in normal prose, not as pipeline/process narration

Quick Start

• uv run python .codex/skills/front-matter-writer/scripts/run.py --workspace <workspace>

Troubleshooting

• If the front matter sounds narrated, reload references/forbidden_stems.md and references/examples_bad.md.
• If Related Work turns into a survey list, reload references/related_work_positioning.md.
• If the asset and the references drift, fix the asset/routing inside this skill package rather than expanding SKILL.md again.

Execution notes

When running this skill in compatibility mode, scripts/run.py currently reads these inputs directly:

• DECISIONS.md for Approve C2
• outline/outline.yml to resolve Introduction / Related Work section ids
• outline/mapping.tsv for front-matter citation placement context
• citations/ref.bib for citation-key scope
• GOAL.md, queries.md, papers/retrieval_report.md, papers/core_set.csv, outline/coverage_report.md, and outline/writer_context_packs.jsonl as optional context sources

Script

Quick Start

• uv run python .codex/skills/front-matter-writer/scripts/run.py --workspace <workspace>

All Options

• --workspace <dir>
• --unit-id <id>
• --inputs <path1;path2>
• --outputs <path1;path2>
• --checkpoint <C*>

Examples

• uv run python .codex/skills/front-matter-writer/scripts/run.py --workspace <workspace>

Troubleshooting

• If DECISIONS.md lacks Approve C2, the script will write a checkpoint block and exit.
• If citations/ref.bib or outline/outline.yml is missing, restore those inputs before rerunning.
• If the front matter feels too template-like, inspect the hook banks / section job graph before touching the script.