Give historical API probes a precise validation contract

When a check only needs to know that old code still compiles, compile it.

Prompt

Evaluate and apply this CI technique to my repository: Give historical API probes a precise validation contract.

When a check only needs to know that old code still compiles, compile it.

Read the technique and its source-backed company examples: https://starsling.dev/ci-playbooks/techniques/compile-historical-api-probes.md

Inspect this repository’s CI workflows, build and test commands, dependencies, and recent run timings. Identify where this technique applies and explain the expected benefit using this repository’s evidence.
Measure a baseline from recent comparable runs: elapsed time, queue time, runner minutes and failures where available. If data is unavailable, say what cannot be measured.
Compare relevant company approaches, checking prerequisites, platform differences and tradeoffs. Rank applicable options by evidence, fit and measurable opportunity; do not present company results as predictions for this repo.
Recommend the smallest safe change, show what checks and fallback paths remain, and ASK ME WHICH CHANGE TO APPROVE BEFORE EDITING ANY FILES.
Only after approval, work on a new feature branch, make one reversible change, and open a reviewable pull request. Never merge or push to a default or protected branch.
Keep required checks, test coverage, deployment and release behavior intact. Validate the change and compare equivalent runs where possible; report limitations and what should be monitored after merge.

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How OpenAI used this technique

Read what OpenAI changed and follow the original sources.

Give historical API probes a precise validation contract

The Go SDK's breaking-change detector restores deleted tests from a baseline and checks that they still build against the current code. It now runs go test -c with vet off for that check, and current-tree lint stays in the normal CI workflow.

Breaking-change detector compiles; current-tree lint stays in CI Source

Use it when: A compatibility check runs a full lint when its contract is whether historical code still compiles.
Before applying it: Compile-only checking runs no behavior tests or vet. Use it only for an explicit compile-compatibility contract, with lint and tests still required elsewhere.

How OpenAI used this technique

Give historical API probes a precise validation contract

Company Playbooks