Agents were placing new private helpers at the top of modules — above their callers — because the usethis-python-code skill had no guidance on intra-module function ordering.

Changes

• usethis-python-code SKILL.md (v1.5 → v1.6): adds a "Ordering functions: the step-down rule" section covering:
  • Procedure — locate the caller first, place the helper below it
  • Key principle — readers encounter a function before its helpers, never after
  • Example showing the bad pattern (helper above caller) vs. the correct ordering
  • Common mistakes — specifically the reflex of adding helpers at the top of the file

# Bad: helper placed above its caller
def _format_version(v: str) -> str:
    return v.strip()

def get_version() -> str:
    return _format_version(read_version_file())

# Good: caller first, helper below
def get_version() -> str:
    return _format_version(read_version_file())

def _format_version(v: str) -> str:
    return v.strip()