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Matt PocockandClaude Opus 4.8 42a5b70fca feat: ship the skill set as a native Claude Code plugin
Add a Claude Code plugin marketplace so the promoted skills can be
installed as a managed, read-only bundle (subscribe rather than fork),
alongside the existing skills.sh installer.

- Enrich .claude-plugin/plugin.json with marketplace metadata (version,
  description, author, license, keywords); keep the curated promoted-only
  skills array.
- Add .claude-plugin/marketplace.json making the repo its own
  single-plugin marketplace (mattpocock-skills@mattpocock).
- README: document /plugin install alongside skills.sh, and the
  subscribe-vs-fork tradeoff.
- CLAUDE.md: extend the promoted-set invariant to cover marketplace.json
  and plugin.json/package.json version sync.
- ADR 0002: record why Claude ships now and a native Codex plugin is
  deferred (Codex skills field is single-path + drops symlinks, which
  can't express a curated subset of a bucketed repo without a restructure).

Verified: 'claude plugin validate . --strict' passes, and marketplace
add -> install resolves all 21 promoted skills at v1.2.0.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-07-13 10:14:22 +01:00
12 changed files with 121 additions and 27 deletions
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
# Ship the skill set as a native Claude Code plugin; defer a native Codex plugin
These skills have always been installable via [skills.sh](https://skills.sh/mattpocock/skills) (`npx skills add mattpocock/skills`), which copies editable skill files into a user's project across Claude Code, Codex, and other Agent-Skills-standard harnesses. A recurring request is a **plug-and-play** distribution: subscribe to the set as a read-only, always-current bundle you don't edit, rather than a fork you own. That is exactly what native plugin systems provide.
We ship a native **Claude Code plugin** and, for now, **defer** a native **Codex plugin**. The split is forced by how each ecosystem's plugin manifest selects skills, against this repo's bucketed layout.
## The constraint: bucketed skills vs. single-path selection
Skills live in bucket folders under `skills/``engineering/` and `productivity/` are **promoted** (shipped); `misc/`, `personal/`, `in-progress/`, and `deprecated/` are **not**. A plugin must expose only the promoted set, which spans two of those bucket folders.
- **Claude Code** — `.claude-plugin/plugin.json` accepts `skills` as an **array of explicit skill-directory paths**. We list the promoted skills one by one, exclude everything else with zero ambiguity, and add `.claude-plugin/marketplace.json` so the repo is its own single-plugin marketplace. Verified end to end: `claude plugin validate . --strict` passes, and `marketplace add``install` resolves all promoted skills.
- **Codex** — `.codex-plugin/plugin.json` accepts `skills` only as a **single path string** (arrays are rejected with `missing or invalid plugin.json`), and Codex discovers `SKILL.md` files recursively under it. There is no way to name two bucket folders, or to curate a subset, from one path. Two escape hatches were tested and rejected:
- Pointing at `./skills/` would also ship `deprecated/`, `in-progress/`, `personal/`, and `misc/` — retired, draft, and personal skills we deliberately don't promote.
- A curated flat directory of **symlinks** into the buckets does not survive install: Codex copies the plugin tree into its cache and **drops symlinks**, so the skills arrive empty.
The only robust ways to give Codex a single promoted-only path are (a) **restructure** so `skills/` contains only promoted skills (moving the non-promoted buckets out — a large blast radius across `CLAUDE.md`, `scripts/link-skills.sh`, the bucket READMEs, and the local dev workflow that relies on `in-progress/` and `personal/`), or (b) **commit duplicate copies** of promoted skills into a flat directory (a sync burden and a second source of truth). Both are structural decisions, not something to bundle into shipping the Claude plugin. This is very likely the original, half-remembered reason a plugin wasn't shipped earlier: the manifest formats didn't cleanly express a curated subset of a bucketed repo.
## Decision
- Ship the **Claude Code plugin** now (`.claude-plugin/plugin.json` + `.claude-plugin/marketplace.json`), curated to the promoted set, as the headline v1.2 deliverable.
- Keep **skills.sh** as the universal installer — it already serves Codex and other harnesses today, so no Codex user is left without an install path.
- **Defer** the native Codex plugin until we decide between restructuring `skills/` to promoted-only vs. committing a generated flat copy. Revisit when Codex either supports a `skills` array / include-list or preserves symlinks on install.
## Invariants this creates
- Every promoted skill has an entry in `.claude-plugin/plugin.json`'s `skills` array (this already stood as a `CLAUDE.md` rule; it now also gates the plugin's contents).
- `.claude-plugin/plugin.json`'s `version` tracks `package.json`'s version — bump both together on release. Claude uses the plugin `version` to decide when installed users see an update.
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---
"mattpocock-skills": minor
---
Ship the skill set as a native **Claude Code plugin**. The repo is now its own single-plugin marketplace, so you can subscribe to the promoted skills as a managed, read-only bundle instead of copying editable files:
```
/plugin marketplace add mattpocock/skills
/plugin install mattpocock-skills@mattpocock
```
`.claude-plugin/plugin.json` gains full marketplace metadata (version, description, author, license, keywords) and a sibling `.claude-plugin/marketplace.json` lists the plugin. `skills.sh` remains the universal installer (and the path for Codex and other harnesses today); a native Codex plugin is deferred — see `.agents/adr/0002-ship-as-a-claude-code-plugin.md` for why.
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---
"mattpocock-skills": minor
---
Reframe how **`wayfinder`** handles research: it's no longer a ticket type — it runs **inline as a subagent**. Research is fully AFK (no human gates it) and produces a *fact*, not a decision, so it never earns a ticket's session boundary. Instead, any session — charting or resolving — spins up a `/research` subagent the moment it hits a knowledge gap, keeps working while it reads, and folds the findings straight into the decision it's making. The findings are captured as a primary source on a throwaway `research/<name>` branch (mirroring how `/prototype` captures prototypes), with a context pointer left on the ticket the research informs, or in the map's Notes if it informs the whole effort. Drops `research` from the `wayfinder:<type>` label set (`prototype`/`grilling`/`task`) across the GitHub, GitLab, and local trackers, and re-syncs the docs page.
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{
"name": "mattpocock",
"owner": {
"name": "Matt Pocock",
"url": "https://www.aihero.dev"
},
"description": "Matt Pocock's skills for real engineering, as an installable Claude Code plugin.",
"plugins": [
{
"name": "mattpocock-skills",
"source": "./",
"description": "Matt Pocock's agent skills for real engineering — grilling, spec/ticket flows, TDD, code review, domain modelling and more.",
"category": "engineering",
"keywords": [
"engineering",
"skills",
"tdd",
"code-review",
"grilling"
]
}
]
}
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@@ -1,5 +1,23 @@
{ {
"name": "mattpocock-skills", "name": "mattpocock-skills",
"version": "1.2.0",
"description": "Matt Pocock's agent skills for real engineering — grilling, spec/ticket flows, TDD, code review, domain modelling and more. Plug-and-play, not vibe coding.",
"author": {
"name": "Matt Pocock",
"url": "https://www.aihero.dev"
},
"homepage": "https://www.aihero.dev/s/skills-newsletter",
"repository": "https://github.com/mattpocock/skills",
"license": "MIT",
"keywords": [
"engineering",
"skills",
"tdd",
"code-review",
"grilling",
"domain-modeling",
"productivity"
],
"skills": [ "skills": [
"./skills/engineering/ask-matt", "./skills/engineering/ask-matt",
"./skills/engineering/diagnosing-bugs", "./skills/engineering/diagnosing-bugs",
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@@ -7,7 +7,9 @@ Skills are organized into bucket folders under `skills/`:
- `in-progress/` — drafts not yet ready to ship - `in-progress/` — drafts not yet ready to ship
- `deprecated/` — no longer used - `deprecated/` — no longer used
Every skill in `engineering/` or `productivity/` (the **promoted** buckets) must have a reference in the top-level `README.md` and an entry in `.claude-plugin/plugin.json`. Skills in `misc/`, `personal/`, `in-progress/`, and `deprecated/` must not appear in either. Every skill in `engineering/` or `productivity/` (the **promoted** buckets) must have a reference in the top-level `README.md` and an entry in `.claude-plugin/plugin.json`'s `skills` array (the Claude Code plugin ships exactly the promoted set). Skills in `misc/`, `personal/`, `in-progress/`, and `deprecated/` must not appear in either.
The repo is also its own single-plugin Claude Code marketplace: `.claude-plugin/marketplace.json` lists the one `mattpocock-skills` plugin. When bumping the release version, keep `.claude-plugin/plugin.json`'s `version` in sync with `package.json`'s — Claude uses the plugin `version` to decide when installed users see an update. Run `claude plugin validate . --strict` after touching either manifest. Why a Claude plugin but not (yet) a Codex one lives in [.agents/adr/0002-ship-as-a-claude-code-plugin.md](./.agents/adr/0002-ship-as-a-claude-code-plugin.md).
Each skill entry in the top-level `README.md` must link the skill name to its `SKILL.md`. Each skill entry in the top-level `README.md` must link the skill name to its `SKILL.md`.
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@@ -39,6 +39,33 @@ npx skills@latest add mattpocock/skills
4. Bam - you're ready to go. 4. Bam - you're ready to go.
## Install as a Claude Code plugin
Prefer a plug-and-play install you don't maintain by hand? These skills also ship as a native [Claude Code plugin](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/plugins). Instead of copying editable files into your repo, the plugin installs the whole skill set as a managed bundle that updates when I ship a new version — you subscribe rather than fork.
Inside Claude Code:
```
/plugin marketplace add mattpocock/skills
/plugin install mattpocock-skills@mattpocock
```
Or from your shell:
```bash
claude plugin marketplace add mattpocock/skills
claude plugin install mattpocock-skills@mattpocock
```
Then run `/setup-matt-pocock-skills` once per repo, exactly as in the quickstart above.
Two ways to install, two philosophies:
- **[skills.sh](https://skills.sh/mattpocock/skills)** copies the skills into your project so you can hack on them and make them your own.
- **The plugin** keeps them as a read-only, always-current bundle you don't edit — best when you just want my set to work and follow along as it evolves.
> Using Codex or another agent? The [skills.sh installer](https://skills.sh/mattpocock/skills) already installs these skills into Codex and other Agent-Skills-standard harnesses today. A native Codex plugin is on the roadmap — see [`.agents/adr/0002-ship-as-a-claude-code-plugin.md`](./.agents/adr/0002-ship-as-a-claude-code-plugin.md).
## Why These Skills Exist ## Why These Skills Exist
I built these skills as a way to fix common failure modes I see with Claude Code, Codex, and other coding agents. I built these skills as a way to fix common failure modes I see with Claude Code, Codex, and other coding agents.
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@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ The **map** is a single `wayfinder:map` issue whose tickets are its child issues
Beyond the live tickets lies the **fog of war** — decisions you can tell are coming but can't yet pin down. The test for whether something is a ticket or still fog is whether you can *state the question precisely now*, not whether you can answer it. Resolving a ticket clears the fog ahead of it, **graduating** whatever's now specifiable into fresh tickets. The **frontier** is the open, unblocked, unclaimed tickets — the edge of the known — and it's what the tracker's native blocking renders visually, so you see what's takeable without opening the map. Fog only gathers *toward* the **destination**; work past it is ruled **out of scope**, closed, never graduating. Beyond the live tickets lies the **fog of war** — decisions you can tell are coming but can't yet pin down. The test for whether something is a ticket or still fog is whether you can *state the question precisely now*, not whether you can answer it. Resolving a ticket clears the fog ahead of it, **graduating** whatever's now specifiable into fresh tickets. The **frontier** is the open, unblocked, unclaimed tickets — the edge of the known — and it's what the tracker's native blocking renders visually, so you see what's takeable without opening the map. Fog only gathers *toward* the **destination**; work past it is ruled **out of scope**, closed, never graduating.
Every ticket is **HITL** (human in the loop — grilling, prototype) or an agent-driven **task**; a HITL ticket only resolves through a live exchange, so the agent never answers its own questions. Research is deliberately **not** a ticket: it's fully AFK and yields a fact, not a decision, so any session spins up a `/research` subagent inline the moment it needs external knowledge — capturing the findings on a throwaway `research/<name>` branch and leaving a context pointer on the ticket it informs — rather than parking a separate ticket for a later session to open, read, and close. Every ticket is **HITL** (human in the loop — grilling, prototype) or **AFK** (agent alone — research); a HITL ticket only resolves through a live exchange, so the agent never answers its own questions.
## It's working if ## It's working if
@@ -41,4 +41,4 @@ Every ticket is **HITL** (human in the loop — grilling, prototype) or an agent
## Where it fits ## Where it fits
`wayfinder` is a big-idea **on-ramp**: an effort too large and foggy to spec in one sitting generates a cleared map of decisions, which then merges onto the main build flow. When the fog is pushed back and the way is clear, hand off to [to-spec](https://aihero.dev/skills-to-spec) to schedule the multi-session build (or, if the effort turned out small, implement directly). It leans on [grilling](https://aihero.dev/skills-grilling) and [domain-modeling](https://aihero.dev/skills-domain-modeling) to resolve individual tickets, on [prototype](https://aihero.dev/skills-prototype) for the tickets that need a concrete artifact, and on [research](https://aihero.dev/skills-research) as an inline subagent whenever a decision needs external facts. When you're unsure which skill or flow fits, [ask-matt](https://aihero.dev/skills-ask-matt) routes you. `wayfinder` is a big-idea **on-ramp**: an effort too large and foggy to spec in one sitting generates a cleared map of decisions, which then merges onto the main build flow. When the fog is pushed back and the way is clear, hand off to [to-spec](https://aihero.dev/skills-to-spec) to schedule the multi-session build (or, if the effort turned out small, implement directly). It leans on [grilling](https://aihero.dev/skills-grilling) and [domain-modeling](https://aihero.dev/skills-domain-modeling) to resolve individual tickets, and on [prototype](https://aihero.dev/skills-prototype) and [research](https://aihero.dev/skills-research) for the ticket types that need them. When you're unsure which skill or flow fits, [ask-matt](https://aihero.dev/skills-ask-matt) routes you.
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ Run `gh issue view <number> --comments`.
Used by `/wayfinder`. The **map** is a single issue with **child** issues as tickets. Used by `/wayfinder`. The **map** is a single issue with **child** issues as tickets.
- **Map**: a single issue labelled `wayfinder:map`, holding the Notes / Decisions-so-far / Fog body. `gh issue create --label wayfinder:map`. - **Map**: a single issue labelled `wayfinder:map`, holding the Notes / Decisions-so-far / Fog body. `gh issue create --label wayfinder:map`.
- **Child ticket**: an issue linked to the map as a GitHub sub-issue (`gh api` on the sub-issues endpoint). Where sub-issues aren't enabled, add the child to a task list in the map body and put `Part of #<map>` at the top of the child body. Labels: `wayfinder:<type>` (`prototype`/`grilling`/`task`). Once claimed, the ticket is assigned to the driving dev. - **Child ticket**: an issue linked to the map as a GitHub sub-issue (`gh api` on the sub-issues endpoint). Where sub-issues aren't enabled, add the child to a task list in the map body and put `Part of #<map>` at the top of the child body. Labels: `wayfinder:<type>` (`research`/`prototype`/`grilling`/`task`). Once claimed, the ticket is assigned to the driving dev.
- **Blocking**: GitHub's **native issue dependencies** — the canonical, UI-visible representation. Add an edge with `gh api --method POST repos/<owner>/<repo>/issues/<child>/dependencies/blocked_by -F issue_id=<blocker-db-id>`, where `<blocker-db-id>` is the blocker's numeric **database id** (`gh api repos/<owner>/<repo>/issues/<n> --jq .id`, _not_ the `#number` or `node_id`). GitHub reports `issue_dependencies_summary.blocked_by` (open blockers only — the live gate). Where dependencies aren't available, fall back to a `Blocked by: #<n>, #<n>` line at the top of the child body. A ticket is unblocked when every blocker is closed. - **Blocking**: GitHub's **native issue dependencies** — the canonical, UI-visible representation. Add an edge with `gh api --method POST repos/<owner>/<repo>/issues/<child>/dependencies/blocked_by -F issue_id=<blocker-db-id>`, where `<blocker-db-id>` is the blocker's numeric **database id** (`gh api repos/<owner>/<repo>/issues/<n> --jq .id`, _not_ the `#number` or `node_id`). GitHub reports `issue_dependencies_summary.blocked_by` (open blockers only — the live gate). Where dependencies aren't available, fall back to a `Blocked by: #<n>, #<n>` line at the top of the child body. A ticket is unblocked when every blocker is closed.
- **Frontier query**: list the map's open children (`gh issue list --state open`, scoped to the map's sub-issues / task list), drop any with an open blocker (`issue_dependencies_summary.blocked_by > 0`, or an open issue in the `Blocked by` line) or an assignee; first in map order wins. - **Frontier query**: list the map's open children (`gh issue list --state open`, scoped to the map's sub-issues / task list), drop any with an open blocker (`issue_dependencies_summary.blocked_by > 0`, or an open issue in the `Blocked by` line) or an assignee; first in map order wins.
- **Claim**: `gh issue edit <n> --add-assignee @me` — the session's first write. - **Claim**: `gh issue edit <n> --add-assignee @me` — the session's first write.
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ Run `glab issue view <number> --comments`.
Used by `/wayfinder`. The **map** is a single issue with **child** issues as tickets. Used by `/wayfinder`. The **map** is a single issue with **child** issues as tickets.
- **Map**: a single issue labelled `wayfinder:map`, holding the Notes / Decisions-so-far / Fog body. `glab issue create --label wayfinder:map`. (On GitLab tiers with native epics, an epic may hold the map instead; a labelled issue works everywhere.) - **Map**: a single issue labelled `wayfinder:map`, holding the Notes / Decisions-so-far / Fog body. `glab issue create --label wayfinder:map`. (On GitLab tiers with native epics, an epic may hold the map instead; a labelled issue works everywhere.)
- **Child ticket**: an issue carrying `Part of #<map>` at the top of its description and labels `wayfinder:<type>` (`prototype`/`grilling`/`task`). Once claimed, the ticket is assigned to the driving dev. - **Child ticket**: an issue carrying `Part of #<map>` at the top of its description and labels `wayfinder:<type>` (`research`/`prototype`/`grilling`/`task`). Once claimed, the ticket is assigned to the driving dev.
- **Blocking**: GitLab's **native blocking link** — the canonical, UI-visible representation. Add it with the `/blocked_by #<n>` quick action, posted as a note (`glab issue note <child> --message "/blocked_by #<blocker>"`). Native blocking links are a Premium/Ultimate feature; on the free tier (or where unavailable) fall back to a `Blocked by: #<n>, #<n>` line at the top of the description. A ticket is unblocked when every blocker is closed. - **Blocking**: GitLab's **native blocking link** — the canonical, UI-visible representation. Add it with the `/blocked_by #<n>` quick action, posted as a note (`glab issue note <child> --message "/blocked_by #<blocker>"`). Native blocking links are a Premium/Ultimate feature; on the free tier (or where unavailable) fall back to a `Blocked by: #<n>, #<n>` line at the top of the description. A ticket is unblocked when every blocker is closed.
- **Frontier query**: `glab issue list -F json` scoped to the map's children, drop any with an open blocker — a native `blocked_by` link to an open issue (`glab api projects/:id/issues/:iid/links`), or an open issue in the `Blocked by` line — or an assignee; first in map order wins. - **Frontier query**: `glab issue list -F json` scoped to the map's children, drop any with an open blocker — a native `blocked_by` link to an open issue (`glab api projects/:id/issues/:iid/links`), or an open issue in the `Blocked by` line — or an assignee; first in map order wins.
- **Claim**: `glab issue update <n> --assignee @me` — the session's first write. - **Claim**: `glab issue update <n> --assignee @me` — the session's first write.
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ Read the file at the referenced path. The user will normally pass the path or th
Used by `/wayfinder`. The **map** is a file with one **child** file per ticket. Used by `/wayfinder`. The **map** is a file with one **child** file per ticket.
- **Map**: `.scratch/<effort>/map.md` — the Notes / Decisions-so-far / Fog body. - **Map**: `.scratch/<effort>/map.md` — the Notes / Decisions-so-far / Fog body.
- **Child ticket**: `.scratch/<effort>/issues/NN-<slug>.md`, numbered from `01`, with the question in the body. A `Type:` line records the ticket type (`prototype`/`grilling`/`task`); a `Status:` line records `claimed`/`resolved`. - **Child ticket**: `.scratch/<effort>/issues/NN-<slug>.md`, numbered from `01`, with the question in the body. A `Type:` line records the ticket type (`research`/`prototype`/`grilling`/`task`); a `Status:` line records `claimed`/`resolved`.
- **Blocking**: a `Blocked by: NN, NN` line near the top. A ticket is unblocked when every file it lists is `resolved`. - **Blocking**: a `Blocked by: NN, NN` line near the top. A ticket is unblocked when every file it lists is `resolved`.
- **Frontier**: scan `.scratch/<effort>/issues/` for files that are open, unblocked, and unclaimed; first by number wins. - **Frontier**: scan `.scratch/<effort>/issues/` for files that are open, unblocked, and unclaimed; first by number wins.
- **Claim**: set `Status: claimed` and save before any work. - **Claim**: set `Status: claimed` and save before any work.
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@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ Each ticket is a **child issue** of the map; the tracker's issue id is its ident
<the decision or investigation this ticket resolves> <the decision or investigation this ticket resolves>
``` ```
Each ticket carries a `wayfinder:<type>` label — one of `prototype`, `grilling`, `task` (see [Ticket Types](#ticket-types)). Research is deliberately _not_ a ticket type: it's AFK fuel a session runs inline, never a stop on the route (see [Research runs inline, not as a ticket](#research-runs-inline-not-as-a-ticket)). Each ticket carries a `wayfinder:<type>` label — one of `research`, `prototype`, `grilling`, `task` (see [Ticket Types](#ticket-types)).
A session **claims** a ticket by assigning it to the dev driving the map, **first**, before any work, so concurrent sessions skip it. That assignee _is_ the claim: an open, unassigned ticket is unclaimed. A session **claims** a ticket by assigning it to the dev driving the map, **first**, before any work, so concurrent sessions skip it. That assignee _is_ the claim: an open, unassigned ticket is unclaimed.
@@ -72,24 +72,13 @@ The answer isn't part of the body — it's recorded on resolution (see [Work thr
## Ticket Types ## Ticket Types
A ticket exists because someone has to sit with it — so every ticket is either **HITL** (human in the loop, worked *with* a human who speaks for themselves) or a **task** the agent must drive by hand. A HITL ticket only resolves through that live exchange; the agent never stands in for the human's side of it (a grilling agent that answers its own questions has broken this). Every ticket is either **HITL** human in the loop, worked *with* a human who speaks for themselves or **AFK**, driven by the agent alone. A HITL ticket only resolves through that live exchange; the agent never stands in for the human's side of it (a grilling agent that answers its own questions has broken this).
- **Research** (AFK): Reading documentation, third-party APIs, or local resources like knowledge bases. Creates a markdown summary as a linked asset. Use when knowledge outside the current working directory is required.
- **Prototype** (HITL): Raise the fidelity of the discussion by making a cheap, rough, concrete artifact to react to — an outline, a rough take, a stub, or UI/logic code via the /prototype skill. Links the prototype as an asset. Use when "how should it look" or "how should it behave" is the key question. - **Prototype** (HITL): Raise the fidelity of the discussion by making a cheap, rough, concrete artifact to react to — an outline, a rough take, a stub, or UI/logic code via the /prototype skill. Links the prototype as an asset. Use when "how should it look" or "how should it behave" is the key question.
- **Grilling** (HITL): Conversation via the /grilling and /domain-modeling skills, one question at a time. The default case. - **Grilling** (HITL): Conversation via the /grilling and /domain-modeling skills, one question at a time. The default case.
- **Task** (HITL or AFK): Manual work that must happen before a *decision* can be made — nothing to decide, prototype, or research, but the discussion is blocked until it's done. Signing up for a service so its API can be judged, provisioning access, moving data so its shape can be seen. This is the one type that *does* rather than decides — and it earns its place by unblocking a decision, not by delivering the destination. The agent drives it alone where it can (AFK); otherwise it hands the human a precise checklist (HITL). Resolved when the work is done; the answer records what was done and any resulting facts (credentials location, new URLs, row counts) later tickets depend on. - **Task** (HITL or AFK): Manual work that must happen before a *decision* can be made — nothing to decide, prototype, or research, but the discussion is blocked until it's done. Signing up for a service so its API can be judged, provisioning access, moving data so its shape can be seen. This is the one type that *does* rather than decides — and it earns its place by unblocking a decision, not by delivering the destination. The agent drives it alone where it can (AFK); otherwise it hands the human a precise checklist (HITL). Resolved when the work is done; the answer records what was done and any resulting facts (credentials location, new URLs, row counts) later tickets depend on.
## Research runs inline, not as a ticket
Research — reading docs, third-party APIs, source, or local knowledge bases to gather facts — is **fully AFK**: no human gates it, and it produces a *fact*, not a decision. That combination is exactly why it must **not** be its own ticket. A ticket earns its place as a session boundary: a self-contained unit some *later* session claims and works. Research needs no such boundary — any session, charting or resolving, can spin up a research **subagent** (`/research`) the moment it hits a knowledge gap, keep working while it reads, and fold the findings straight into the decision it's making. Parking research as a ticket only forces a second session to open it, do the AFK read, and close it — a session boundary bought for nothing.
So there is no research ticket and no research assignee. When a decision needs external knowledge:
1. **Launch a research subagent inline** via `/research`, scoped to the specific question. Charting can do this to sharpen the destination or the frontier; resolving can do it to answer the ticket in hand.
2. **Capture the findings as a primary source**, the way `/prototype` captures a prototype: commit the research Markdown to a **throwaway branch** out of main (`research/<name>`), so main stays clean but the reading stays findable.
3. **Leave a context pointer** to that branch — on the ticket whose decision the research informs, or, if it informs the whole effort rather than one ticket, in the map's **Notes**. The pointer is a link, never a paste; the map stays an index.
A blocked ticket that used to wait on a "research ticket" now simply carries, in its own body, the note that resolving it starts with a research subagent — the read happens inside that ticket's session, not as a prerequisite ticket before it.
## Fog of war ## Fog of war
The map is _deliberately_ incomplete: don't chart what you can't yet see. Beyond the live tickets lies the **fog of war** — the dim view of decisions and investigations you can tell are coming but can't yet pin down, because they hang on questions still open. Resolving a ticket clears the fog ahead of it, graduating whatever's now specifiable into fresh tickets — one at a time, until the way to the destination is clear and no tickets remain. The map is _deliberately_ incomplete: don't chart what you can't yet see. Beyond the live tickets lies the **fog of war** — the dim view of decisions and investigations you can tell are coming but can't yet pin down, because they hang on questions still open. Resolving a ticket clears the fog ahead of it, graduating whatever's now specifiable into fresh tickets — one at a time, until the way to the destination is clear and no tickets remain.
@@ -120,7 +109,7 @@ Two modes. Either way, **never resolve more than one ticket per session.**
User invokes with a loose idea. User invokes with a loose idea.
1. **Name the destination.** Run a `/grilling` and `/domain-modeling` session to pin down what this map is finding its way to — the spec, decision, or change. The destination fixes the scope, so it's settled first. 1. **Name the destination.** Run a `/grilling` and `/domain-modeling` session to pin down what this map is finding its way to — the spec, decision, or change. The destination fixes the scope, so it's settled first.
2. **Map the frontier.** Grill again, **breadth-first** this time: fan out across the whole space rather than deep on any one thread, surfacing the open decisions and the first steps takeable now. Where a gap is a knowledge gap, resolve it with an inline `/research` subagent rather than charting a ticket for it (see [Research runs inline, not as a ticket](#research-runs-inline-not-as-a-ticket)). **If this surfaces no fog** — the way to the destination is already clear, the whole journey small enough for one session — you don't need a map. Stop and ask the user how they'd like to proceed. 2. **Map the frontier.** Grill again, **breadth-first** this time: fan out across the whole space rather than deep on any one thread, surfacing the open decisions and the first steps takeable now. **If this surfaces no fog** — the way to the destination is already clear, the whole journey small enough for one session — you don't need a map. Stop and ask the user how they'd like to proceed.
3. **Create the map** (label `wayfinder:map`): Destination and Notes filled in, Decisions-so-far empty, the fog sketched into **Not yet specified**. 3. **Create the map** (label `wayfinder:map`): Destination and Notes filled in, Decisions-so-far empty, the fog sketched into **Not yet specified**.
4. **Create the tickets you can specify now** as child issues of the map — then wire blocking edges in a **second pass** (issues need ids before they can reference each other). Wiring sorts them into the frontier and the blocked; everything you can't yet specify stays in the fog — the **Not yet specified** section. 4. **Create the tickets you can specify now** as child issues of the map — then wire blocking edges in a **second pass** (issues need ids before they can reference each other). Wiring sorts them into the frontier and the blocked; everything you can't yet specify stays in the fog — the **Not yet specified** section.
5. Stop — charting the map is one session's work; do not also resolve tickets. 5. Stop — charting the map is one session's work; do not also resolve tickets.
@@ -131,7 +120,7 @@ User invokes with a map (URL or number). A ticket is **optional** — without on
1. Load the **map** — the low-res view, not every ticket body. 1. Load the **map** — the low-res view, not every ticket body.
2. Choose the ticket. If the user named one, use it. Otherwise take the first frontier ticket in order. **Claim it**: assign it to yourself before any work. 2. Choose the ticket. If the user named one, use it. Otherwise take the first frontier ticket in order. **Claim it**: assign it to yourself before any work.
3. Resolve it — **zoom as needed**: fetch the full body of any related or closed ticket on demand; invoke the skills the `## Notes` block names. If the ticket needs external knowledge, spin up a `/research` subagent inline and fold its findings in (see [Research runs inline, not as a ticket](#research-runs-inline-not-as-a-ticket)) — don't hand the reading off to a separate session. If in doubt, use `/grilling` and `/domain-modeling`. 3. Resolve it — **zoom as needed**: fetch the full body of any related or closed ticket on demand; invoke the skills the `## Notes` block names. If in doubt, use `/grilling` and `/domain-modeling`.
4. Record the resolution: post the answer as a **resolution comment**, **close** the issue, and **append a context pointer** to the map's Decisions-so-far. 4. Record the resolution: post the answer as a **resolution comment**, **close** the issue, and **append a context pointer** to the map's Decisions-so-far.
5. Add newly-surfaced tickets (create-then-wire); graduate any fog the answer has made specifiable, clearing each graduated patch from **Not yet specified** so it lives only as its new ticket. If the answer reveals a ticket — this one or another — sits beyond the destination, **rule it out of scope** rather than resolving it on the route. If the decision invalidates other parts of the map, update or delete those tickets. 5. Add newly-surfaced tickets (create-then-wire); graduate any fog the answer has made specifiable, clearing each graduated patch from **Not yet specified** so it lives only as its new ticket. If the answer reveals a ticket — this one or another — sits beyond the destination, **rule it out of scope** rather than resolving it on the route. If the decision invalidates other parts of the map, update or delete those tickets.