| name | turtle-backlog-update |
| description | Use this only after a feature has fully completed the Plan-Driven State System and needs to be marked done in docs/backlog.md. This skill updates one matching backlog item from unchecked to checked. Do not use for creating backlog items, planning, implementation, debugging, testing, or summarizing the backlog. |
Always read
- agents.md
- architecture.md
- repo_map.md
- docs/backlog.md
- relevant completed plan file in
docs/plans/
When to use
Use only after a feature has fully completed the execution loop and the corresponding backlog item should be marked done.
This skill is the final completion marker for backlog status.
Expected workflow position:
PLAN → EXECUTE → VERIFY → ENGINEER CHECKPOINT → TEST → DEBUG if needed → PLAN STEP UPDATE → BACKLOG UPDATE
Do not use this skill before the plan is complete.
Inputs required
One of the following must be available:
- completed feature name as written in
docs/backlog.md
- active completed plan file in
docs/plans/
- feature slug that uniquely maps to a completed plan and backlog item
Required files:
docs/backlog.md
- relevant
docs/plans/<feature_slug>_plan.md
Output expected
- updated
docs/backlog.md
- exactly one matching item changed from
- [ ] to - [x]
- no other backlog items modified
- no summarized backlog output
Plan-Driven State System alignment
This skill must respect the Plan-Driven State System.
Before updating docs/backlog.md, verify that the related plan is complete.
A plan is complete only when:
- every implementation step in the plan is checked
[x]
- there are no remaining unchecked actionable plan steps
[ ]
- the feature has passed the required validation gates:
- EXECUTE
- VERIFY
- ENGINEER CHECKPOINT
- TEST
- DEBUG, only if debugging was needed
- PLAN STEP UPDATE has already marked the final plan step complete
If the plan is incomplete, stop and report:
Backlog update blocked. The related plan is not complete yet.
Run the remaining Plan-Driven State System steps before marking the backlog item done.
Current plan detection
If the completed feature name is not provided directly:
- Inspect
docs/plans/.
- Locate the completed plan that corresponds to the active feature.
- Prefer the plan file referenced by recent workflow context, if available.
- Otherwise infer the feature name from:
- the plan title
- the feature slug
- the plan filename
- explicit feature metadata inside the plan
- Match the inferred feature name to
docs/backlog.md.
If no completed plan can be found, stop and report:
Missing completed plan. Cannot safely update docs/backlog.md.
If more than one completed plan could match, stop and ask for clarification.
Before writing
- verify
docs/backlog.md exists; if missing, stop and report the error
- verify the relevant plan file exists; if missing, stop and report the error
- read
docs/backlog.md and preserve its structure exactly
- read the related plan and confirm it is complete
- do not create or restructure backlog sections
- do not create a new backlog file
- do not create new backlog items
Task
Update docs/backlog.md to reflect completed work by marking the matching backlog item as done.
Input:
- Feature name from backlog, completed plan file, or feature slug
Matching rules
- locate the matching backlog item by exact text match first
- if no exact match exists, choose the closest unique match only when the match is obvious
- if multiple matches are found, stop and ask for clarification
- if no safe unique match exists, stop and report that no matching backlog item could be found
- do not guess from the backlog list alone
- do not mark an item complete based only on similar wording unless the match is unique and clearly tied to the completed plan
Update rules
- change status from
- [ ] to - [x] only for the matched item
- modify exactly one backlog item
- do NOT modify any other items
- do NOT reorder sections or items
- do NOT remove completed items
- do NOT rename backlog items
- do NOT rewrite headings
- do NOT alter indentation
- preserve formatting, headings, and spacing
- treat the existing backlog as the source of truth
Stop conditions
Stop without editing if any of the following are true:
docs/backlog.md is missing
- the relevant plan file is missing
- no completed feature name, feature slug, or completed plan can be identified
- the related plan still has unchecked actionable steps
[ ]
- required validation gates are missing or incomplete
- no matching backlog item is found
- multiple possible backlog matches are found
- the matching backlog item is already checked
[x]
Response rules
- do not summarize the backlog
- do not output only a list of backlog items
- do not provide unrelated recommendations
- if editing the file directly is available, update
docs/backlog.md directly instead of only printing the updated markdown
- include only the minimal change: one status flip from
- [ ] to - [x]
Return the updated markdown for docs/backlog.md.