Ripple Awareness

TL;DR

When X changes, what else must update? Before committing: grep for references, check cross-file dependencies, update docs that mention the changed thing. The commit that changes code but not its docs is a debt bomb.

The Instinct

Every change ripples. The question is how far.

Before committing, ask: what references the thing I just changed?

Ripple Checklist

You changed...	Also check...
A function name	All callers (grep -rn "oldName"), tests, docs that reference it
A file path	Imports, configs, READMEs, scripts that reference the old path
An API endpoint	Frontend calls, tests, docs, OpenAPI specs
A config key	Env files, docker-compose, CI configs, docs
A dependency version	Lock file, CI matrix, other packages that depend on it
A protocol or muscle	The digest line, any MAP that references it, the body if it's loaded
A template	Any docs that show the old template format

How to Check

# Before committing: grep for the old name/path
grep -rn "old_thing" . --include="*.md" --include="*.ts" --include="*.json"

# For renames: check nothing still references the old name
grep -rn "oldFunctionName" . | grep -v node_modules

The Pattern

1. Make the change
2. Grep for references to the old version
3. Update every reference found
4. Grep again to confirm zero matches
5. Commit

Skip step 2-4 and you ship a drift bomb — something that works today and confuses someone tomorrow.

heat: 0

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