The agency project router — orchestrates the full client-project lifecycle BRIEF → CONCEPT → DESIGN → BUILD → QA → LAUNCH plus the post-launch MAINTAIN loop, and tells Claude which specialist skill to load at each phase. Use this skill whenever a client web project starts or advances — trigger on "new project", "neues Projekt", "website for a client", "Website für Kunde/Kunden", "Kundenprojekt starten", "start a client project", "we won a pitch", "relaunch for", "where does the project stand", "wo steht das Projekt", or any request to plan, kick off, continue, or maintain a client website, landing page, or web app — even if the user only describes the client and goal ("a website for a café in Cologne"). This skill routes, enforces phase gates, and keeps docs/project-state.md current; the actual design/build/QA work happens in the specialist skills it delegates to.
Installation
Install with Codex or Claude Copy this prompt, paste it into Codex, Claude, or another assistant, and let it review the skill page and install it for you.
The agency project router — orchestrates the full client-project lifecycle BRIEF → CONCEPT → DESIGN → BUILD → QA → LAUNCH plus the post-launch MAINTAIN loop, and tells Claude which specialist skill to load at each phase. Use this skill whenever a client web project starts or advances — trigger on "new project", "neues Projekt", "website for a client", "Website für Kunde/Kunden", "Kundenprojekt starten", "start a client project", "we won a pitch", "relaunch for", "where does the project stand", "wo steht das Projekt", or any request to plan, kick off, continue, or maintain a client website, landing page, or web app — even if the user only describes the client and goal ("a website for a café in Cologne"). This skill routes, enforces phase gates, and keeps docs/project-state.md current; the actual design/build/QA work happens in the specialist skills it delegates to.
Agency Workflow
The project spine for web agencies. Every client project moves through six
phases. This skill decides which phase you are in, which specialist
skill to load, and which gate must pass before the next phase. It never
does the specialist work itself — it routes.
Operating principles
Plan before code. No production code before the plan for that increment
is stated and (for client work) approved. State what will be built, from
which design source, touching which files.
One source of truth for design. If a design handoff exists (design
images, a style guide, a token file, a Figma export), it IS the design —
never regenerate colors/typography/layout that the handoff already defines.
Quality skills then act as reviewers, not generators. Only without a
handoff may a design system be generated fresh.
Scope discipline. Do what the current phase requires, nothing from a
later phase. Surface scope changes instead of silently absorbing them.
Every phase has an exit gate. Do not advance until the gate checklist
for the phase passes (see the phase reference files).
Phase detection
Check docs/project-state.md first — if it exists, it names the current
phase, open blockers, and what the client owes; trust it over re-derivation.
If it's missing or stale, classify from project signals:
Signal
Phase
New client/goal mentioned, no brief document yet
BRIEF
Brief exists; no sitemap/direction/offer yet
CONCEPT
Concept approved; no visual design/handoff yet
DESIGN
Design source exists; code missing or incomplete
BUILD
Feature-complete; not yet verified
QA
QA passed; not yet live / launch requested
LAUNCH
Site is live; monitoring, updates, reports, "did anything break"
MAINTAIN
If the user's request names a later phase but earlier gates never happened
(e.g. "build the site" with no brief), do a compressed pass of the earlier
phases first — a 5-line mini-brief beats none — and say so.
Routing table
Load the phase reference for the current phase, then delegate to the listed
specialist skills if they are installed; degrade gracefully to the
reference file's inline guidance if not.
seo-audit (drift mode), core-web-vitals, webapp-testing, pre-launch-checklist (legal re-checks after changes)
How to run a phase
Announce the phase and what its exit gate is (one sentence each).
Read the phase reference file.
Do the phase work, delegating to specialist skills where the table says so.
Run the exit-gate checklist from the reference.
Report: what was produced, gate status, and what the next phase needs
from the client (approvals, content, credentials).
Update docs/project-state.md using the template in
references/project-state.md — phase, gate
status, blockers, client to-dos, next step. This file is how the next
session (or another teammate) picks the project up without re-deriving
everything; treat it as part of the phase's deliverable.
Language
Client-facing documents (brief, proposal, launch checklist) follow the
client's language — German clients get German documents. Code, comments,
and commit messages stay English unless the repo says otherwise.
