Side-route skill that renders a finished diff, PR, or branch as a single self-contained interactive HTML recap — file-tree + change flags, annotated split diffs with line-anchored callouts, schema/API contract cards, UI wireframes for rendered-UI changes, labeled before/after columns, CSS-first flow diagrams (Mermaid opt-in for complex graphs), and a copy-text feedback loop. Use when a reviewer who didn't author the change needs to grasp its shape before reading lines. Optional and never auto-invoked; skip for small or obvious diffs. Not a defect finder (that's /pre-merge), not free-form diagramming (that's /excalidraw-diagram), not a committed artifact (the HTML is transient).
Side-route skill for an interactive, commit-by-commit comprehension walkthrough of a finished branch before merge. Use when the person about to merge didn't author the diff — or hasn't internalized it — and needs to understand each commit's intent, riskiest line, deliberate oddities, and what's absent by design, with per-commit sign-off. Not a defect finder (that's /pre-merge), not a behavioral check (that's /verify), not an acceptance-criteria checklist (that's /execute Step 5). Optional and never auto-invoked.
Side-route skill for explicit backtracking when an upstream artifact becomes untrustworthy. Use when research, PRD, or slice decomposition has been invalidated by new information and you need to clean up stale artifacts before re-running an earlier pipeline step. Not for forward progress, fresh shaping, or routine bug fixes.
Side-route orientation skill. Use when the user asks 'what's next', 'where am I', or is returning to a repo mid-pipeline and wants to know which skill to run next. Reads repo state (branch, PRs, issues, research archive, milestones) and recommends one next step with a one-line reason. Not for executing work — only for routing.
Optional meta-skill for improving `chrislacey89/skills` from real-world friction or breakdowns discovered while using the pipeline in another repo. Use when the main lesson is about the pipeline itself, not the downstream project. Grounds proposals in established software-engineering guidance from `/library`. Produces a GitHub issue in `chrislacey89/skills` and only moves to implementation after review.
Infrastructure skill for setting up Ralph loop scripts for Claude-driven AFK execution. Use when a repo wants a HITL-to-AFK runner around /execute with bounded iterations, GitHub-native durable state, and explicit feedback loops. Not a normal feature-delivery stage; it prepares the repo for safer autonomous execution.
Primary pipeline execution step after /prd-to-issues or for clearly scoped implementation work. Use to build, verify, and commit a concrete slice, delegating to /tdd for backend work and behavior-heavy frontend logic when red-green-refactor will reduce risk. Not for shaping or pre-merge review.
Primary pipeline review step after verified implementation. Use to create a PR with lineage and run architectural review before merge. Not for QA intake, planning, or implementation work.