diff --git a/.changeset/retro-deterministic-checks.md b/.changeset/retro-deterministic-checks.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d4865b0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/retro-deterministic-checks.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"mattpocock-skills": patch
+---
+
+retro: classify coding-standards findings as mechanical or judgement calls before writing them. A mechanical violation (a fixed syntactic pattern, a banned API, an import shape, a file-location rule) now gets a deterministic check instead (a linter rule, a pre-commit hook, or a CI job), reserving `CODING_STANDARDS.md` for genuine judgement calls. Automated checks also now flags a repo with no guardrail at all (no pre-commit hook, no CI lint/typecheck/test job) as a finding in its own right.
diff --git a/skills/in-progress/retro/SKILL.md b/skills/in-progress/retro/SKILL.md
index f5fed82..12149ac 100644
--- a/skills/in-progress/retro/SKILL.md
+++ b/skills/in-progress/retro/SKILL.md
@@ -15,8 +15,8 @@ The user has asked for a **retrospective**. You are suggesting improvements to t
 3. Look for candidates for improvement in these categories.
 
 - **Navigation**: how easy was it for the agent to find the right files? Are there hidden dependencies between files? Would a **navigation pointer** make it easier? _Use when_ the session took a long time to find a piece of information.
-- **Automated checks**: are there automated checks that could catch errors the agent made? Linting, typing, tests, filesystem linters? _Use when_ the agent made a mistake that could have been caught by an automated check.
-- **Coding standards**: should the **reviewer agent** be given a new rule to enforce? Should an existing rule be removed or clarified? _Use when_ the reviewer agent failed to catch a mistake.
+- **Automated checks**: are there automated checks that could catch errors the agent made? Linting, typing, tests, filesystem linters? Read the repo's own check command first (its `package.json`/build-tool `lint`/`check` scripts, its CI workflow), so a check that already exists but sits unwired or silently broken is the finding, not a reinvention. A repo with no **guardrail** (no pre-commit hook and no CI job running its lint/typecheck/test command) is itself a finding: an un-linted repo is a standing missed opportunity, not a neutral default. _Use when_ the agent made a mistake an automated check could have caught, or the repo has no guardrail at all.
+- **Coding standards**: should the **reviewer agent** be given a new rule to enforce? Should an existing rule be removed or clarified? Classify the violation first: a **mechanical** one (a fixed syntactic pattern, a banned API, an import shape, a file-location rule) gets a deterministic check, full stop: a custom rule in the repo's own linter, a new pre-commit hook, or a new CI job, whichever the repo's language and existing guardrail make cheapest. Default to building the check over writing the rule. Reserve `CODING_STANDARDS.md` for genuine **judgement calls** (cross-file consistency, "matches the surrounding style," anything no guardrail could ever substitute for). _Use when_ the reviewer agent failed to catch a mistake.
 - **Global AGENTS.md**: are there any steering instructions that should be moved to coding standards (or automated checks) instead? _Use when_ the AGENTS.md file is particularly large - in the repo OR the user's global scope.
 - **Tool economy**: did the agent make expensive tool calls that could be streamlined? Is there any custom tooling (CLI's, MCP's) that is particularly token-inefficient? _Use when_ the agent made an expensive tool call.
 - **No-ops**: look for instructions in steering files that don't modify the agent's behavior. _Use when_ the steering files are large and unwieldy.