---
id: limit-diff-size
track: coding
version: 0.0.4
label: advisory
keyword: advise
where: text
sha256: d8d7f3db55af998760999b9dad86d936ddc205d2315404aaa590b7ae7ea8c176
source: https://github.com/open-coder-ai/chock-catalog/tree/1e60d211c1bb767152c6ab0167932da06ab3a10f/base/limit-diff-size
catalog_ref: 1e60d211c1bb767152c6ab0167932da06ab3a10f
---

# Keep Changes Small Enough to Review

limit-diff-size · version 0.0.4

Advisory — Advisory only. It is skill text, and nothing stops a violation. Chock adds friction. It is not a security boundary. 

In a git repo: at commit (Chock refuses the commit, locally and in CI.)

 Advisory inside the agent. In a repo set up with chock init, chock enforces it at commit.

## What it does

Trigger: staging a large change, committing more than a reviewer can read at once. avoid: one commit carrying hundreds of hand-written lines; lockfile and generated churn is not counted.

## Its label on each agent

- Claude Code (tested): Advisory — Advisory only. It is skill text, and nothing stops a violation. Builder: /coding/builder/#client=claude-code&p=limit-diff-size
- Cursor (tested): Advisory — Text only in a plugin. Nothing in the plugin stops a violation. The plugin does not carry the enforcement the manifest declares. Builder: /coding/builder/#client=cursor&p=limit-diff-size
- Codex (tested): Advisory — Text only in a plugin. Nothing in the plugin stops a violation. The plugin does not carry the enforcement the manifest declares. Builder: /coding/builder/#client=codex&p=limit-diff-size
- GitHub Copilot (tested): Advisory — Text only in a plugin. Nothing in the plugin stops a violation. The plugin does not carry the enforcement the manifest declares. Builder: /coding/builder/#client=copilot&p=limit-diff-size
- Devin (tested): Advisory — Text only in a plugin. Nothing in the plugin stops a violation. The plugin does not carry the enforcement the manifest declares. Builder: /coding/builder/#client=devin&p=limit-diff-size
- Grok (tested): Not graded yet for Grok. Builder: /coding/builder/#client=grok&p=limit-diff-size
- goose (tested): Not graded yet for goose. Builder: /coding/builder/#client=goose&p=limit-diff-size
- Antigravity (tested): Not graded yet for Antigravity. Builder: /coding/builder/#client=antigravity&p=limit-diff-size
- OpenHands (untested): Not graded yet for OpenHands. Builder: /coding/builder/#client=openhands&p=limit-diff-size
- Kimi Code (untested): Not graded yet for Kimi Code. Builder: /coding/builder/#client=kimi-code&p=limit-diff-size
- Factory Droid (untested): Not graded yet for Factory Droid. Builder: /coding/builder/#client=factory-droid&p=limit-diff-size

## What it misses

This policy does not state what it misses.

## Examples

- Asks: The commit stages 501 hand-written lines, one over the limit.
- Allowed: The commit stages exactly 500 lines.

## Latest change

0.0.4 · 2026-10-27 — Title wording only (IR-F40): "Limit Diff Size Rule" is now "Keep Changes Small Enough to Review". The id, guard and tests are unchanged.

## Provenance

- Tested by 3 of 11 cases run automatically
- SHA-256: `d8d7f3db55af998760999b9dad86d936ddc205d2315404aaa590b7ae7ea8c176`
- Catalog commit: https://github.com/open-coder-ai/chock-catalog/commit/1e60d211c1bb767152c6ab0167932da06ab3a10f
- Source: https://github.com/open-coder-ai/chock-catalog/tree/1e60d211c1bb767152c6ab0167932da06ab3a10f/base/limit-diff-size (catalog path `base/limit-diff-size`)
- Presets: Git hygiene
- JSON: `/api/coding/policies/limit-diff-size.json`
- Report a problem: https://chock.sh/report/?policy=limit-diff-size&version=0.0.4&page=%2Fcoding%2Fpolicies%2Flimit-diff-size%2F