---
date: 2026-03-04T01:40:21+01:00
git_commit: a55174b32333d0f46a55d94a50604344d1ba33f6
branch: master
topic: "Backpressure for Agentic Coding"
tags: [plan, backpressure, hooks, checkstyle, spotbugs, archunit, quality]
status: complete
---

# Backpressure for Agentic Coding — Implementation Plan

## Overview

Implement automated feedback mechanisms (backpressure) that force the AI agent to self-correct before a human reviews the output. The approach follows the 90/10 rule: 90% deterministic constraints (types, linting, architecture tests), 10% agentic review.

## Current State vs. Desired State

| Layer | Backend (now) | Backend (after) | Frontend (now) | Frontend (after) |
|-------|---------------|-----------------|----------------|------------------|
| Type System | Java 25 (strong) | *unchanged* | TS strict + `noUncheckedIndexedAccess` | *unchanged* |
| Static Analysis | **None** | Checkstyle (Google Style) + SpotBugs | ESLint + oxlint + Prettier | *unchanged* |
| Architecture Tests | **None** | ArchUnit (hexagonal enforcement) | N/A | N/A |
| Unit Tests | JUnit 5 | JUnit 5 + fail-fast (`skipAfterFailureCount: 1`) | Vitest | Vitest + fail-fast (`bail: 1`) |
| PostToolUse Hook | **None** | `./mvnw compile -q` (incl. Checkstyle) | **None** | `vue-tsc --noEmit` |
| Stop Hook | **None** | `./mvnw test` | **None** | `npm run test:unit -- --run` |

## What We're NOT Doing

- **Error Prone** — overlaps with SpotBugs, Java 25 compatibility uncertain, more invasive setup
- **Custom ESLint rules** — add later when recurring agent mistakes are observed
- **MCP LSP Server** — experimental, high setup cost, unclear benefit vs. hooks
- **Pre-commit git hooks** — orthogonal concern, not part of this plan
- **CI/CD pipeline** — out of scope, this is about local agent feedback

## Design Decisions

- **Hook matchers** are regex on **tool names** (not file paths). File-path filtering must happen inside the hook script via `tool_input.file_path` from stdin JSON.
- **Context-efficient output**: ✓ on success, full error on failure. Don't waste the agent's context window with passing output.
- **Fail-fast**: one failure at a time. Prevents context-switching between multiple bugs.
- **Stop hook** checks `git status --porcelain` to determine if code files changed. Skips test runs on conversational responses.
- **Checkstyle** bound to Maven `validate` phase — automatically triggered by `./mvnw compile`, which means the PostToolUse hook gets Checkstyle for free.
- **SpotBugs** bound to Maven `verify` phase — NOT hooked, run manually via `./mvnw verify`.
- **ArchUnit**: use `archunit-junit5` 1.4.1 only. Do NOT use `archunit-hexagonal` addon (dormant since Jul 2023, pulls Kotlin, pinned to ArchUnit 1.0.1, expects different package naming).

---

## Task List

Tasks are ordered by priority. Execute one task per iteration, in order. Each task includes the exact changes and a verification command.

### T-BP-01: Create backend compile-check hook script `[x]`

**File**: `.claude/hooks/backend-compile-check.sh` (new, create `.claude/hooks/` directory if needed)

```bash
#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euo pipefail

# Read hook input from stdin (JSON with tool_input.file_path)
INPUT=$(cat)
FILE_PATH=$(echo "$INPUT" | python3 -c "import sys,json; print(json.load(sys.stdin).get('tool_input',{}).get('file_path',''))" 2>/dev/null || echo "")

# Only run for Java files under backend/
case "$FILE_PATH" in
    */backend/src/*.java) ;;
    *) exit 0 ;;
esac

cd "$CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR/backend"

# Run compile (includes validate phase → Checkstyle if configured)
# Context-efficient: suppress output on success, show full output on failure
if OUTPUT=$(./mvnw compile -q 2>&1); then
    echo '{"hookSpecificOutput":{"hookEventName":"PostToolUse","additionalContext":"✓ Backend compile passed."}}'
else
    ESCAPED=$(echo "$OUTPUT" | python3 -c "import sys,json; print(json.dumps(sys.stdin.read()))")
    echo "{\"hookSpecificOutput\":{\"hookEventName\":\"PostToolUse\",\"additionalContext\":$ESCAPED}}"
fi
```

Make executable: `chmod +x .claude/hooks/backend-compile-check.sh`

**Verify**: `echo '{"tool_input":{"file_path":"backend/src/main/java/de/fete/FeteApplication.java"}}' | CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR=. .claude/hooks/backend-compile-check.sh` → should output JSON with "✓ Backend compile passed."

**Verify skip**: `echo '{"tool_input":{"file_path":"README.md"}}' | CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR=. .claude/hooks/backend-compile-check.sh` → should exit 0 silently.

---

### T-BP-02: Create frontend type-check hook script `[x]`

**File**: `.claude/hooks/frontend-type-check.sh` (new)

```bash
#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euo pipefail

# Read hook input from stdin (JSON with tool_input.file_path)
INPUT=$(cat)
FILE_PATH=$(echo "$INPUT" | python3 -c "import sys,json; print(json.load(sys.stdin).get('tool_input',{}).get('file_path',''))" 2>/dev/null || echo "")

# Only run for TS/Vue files under frontend/
case "$FILE_PATH" in
    */frontend/src/*.ts|*/frontend/src/*.vue) ;;
    *) exit 0 ;;
esac

cd "$CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR/frontend"

# Run type-check
# Context-efficient: suppress output on success, show full output on failure
if OUTPUT=$(npx vue-tsc --noEmit 2>&1); then
    echo '{"hookSpecificOutput":{"hookEventName":"PostToolUse","additionalContext":"✓ Frontend type-check passed."}}'
else
    ESCAPED=$(echo "$OUTPUT" | python3 -c "import sys,json; print(json.dumps(sys.stdin.read()))")
    echo "{\"hookSpecificOutput\":{\"hookEventName\":\"PostToolUse\",\"additionalContext\":$ESCAPED}}"
fi
```

Make executable: `chmod +x .claude/hooks/frontend-type-check.sh`

**Verify**: `echo '{"tool_input":{"file_path":"frontend/src/App.vue"}}' | CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR=. .claude/hooks/frontend-type-check.sh` → should output JSON with "✓ Frontend type-check passed."

---

### T-BP-03: Create stop hook script (test gate) `[x]`

**File**: `.claude/hooks/run-tests.sh` (new)

Runs after the agent finishes its response. Checks `git status` for changed source files and runs the relevant test suites. Skips on conversational responses (no code changes).

```bash
#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euo pipefail

cd "$CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR"

# Check for uncommitted changes in backend/frontend source
HAS_BACKEND=$(git status --porcelain backend/src/ 2>/dev/null | head -1)
HAS_FRONTEND=$(git status --porcelain frontend/src/ 2>/dev/null | head -1)

# Nothing changed — skip
if [[ -z "$HAS_BACKEND" && -z "$HAS_FRONTEND" ]]; then
    exit 0
fi

ERRORS=""
PASSED=""

# Run backend tests if Java sources changed
if [[ -n "$HAS_BACKEND" ]]; then
    if OUTPUT=$(cd backend && ./mvnw test -q 2>&1); then
        PASSED+="✓ Backend tests passed. "
    else
        ERRORS+="Backend tests failed:\n$OUTPUT\n\n"
    fi
fi

# Run frontend tests if TS/Vue sources changed
if [[ -n "$HAS_FRONTEND" ]]; then
    if OUTPUT=$(cd frontend && npm run test:unit -- --run 2>&1); then
        PASSED+="✓ Frontend tests passed. "
    else
        ERRORS+="Frontend tests failed:\n$OUTPUT\n\n"
    fi
fi

if [[ -n "$ERRORS" ]]; then
    ESCAPED=$(printf '%s' "$ERRORS" | python3 -c "import sys,json; print(json.dumps(sys.stdin.read()))")
    echo "{\"hookSpecificOutput\":{\"hookEventName\":\"Stop\",\"additionalContext\":$ESCAPED}}"
else
    echo "{\"hookSpecificOutput\":{\"hookEventName\":\"Stop\",\"additionalContext\":\"$PASSED\"}}"
fi
```

Make executable: `chmod +x .claude/hooks/run-tests.sh`

**Verify**: `CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR=. .claude/hooks/run-tests.sh` → if no uncommitted changes in source dirs, should exit 0 silently.

---

### T-BP-04: Create `.claude/settings.json` with hook configuration `[x]`

**File**: `.claude/settings.json` (new — do NOT modify `.claude/settings.local.json`, that has permissions)

```json
{
  "hooks": {
    "PostToolUse": [
      {
        "matcher": "Edit|Write",
        "hooks": [
          {
            "type": "command",
            "command": "\"$CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR/.claude/hooks/backend-compile-check.sh\"",
            "timeout": 120
          },
          {
            "type": "command",
            "command": "\"$CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR/.claude/hooks/frontend-type-check.sh\"",
            "timeout": 60
          }
        ]
      }
    ],
    "Stop": [
      {
        "hooks": [
          {
            "type": "command",
            "command": "\"$CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR/.claude/hooks/run-tests.sh\"",
            "timeout": 300
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}
```

**Verify**: File exists and is valid JSON: `python3 -c "import json; json.load(open('.claude/settings.json'))"`

---

### T-BP-05: Configure Vitest fail-fast `[x]`

**File**: `frontend/vitest.config.ts` (modify)

Add `bail: 1` to the test configuration object. The result should look like:

```typescript
export default mergeConfig(
  viteConfig,
  defineConfig({
    test: {
      environment: 'jsdom',
      exclude: [...configDefaults.exclude, 'e2e/**'],
      root: fileURLToPath(new URL('./', import.meta.url)),
      bail: 1,
    },
  }),
)
```

**Verify**: `cd frontend && npm run test:unit -- --run` passes.

---

### T-BP-06: Configure Maven Surefire fail-fast `[x]`

**File**: `backend/pom.xml` (modify)

Add `maven-surefire-plugin` configuration within `<build><plugins>`:

```xml
<plugin>
    <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
    <artifactId>maven-surefire-plugin</artifactId>
    <configuration>
        <!-- Fail-fast: stop on first test failure -->
        <skipAfterFailureCount>1</skipAfterFailureCount>
    </configuration>
</plugin>
```

**Verify**: `cd backend && ./mvnw test` passes.

---

### T-BP-07: Add Checkstyle plugin + fix violations `[x]`

**File**: `backend/pom.xml` (modify)

Add `maven-checkstyle-plugin` within `<build><plugins>`:

```xml
<plugin>
    <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
    <artifactId>maven-checkstyle-plugin</artifactId>
    <version>3.6.0</version>
    <dependencies>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>com.puppycrawl.tools</groupId>
            <artifactId>checkstyle</artifactId>
            <version>13.3.0</version>
        </dependency>
    </dependencies>
    <configuration>
        <configLocation>google_checks.xml</configLocation>
        <consoleOutput>true</consoleOutput>
        <failOnViolation>true</failOnViolation>
        <violationSeverity>warning</violationSeverity>
    </configuration>
    <executions>
        <execution>
            <id>checkstyle-validate</id>
            <phase>validate</phase>
            <goals>
                <goal>check</goal>
            </goals>
        </execution>
    </executions>
</plugin>
```

Then run `cd backend && ./mvnw checkstyle:check` to find violations. Fix all violations in existing source files (`FeteApplication.java`, `HealthController.java`, `FeteApplicationTest.java`, all `package-info.java` files). Google Style requires: 2-space indentation, specific import order, Javadoc on public types, max line length 100.

**Verify**: `cd backend && ./mvnw checkstyle:check` passes with zero violations AND `cd backend && ./mvnw compile` passes (Checkstyle now runs during validate phase).

---

### T-BP-08: Add SpotBugs plugin + verify `[x]`

**File**: `backend/pom.xml` (modify)

Add `spotbugs-maven-plugin` within `<build><plugins>`:

```xml
<plugin>
    <groupId>com.github.spotbugs</groupId>
    <artifactId>spotbugs-maven-plugin</artifactId>
    <version>4.9.8.2</version>
    <configuration>
        <effort>Max</effort>
        <threshold>Low</threshold>
        <xmlOutput>true</xmlOutput>
        <failOnError>true</failOnError>
    </configuration>
    <executions>
        <execution>
            <goals>
                <goal>check</goal>
            </goals>
        </execution>
    </executions>
</plugin>
```

Run `cd backend && ./mvnw verify` — if SpotBugs finds issues, fix them.

**Verify**: `cd backend && ./mvnw verify` passes (includes compile + test + SpotBugs).

---

### T-BP-09: Add ArchUnit dependency + write architecture tests `[x]`

**File 1**: `backend/pom.xml` (modify) — add within `<dependencies>`:

```xml
<dependency>
    <groupId>com.tngtech.archunit</groupId>
    <artifactId>archunit-junit5</artifactId>
    <version>1.4.1</version>
    <scope>test</scope>
</dependency>
```

Do NOT use the `archunit-hexagonal` addon.

**File 2**: `backend/src/test/java/de/fete/HexagonalArchitectureTest.java` (new)

```java
package de.fete;

import com.tngtech.archunit.core.importer.ImportOption;
import com.tngtech.archunit.junit.AnalyzeClasses;
import com.tngtech.archunit.junit.ArchTest;
import com.tngtech.archunit.lang.ArchRule;

import static com.tngtech.archunit.lang.syntax.ArchRuleDefinition.classes;
import static com.tngtech.archunit.lang.syntax.ArchRuleDefinition.noClasses;
import static com.tngtech.archunit.library.Architectures.onionArchitecture;

@AnalyzeClasses(packages = "de.fete", importOptions = ImportOption.DoNotIncludeTests.class)
class HexagonalArchitectureTest {

    @ArchTest
    static final ArchRule onion_architecture_is_respected = onionArchitecture()
            .domainModels("de.fete.domain.model..")
            .domainServices("de.fete.domain.port.in..", "de.fete.domain.port.out..")
            .applicationServices("de.fete.application.service..")
            .adapter("web", "de.fete.adapter.in.web..")
            .adapter("persistence", "de.fete.adapter.out.persistence..")
            .adapter("config", "de.fete.config..");

    @ArchTest
    static final ArchRule domain_must_not_depend_on_adapters = noClasses()
            .that().resideInAPackage("de.fete.domain..")
            .should().dependOnClassesThat().resideInAPackage("de.fete.adapter..");

    @ArchTest
    static final ArchRule domain_must_not_depend_on_application = noClasses()
            .that().resideInAPackage("de.fete.domain..")
            .should().dependOnClassesThat().resideInAPackage("de.fete.application..");

    @ArchTest
    static final ArchRule domain_must_not_depend_on_config = noClasses()
            .that().resideInAPackage("de.fete.domain..")
            .should().dependOnClassesThat().resideInAPackage("de.fete.config..");

    @ArchTest
    static final ArchRule inbound_ports_must_be_interfaces = classes()
            .that().resideInAPackage("de.fete.domain.port.in..")
            .should().beInterfaces();

    @ArchTest
    static final ArchRule outbound_ports_must_be_interfaces = classes()
            .that().resideInAPackage("de.fete.domain.port.out..")
            .should().beInterfaces();

    @ArchTest
    static final ArchRule domain_must_not_use_spring = noClasses()
            .that().resideInAPackage("de.fete.domain..")
            .should().dependOnClassesThat().resideInAPackage("org.springframework..");

    @ArchTest
    static final ArchRule web_must_not_depend_on_persistence = noClasses()
            .that().resideInAPackage("de.fete.adapter.in.web..")
            .should().dependOnClassesThat().resideInAPackage("de.fete.adapter.out.persistence..");

    @ArchTest
    static final ArchRule persistence_must_not_depend_on_web = noClasses()
            .that().resideInAPackage("de.fete.adapter.out.persistence..")
            .should().dependOnClassesThat().resideInAPackage("de.fete.adapter.in.web..");
}
```

**Verify**: `cd backend && ./mvnw test` passes and output shows `HexagonalArchitectureTest` with 9 tests.

---

### T-BP-10: Update CLAUDE.md `[x]`

**File**: `CLAUDE.md` (modify)

Add two rows to the Build Commands table:

| What | Command |
|------|---------|
| Backend checkstyle | `cd backend && ./mvnw checkstyle:check` |
| Backend full verify | `cd backend && ./mvnw verify` |

---

### T-BP-11: Final verification `[x]`

Run all verification commands to confirm the complete backpressure stack works:

1. `test -x .claude/hooks/backend-compile-check.sh`
2. `test -x .claude/hooks/frontend-type-check.sh`
3. `test -x .claude/hooks/run-tests.sh`
4. `python3 -c "import json; json.load(open('.claude/settings.json'))"`
5. `cd backend && ./mvnw verify` (triggers: Checkstyle → compile → test w/ ArchUnit → SpotBugs)
6. `cd frontend && npm run test:unit -- --run`
7. `echo '{"tool_input":{"file_path":"backend/src/main/java/de/fete/FeteApplication.java"}}' | CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR=. .claude/hooks/backend-compile-check.sh`
8. `echo '{"tool_input":{"file_path":"frontend/src/App.vue"}}' | CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR=. .claude/hooks/frontend-type-check.sh`
9. `echo '{"tool_input":{"file_path":"README.md"}}' | CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR=. .claude/hooks/backend-compile-check.sh` (should be silent)

All commands must exit 0. If any fail, go back and fix the issue before marking complete.

---

## Addendum: Implementation Deviations (2026-03-04)

Changes made during implementation that deviate from or extend the original plan:

1. **Stop hook JSON schema**: The plan used `hookSpecificOutput` with `hookEventName: "Stop"` for the stop hook output. This is invalid — `hookSpecificOutput` is only supported for `PreToolUse`, `PostToolUse`, and `UserPromptSubmit` events. Fixed to use top-level `"decision": "approve"/"block"` with `"reason"` field.

2. **Stop hook loop prevention**: Added `stop_hook_active` check from stdin JSON to prevent infinite re-engagement loops. Not in original plan.

3. **Context-efficient test output**: Added `logback-test.xml` (root level WARN), `redirectTestOutputToFile=true`, and `trimStackTrace=true` to Surefire config. The stop hook script filters output to `[ERROR]` lines only, stripping Maven boilerplate. Not in original plan — added after observing that raw test failure output consumed excessive context.

4. **Hook path matching**: Case patterns in hook scripts extended to match both absolute and relative file paths (`*/backend/src/*.java|backend/src/*.java`). Original plan only had `*/backend/src/*.java` which doesn't match relative paths.

5. **Checkstyle `includeTestSourceDirectory`**: Set to `true` so test sources also follow Google Style. Not in original plan. `FeteApplicationTest.java` was reformatted to 2-space indentation with correct import order (static imports first).

6. **ArchUnit field naming**: Changed from `snake_case` (`onion_architecture_is_respected`) to `camelCase` (`onionArchitectureIsRespected`) to comply with Google Checkstyle rules.

---

## References

- Research document: `docs/agents/research/2026-03-04-backpressure-agentic-coding.md`
- Geoffrey Huntley: [Don't waste your back pressure](https://ghuntley.com/pressure/)
- JW: [If you don't engineer backpressure, you'll get slopped](https://jw.hn/engineering-backpressure)
- HumanLayer: [Context-Efficient Backpressure for Coding Agents](https://www.hlyr.dev/blog/context-efficient-backpressure)
- Claude Code: [Hooks Reference](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/hooks)
- ArchUnit: [User Guide](https://www.archunit.org/userguide/html/000_Index.html)