| name | sdd-implement |
| description | Implement a work item from its spec. |
Implement a work item from its spec.
Step 1: Identify the work item
If the user provided input via $ARGUMENTS, use that to find the spec directory.
Otherwise, list specs/YYYY-MM-DD-*/ directories with status: ready or status: in-progress in their README.md frontmatter. Use AskUserQuestion to ask which one to implement.
Step 2: Read the spec
Read all files in the work item's spec directory:
README.md — summary and design
requirements.md — functional requirements and acceptance criteria
plan.md — implementation plan
verification.md — verification criteria
If the spec is incomplete (still an idea or missing files), stop and tell the user to run /sdd-plan-next-phase to refine it first.
Step 3: Update status
Set the frontmatter status: in-progress in the work item's README.md.
Step 4: Implement
Follow the implementation plan in plan.md task groups in order. For each task group:
- Read
specs/mission.md for design principles and specs/tech-stack.md for technical guidance.
- Implement the changes for this task group.
- Run
go test ./... to verify nothing is broken.
- Use AskUserQuestion for any decisions not covered by the spec.
- Commit the task group's changes following
specs/conventions.md. Each commit should be minimal — containing only the changes necessary for its logical unit of work — and must pass all tests independently.
Step 5: Verify
After implementation is complete:
- Walk through each check in
verification.md and confirm it passes.
- Walk through each acceptance criterion in
requirements.md and confirm it is met.
- Run
go test ./... and go vet ./... one final time.
- If any verification check or criterion fails, amend the fix into the commit where the issue was introduced rather than creating a new fixup commit.
Step 6: Update governing docs
Review whether anything learned during implementation should be reflected in global SDD documents (specs/mission.md, specs/tech-stack.md, specs/conventions.md, CLAUDE.md, or any other top-level specs). If updates are needed, make them in a dedicated commit separate from the implementation commits.
Step 7: Suggest review
Suggest the user run /sdd-review to review the changes for correctness and consistency before shipping.