| name | spec-driven-dev |
| description | Implements user stories through spec-driven TDD workflow (Red-Green-Refactor) with structural anti-skip enforcement. Replicates all 12 phases of the DevForgeAI development workflow using the Execute-Verify-Gate pattern at every step. Designed to prevent token optimization bias through lean orchestration, fresh-context subagent delegation, and binary CLI gate enforcement. Use when developing features from story specifications, building code that must comply with context files, or running TDD workflows.
|
| allowed-tools | ["Read","Write","Edit","Glob","Grep","AskUserQuestion","Task","Bash(git:*)","Bash(npm:*)","Bash(pytest:*)","Bash(dotnet:*)","Bash(cargo:*)","Bash(mvn:*)","Bash(gradle:*)","Bash(python:*)","Skill"] |
| model | opus |
| effort | High |
Spec-Driven Development
Implement user stories using strict TDD (Red-Green-Refactor) while enforcing all 6 context file constraints.
Context files are THE LAW: tech-stack.md, source-tree/, dependencies.md, coding-standards.md, architecture-constraints.md, anti-patterns.md
If ambiguous or conflicts detected: HALT and use AskUserQuestion
Anti-Skip Enforcement Contract
Enforced structurally outside LLM control, not by this prose — by the framework's deterministic gates wired for this workflow: the devforgeai-validate phase gates, the settings.json-registered .claude/hooks/ scripts, and .claude/hooks/phase-steps-registry.json (ADR-076).
Parameter Extraction
Extract story ID from conversation context. See references/parameter-extraction.md for the extraction algorithm.
Command Integration
| Context Marker | Set By | Description |
|---|
$STORY_ID | /dev, /resume-dev | Story identifier (STORY-NNN) |
$FORCE_FLAG | /dev | Bypass dependency checks |
$REMEDIATION_MODE | /dev | --fix flag or auto-detected from gaps.json |
$GAPS_AUTO_DETECTED | /dev | True if gaps.json auto-detected |
$IGNORE_DEBT_FLAG | /dev | Override technical debt threshold |
$RESUME_MODE | /resume-dev | "manual" or "auto" |
$PHASE_NUM | /resume-dev | Phase number to resume from |
$NEXT_ACTION | dev-preflight | Dispatch enum (STORY-658): begin-phase-01 / phase-status-resume / phase-cycle-start / already-complete / halt-ambiguous / halt-corrupt-state |
$NEXT_COMMAND | dev-preflight | Precomputed CLI invocation for the next step (string or null). Used by the phase-cycle-start branch. |
$NEXT_PHASE_TO_ENTER | dev-preflight | Phase number CURRENT_PHASE should be set to after dispatch (e.g., "01", "02", existing phase, or null) |
$GUIDANCE | dev-preflight | Human-readable explanation of the chosen $NEXT_ACTION (always populated) |
Phase State Initialization & Entry Dispatcher [MANDATORY FIRST]
This block decides whether to start a new workflow, resume an existing one, open a remediation cycle, or halt — based on guidance from dev-preflight (or self-bootstrap if invoked outside /dev). Full dispatch reference and execution detail: references/preflight/01.0-entry-dispatcher.md.
Step A: Self-bootstrap if $NEXT_ACTION is unset
$NEXT_ACTION is normally set by the upstream /dev command from dev-preflight JSON. If unset (e.g., direct skill invocation, /resume-dev, or older /dev versions), invoke preflight here:
devforgeai-validate dev-preflight ${STORY_ID} --project-root=. --format=json
Parse the JSON result and populate the four context markers:
$NEXT_ACTION ← result.next_action$NEXT_COMMAND ← result.next_command (may be null)$NEXT_PHASE_TO_ENTER ← result.next_phase_to_enter (may be null)$GUIDANCE ← result.guidance
Also extract $REMEDIATION_MODE, $REMEDIATION_SOURCE, $OPEN_REC_IDS, $QA_RECOMMENDATIONS_STATUS, $CURRENT_PHASE from the same payload.
| dev-preflight Exit Code | Meaning | Action |
|---|
| 0 | New workflow created | Continue to Step B with $NEXT_ACTION = "begin-phase-01" |
| 1 | Story not found | HALT — display result.error |
| 2 | Existing workflow (resume) | Continue to Step B with $NEXT_ACTION from result |
| 3 | Invalid story ID OR corrupt state | If $NEXT_ACTION == "halt-corrupt-state": display guidance + HALT. Else: HALT (invalid format) |
| 4 | source_devarch missing or invalid in story frontmatter (B2 / ADR-099) | HALT. Do NOT enter Phase 01. Emit dev-preflight's stderr verbatim to the user; do NOT auto-invoke any migration commands. Wait for user to follow the migration path (see .claude/rules/workflow/story-lifecycle.md § DEVARCH Seed Prerequisite) and re-invoke /dev ${STORY_ID}. |
| 127 | CLI not installed | Backward-compat: set $NEXT_ACTION = "begin-phase-01" and proceed without enforcement |
Step B: Dispatch on $NEXT_ACTION
$NEXT_ACTION | Action | CURRENT_PHASE |
|---|
begin-phase-01 | State already created by dev-preflight. Display "Beginning workflow for ${STORY_ID}". Enter Phase Orchestration Loop. | "01" |
phase-status-resume | Display "Resuming ${STORY_ID} from phase ${NEXT_PHASE_TO_ENTER}." If $REMEDIATION_MODE == true and no open items, display $GUIDANCE warning. Enter Phase Orchestration Loop at $NEXT_PHASE_TO_ENTER. | $NEXT_PHASE_TO_ENTER (existing phase from state) |
phase-cycle-start | The remediation entry point. Execute $NEXT_COMMAND (precomputed phase-cycle-start --source=qa-recommendations ... invocation). Capture payload.cycle as $CURRENT_CYCLE. Set $REMEDIATION_MODE=true, $REMEDIATION_SOURCE="qa-recommendations". The CLI resets top-level current_phase to $NEXT_PHASE_TO_ENTER (typically "02"); read it back from the new state via phase-status. Enter Phase Orchestration Loop. | $NEXT_PHASE_TO_ENTER (typically "02") |
already-complete | Display $GUIDANCE. Do NOT enter the orchestration loop. HALT cleanly (this is not an error — workflow is done). | n/a |
halt-ambiguous | AskUserQuestion: "Story is mid-workflow at phase ${CURRENT_PHASE} with open QA items. Resume the in-progress phase, or open a new remediation cycle?" Branch to phase-status-resume or phase-cycle-start based on user response. | (depends on user) |
halt-corrupt-state | Display $GUIDANCE (from CLI). Do NOT auto-recover. HALT. | n/a |
Iteration counter: iteration_count = 1, max_iterations = 5. If resuming, read from phase-state.json.
Important — phase-init removal: This block REPLACES the legacy phase-init invocation. dev-preflight now creates state when needed (and the dispatcher handles it via begin-phase-01). Do NOT separately call devforgeai-validate phase-init — that command's "state already exists" failure is the very bug this dispatcher fixes (STORY-658).
Phase Orchestration Loop
FOR phase_num in range(CURRENT_PHASE, 11):
phase_id = format(phase_num)
1. ENTRY GATE:
IF phase_id == "01":
Skip — state already initialized by dev-preflight + the Entry Dispatcher above.
(STORY-658: legacy phase-init invocation removed; the dispatcher now owns
state creation/resume decisions.)
ELSE:
devforgeai-validate phase-check ${STORY_ID} --from={prev} --to={phase_id}
IF exit != 0: HALT
2. LOAD: Read(file_path="phases/{phase_files[phase_id]}")
3. EXECUTE: Follow every step in the phase file (EXECUTE-VERIFY-GATE triplets)
- Each step's EXECUTE instruction tells you exactly what to do
- Each step's VERIFY instruction tells you how to confirm it happened
- Each step's RECORD instruction tells you what CLI command to call
4. RECORD: devforgeai-validate phase-record ${STORY_ID} --phase={phase_id} --subagent={name}
5. EXIT GATE:
a. AUDIT GATE (precondition — Plan D / ADR-058):
devforgeai-validate audit-gate ${STORY_ID} --phase={phase_id}
IF exit != 0: HALT (audit infrastructure failure)
See references/audit-gate.md for behavior matrix and recovery.
b. PHASE COMPLETE:
devforgeai-validate phase-complete ${STORY_ID} --phase={phase_id} --checkpoint-passed
IF exit != 0: HALT (audit verdict failed OR other gate violation)
| Phase | Name | File |
|---|
| 01 | Pre-Flight Validation | phases/phase-01-preflight.md |
| 02 | Test-First (Red) | phases/phase-02-test-first.md |
| 03 | Implementation (Green) | phases/phase-03-implementation.md |
| 04 | Refactoring | phases/phase-04-refactoring.md |
| 4.5 | AC Verification (Post-Refactor) | phases/phase-04.5-ac-verification.md |
| 05 | Integration Testing | phases/phase-05-integration.md |
| 5.5 | AC Verification (Post-Integration) | phases/phase-05.5-ac-verification.md |
| 06 | Deferral Challenge | phases/phase-06-deferral.md |
| 07 | DoD Update | phases/phase-07-dod-update.md |
| 08 | Git Workflow | phases/phase-08-git-workflow.md |
| 09 | Feedback Hook | phases/phase-09-feedback.md |
| 10 | Result Interpretation | phases/phase-10-result.md |
Required Subagents Per Phase
| Phase | Required Subagents | Enforcement | Audit (Layer 9) |
|---|
| 01 | git-validator, tech-stack-detector | BLOCKING | — |
| 02 | test-automator | BLOCKING | — |
| 03 | backend-architect OR frontend-developer, context-validator | BLOCKING | single, closed |
| 04 | refactoring-specialist, code-reviewer | BLOCKING | — |
| 4.5 | ac-compliance-verifier | BLOCKING | consensus_when_available, closed |
| 05 | integration-tester | BLOCKING | single, closed |
| 5.5 | ac-compliance-verifier | BLOCKING | consensus_when_available, closed |
| 06 | deferral-validator (if deferrals) | CONDITIONAL | single, open |
| 07 | (none) | N/A | single, closed |
| 08 | (none) | N/A | — |
| 09 | framework-analyst | BLOCKING | — |
| 10 | dev-result-interpreter | BLOCKING | — |
Audit column: per-phase audit policy from audit-policy.yaml. Format: mode, fail_mode. — means phase is not audited (e.g., process-glue or no implementation artifacts to verify).
Deviation Protocol: Any skip requires explicit user consent via AskUserQuestion. See references/workflow-deviation-protocol.md.
Test File Immutability (RCA-046, RCA-047)
After Phase 02, test files are IMMUTABLE until Phase 05. Deterministic enforcement: .claude/hooks/phase-gate-write.sh exits 2 on test-file writes during phases 03 / 04 / 4.5 / 5.5 / 06–10. Recovery procedure when the hook fires: see Phase Regression (Backward Transition) below.
Remediation Mode
When $REMEDIATION_MODE == true, Phases 02-10 execute with inline remediation-specific branches. The narrowed test scope ($OPEN_REC_IDS), code-change application ($OPEN_REC_ENTRIES), cycle closure, and qa-recommendations.md update are all invoked from within the normal phase files. See references/qa-remediation-workflow.md for the cross-phase flow narrative.
$REMEDIATION_MODE is set by one of two paths (depending on entry route):
- Via dev-preflight + Entry Dispatcher (STORY-658, default): When
$NEXT_ACTION == "phase-cycle-start", the dispatcher executes $NEXT_COMMAND which opens a new cycle and sets $REMEDIATION_MODE=true. See references/preflight/01.0-entry-dispatcher.md.
- Via Phase 01 Step 01.9.6 (legacy / mid-workflow): When entering remediation during a mid-workflow phase (rare), Step 01.9.6 in
references/preflight/01.9-qa-failures.md opens the cycle. The dispatcher path supersedes this for fresh /dev --fix invocations against completed (phase 10) stories.
Technical Debt Override Banner
If $DEBT_OVERRIDE_BANNER == true, display at start of each phase:
[DEBT OVERRIDE ACTIVE - Proceeding with elevated debt]
State Persistence
Location: devforgeai/workflows/${STORY_ID}-phase-state.json
Session Memory: .claude/memory/sessions/${STORY_ID}-session.md
References: references/memory-file-schema.md, references/memory-file-operations.md
Workflow Completion Validation
IF completed_count < 10: HALT "WORKFLOW INCOMPLETE - {completed_count}/10 phases"
IF completed_count == 10: "All 10 phases completed - Workflow validation passed"
IF iteration_count >= 4: Display "Approaching limit"
IF iteration_count >= max_iterations: HALT "Maximum iterations reached"
Phase Regression (Backward Transition)
When a defect discovered in Phase 03+ requires returning to an earlier phase:
Supported Backward Transitions
| From Phase | To Phase | Trigger | Authorized By |
|---|
| 03 (Green) | 02 (Red) | Test infrastructure defect (not business logic) | test-folder-protection "Return to Phase 02" option |
| 04 (Refactor) | 02 (Red) | Test file needs structural changes | test-folder-protection "Return to Phase 02" option |
Phase Regression Protocol
- User selects "Return to Phase 02" from test-folder-protection AskUserQuestion
- Reset phase state:
devforgeai-validate phase-reset ${STORY_ID} --to=02
- Re-invoke test-automator with context about the defect:
Task(
subagent_type="test-automator",
prompt="Regenerate test files. Previous tests had defect: {defect_description}. Fix: {fix_description}. Preserve all test assertions and business logic."
)
- Verify RED state (tests must still fail for expected business logic reasons)
- Re-create red-phase checksum snapshot (overwrite per BR-005)
- Resume forward from Phase 03
Constraints
- Phase regression requires explicit user approval (via test-folder-protection AskUserQuestion)
- Only test-automator may write test files during Phase 02 re-entry
- Red-phase snapshot MUST be regenerated after test-automator produces new files
- Phase regression is logged in story Implementation Notes under
### Phase Regressions
- Maximum 2 regressions per story (prevent infinite loops)
Fallback When phase-reset CLI Not Yet Implemented
If STORY-569 (phase-reset CLI command) is not yet implemented, the orchestrator performs the reset manually:
- Read
devforgeai/workflows/${STORY_ID}-phase-state.json
- Edit
current_phase value from current (e.g., "03") to target (e.g., "02")
- Add entry to
regressions array (create array if absent):
{"from": "03", "to": "02", "timestamp": "2026-03-03T00:00:00Z", "reason": "test infrastructure defect"}
- Save file
- Continue with Phase Regression Protocol step 3 (re-invoke test-automator)
Success Criteria
- All tests pass (100% pass rate)
- Coverage meets thresholds (95%/85%/80%)
- Light QA validation passed
- No context file violations
- All AC implemented
- DoD validation passed
- Changes committed
- Story status = "Dev Complete"
Treelint AST-Aware Search Integration
Phases 02-04 invoke Treelint-enabled subagents for semantic code analysis (40-80% token reduction). Automatic fallback to Grep when unavailable.
Reference: references/treelint-integration.md and .claude/agents/references/treelint-search-patterns.md
Reference Files
Phase Execution (phases/ directory)
| File | Phase |
|---|
| phase-01-preflight.md | Pre-Flight Validation |
| phase-02-test-first.md | Test-First (TDD Red) |
| phase-03-implementation.md | Implementation (TDD Green) |
| phase-04-refactoring.md | Refactoring + Light QA |
| phase-04.5-ac-verification.md | AC Verification (Post-Refactor) |
| phase-05-integration.md | Integration Testing |
| phase-05.5-ac-verification.md | AC Verification (Post-Integration) |
| phase-06-deferral.md | Deferral Challenge |
| phase-07-dod-update.md | DoD Update |
| phase-08-git-workflow.md | Git Workflow |
| phase-09-feedback.md | Feedback Hook |
| phase-10-result.md | Result Interpretation |
Supporting References (references/ directory)
The references/ tree carries one tier of live documentation plus an archive of supplementary material that no execution path reads.
Live references (loaded at execution time or cited from a live consumer):
| File | Loaded by |
|---|
references/ac-verification-workflow.md | phase-04.5, phase-05.5 (direct Read()) |
references/ac-checklist-update-workflow.md | transitive Read() |
references/technical-debt-register-workflow.md | phase-06 + transitive Read() |
references/dod-update-workflow.md | transitive Read() + agent prose |
references/dod-validation-checkpoint.md | transitive Read() |
references/lock-file-coordination.md | transitive Read() |
references/qa-remediation-workflow.md | transitive Read() |
references/test-integrity-snapshot.md | transitive Read() (STORY-502) |
references/tdd-patterns.md | agent-side prose pointer (NOT the memory file under .claude/memory/learning/tdd-patterns.md) |
references/treelint-dependency-query.md | agent-side prose pointer |
references/preflight/01.0-entry-dispatcher.md | SKILL.md prose pointer (Phase State Initialization) |
references/preflight/01.9-qa-failures.md | SKILL.md prose pointer (Remediation Mode) |
references/preflight/_index.md | agent-side prose pointer |
Archive: references/_archive/ — supplementary historical references absorbed during the spec-driven-dev → spec-driven-dev consolidation (ADR-039, 2026-03-18) that no execution path reads. Preserved in-tree for git history and human reference; safe to consult when context demands; never Read() proactively.
