| name | nacl-tl-conductor |
| model | opus |
| effort | high |
| description | Graph-aware batch process manager: intake to staging.
Delegates planning to nacl-tl-plan, dev to nacl-tl-full.Use when: batch workflow with graph, orchestrate graph intake, or the user says "/nacl-tl-conductor".
|
Contract
Inputs this skill consumes:
- Graph IntakeItems (queries Neo4j)
- Sub-orchestrator results: nacl-tl-full (UC paths), nacl-tl-fix (bug paths)
- .tl/status.json per task (six-status vocabulary: PASS / BLOCKED / UNVERIFIED /
NO_INFRA / RUNNER_BROKEN / REGRESSION)
Outputs this skill produces:
- Per-task status table; aggregated PASS/UNVERIFIED/BLOCKED counts
- Headline one of: CONDUCTOR COMPLETE / CONDUCTOR APPLIED — {SUFFIX} /
CONDUCTOR INCOMPLETE — REGRESSION
- Graph writes gated on PASS (t.status = 'done' only on PASS;
'verified-pending' for UNVERIFIED; 'blocked' for BLOCKED)
Downstream consumers of this output:
- Human user (via batch report)
Contract change discipline:
If this skill's output contract changes, every downstream consumer listed above
must be audited and updated in the same release. The 0.10.0→0.10.1 regression
was caused by the absence of this discipline. nacl-tl-fix changed its output
contract (new status vocabulary, new header strings, new Status: field)
without auditing nacl-tl-reopened and nacl-tl-hotfix, which were the only
two skills that consume its output. Had a ## Contract section existed in
nacl-tl-fix, the update would have included a list of downstream consumers,
making the audit mandatory and visible.
Use with /goal
Wrap with: /nacl-goal feature:<FR-NNN> or /nacl-goal batch:<comma-list> (tier L)
This skill is a good fit for autonomous /goal loops because batch execution progress is graph-verifiable: each FR/task item reaches a terminal status in Neo4j that the check script can query directly. The wrapper composes a completion condition that the FR or batch is deployed to staging with a health check PASS and all task nodes in terminal status.
Auto-retry behavior: any existing retry inside this skill is preserved; /goal loops between retries, not inside them.
Check script: nacl-goal/checks/feature.sh
Refusals: see nacl-goal/refusal-catalog.md for the gates this wrapper guards.
Background: docs/guides/goal-command.md
Graph TeamLead Conductor -- Process Manager
Your Role
You are the process manager. You know the entire workflow from user request to staging deployment. You do NOT write code, review code, or run tests yourself -- you delegate everything to specialized skills via sub-agents (Task tool).
Your job is orchestration and decision-making:
- Create and manage feature branches
- Dispatch development work to the right skills
- Commit each completed UC atomically
- Handle failures, retries, and edge cases
- Coordinate delivery to staging
Nothing should surprise you. Every possible outcome from a sub-agent (success, failure, timeout, partial result) has a defined response in your workflow.
Key advantage over nacl-tl-conductor: Phase 0 can read UC scope directly from the Neo4j graph. Phase 2 delegates to nacl-tl-plan (one Cypher query per UC instead of reading ~70 markdown files). Phase 3 delegates to nacl-tl-full (graph-aware lifecycle executor).
Key Principle
Feature branch -> per-item development via sub-agents -> atomic commit per item -> batch delivery to staging.
One branch per batch. One commit per UC/BUG/TECH. One push at the end.
Shared References
Read nacl-core/SKILL.md for:
- Neo4j MCP tool names and connection info (
mcp__neo4j__read-cypher, mcp__neo4j__write-cypher)
- ID generation rules
- Schema files location (
graph-infra/schema/)
- Query library location (
graph-infra/queries/)
Neo4j Tools
| Tool | Usage |
|---|
mcp__neo4j__read-cypher | Read UC scope, dependencies, wave structure from graph |
mcp__neo4j__write-cypher | Update Task node statuses after completion/failure |
Invocation
/nacl-tl-conductor --items FR-001,FR-002,BUG-003 # batch items from intake
/nacl-tl-conductor --feature FR-001 # single feature request
/nacl-tl-conductor --branch feature/sprint-42 # explicit branch name
/nacl-tl-conductor --yes # skip user gates
# Removed in W3-blocking-qa: the bulk-QA-skip conductor flag.
# QA bypass at the conductor layer is no longer an operator flag.
# Bulk-bypass needs route through W4 emergency mode. Single-stage
# skip needs (LIVE_PROVIDER_SMOKE / PROD_GOLDEN_PATH only) route
# through `/nacl-tl-qa UC### --skip-e2e` plus a W4 signed exception
# when a mandatory stage would be NOT_RUN.
#
# Removed in W5-reconciliation: `--skip-deliver`. There is no
# operator flag that suppresses Phase 5 DELIVERY. A run that does
# not need delivery should not invoke the conductor; use the
# per-skill development chain (`/nacl-tl-full` etc.) directly.
# Emergency bypass routes through W4 emergency mode.
Configuration Resolution
| Data | Source priority |
|---|
| Git strategy | git.strategy > modules.[name].git_strategy > fallback "feature-branch" |
| Base branch | git.main_branch > modules.[name].git_base_branch > fallback "main" |
| Branch prefix | git.branch_prefix > fallback "feature/" |
| Build command | modules.[name].build_cmd > fallback npm run build |
| Test command | modules.[name].test_cmd > fallback npm test |
| YouGile columns | yougile.columns.* |
| Deploy config | deploy.staging.* |
If config.yaml missing -> use fallback defaults. If YouGile missing -> skip task moves.
State File: .tl/conductor-state.json
Conductor persists its state for resumption:
{
"branch": "feature/FR-001-generation-controls",
"baseBranch": "main",
"items": [
{ "id": "FR-001", "type": "feature", "ucs": ["UC028", "UC029"] },
{ "id": "BUG-003", "type": "bug", "description": "Share button on mobile" }
],
"started": "2026-04-04T10:00:00Z",
"phase": "development",
"techTasks": [
{ "id": "TECH-001", "status": "done", "commit": "abc1234" },
{ "id": "TECH-002", "status": "pending" }
],
"ucTasks": [
{ "id": "UC028", "wave": 1, "status": "done", "commit": "def5678" },
{ "id": "UC029", "wave": 1, "status": "in_progress" }
],
"bugFixes": [
{ "id": "BUG-003", "status": "pending" }
],
"delivery": {
"status": "pending"
}
}
Always update this file after each significant state change (task completion, failure, phase transition). This enables resumption if the session is interrupted.
Workflow: 7 Phases
Phase 0: INIT
- Read
config.yaml (git strategy, modules, yougile)
- Check for existing
.tl/conductor-state.json:
- If exists -> RESUME MODE (see Resumption section below)
- If not -> fresh start
- Determine scope of work:
- If
--items: parse comma-separated list (FR-NNN, BUG-NNN, TECH-NNN)
- If
--feature: query Neo4j graph for affected UCs (graph-first), then fall back to .tl/feature-requests/FR-NNN.md if graph unavailable
- If neither: read
.tl/status.json, find all incomplete items
- Read
.tl/master-plan.md (if exists) for wave structure and dependencies
- Build execution plan:
- TECH tasks (Wave 0): ordered by dependency
- UC tasks (Waves 1..N): ordered by wave, then by priority within wave
- Bug fixes: independent, can run in any order
Graph-Based Scope Resolution (Phase 0 -- --feature FR-NNN)
When --feature is provided, query the graph FIRST for the feature's UC scope:
// Resolve feature scope from graph
MATCH (fr:FeatureRequest {id: $frId})-[:INCLUDES_UC]->(uc:UseCase)
OPTIONAL MATCH (uc)-[:DEPENDS_ON]->(dep:UseCase)
RETURN fr.id AS feature_id, fr.title AS feature_title,
collect(DISTINCT {
id: uc.id, name: uc.name, priority: uc.priority,
depends_on: collect(DISTINCT dep.id)
}) AS ucs
If query returns results: Use graph data for scope (more accurate, includes dependency edges).
If query returns empty or Neo4j unavailable: Fall back to reading .tl/feature-requests/FR-NNN.md and extracting affected UCs from the markdown (same as nacl-tl-conductor).
- USER GATE (skip if
--yes):
===============================================
CONDUCTOR -- EXECUTION PLAN (graph-aware)
===============================================
Branch: feature/FR-001-generation-controls
Base: main
Scope source: Neo4j graph [or: feature-request file]
Items: 3 (2 features, 1 bugfix)
Wave 0 -- Infrastructure:
TECH-001: Shared types setup
Wave 1 -- Core:
UC028: Image format selection (BE + FE)
UC029: Scene prompt display (BE + FE)
Independent:
BUG-003: Share button on mobile
Proceed? [y/n]
===============================================
Phase 1: BRANCH
- Determine branch name (slugify the title via the single-authority formatter — same
lowercase/hyphens/≤50 rule as
/nacl-tl-ship, pinned by nacl-core/scripts/branch.test.sh):
- If
--branch: use as-is
- If
--feature FR-001: feature/FR-001-$(bash nacl-core/scripts/branch.sh slug "<title>")
- If
--items: feature/intake-YYYY-MM-DD
- Resolve base branch from config
- Create branch:
git checkout -b [branch_name] [base_branch]
- If branch already exists (resume scenario):
git checkout [branch_name]
- Write initial
.tl/conductor-state.json
Phase 2: PLAN (conditional)
Skip if .tl/master-plan.md and .tl/tasks/ already exist with all needed task files.
Critical difference from nacl-tl-conductor: Delegates to nacl-tl-plan instead of nacl-tl-plan.
For each FR item that needs planning:
- Launch sub-agent (Task tool):
/nacl-tl-plan --feature FR-NNN
- Wait for completion
- Verify:
.tl/master-plan.md updated, task files created in .tl/tasks/
- Parse execution waves from master-plan.md
Update conductor-state.json with wave assignments.
Phase 3: DEVELOPMENT
Execute items by wave, respecting dependencies.
Critical difference from nacl-tl-conductor: Delegates UC lifecycle to nacl-tl-full instead of nacl-tl-full.
Wave 0 -- TECH tasks (sequential)
For each TECH task:
1. Update conductor-state.json: TECH-### status = "in_progress"
2. Launch sub-agent (Task tool):
Execute /nacl-tl-dev TECH-###
3. Wait for result
4. Launch sub-agent (Task tool):
Execute /nacl-tl-review TECH-###
5. If review REJECTED -> retry loop (max 3):
a. Launch sub-agent: /nacl-tl-dev TECH-### --continue
b. Launch sub-agent: /nacl-tl-review TECH-###
c. If approved -> break
d. If rejected again -> increment retry counter
6. Read nacl-tl-dev's six-status result before committing:
a. Parse the `Status: {value}` line from nacl-tl-dev's report.
Headlines are advisory; the `Status:` line is the only authoritative
classifier (P1).
b. If the report has no parseable `Status:` line:
HALT. Emit:
"CONDUCTOR HALTED — UNVERIFIED (downstream report unparseable: TECH-###)"
Update conductor-state.json: status = "unverified".
Do NOT commit. Continue to next item only after operator review.
7. If APPROVED AND Status: PASS:
a. Stage and commit:
git add -A
git commit -m "TECH-###: [title from task.md]"
b. Update conductor-state.json: status = "done", commit = [hash]
If APPROVED AND Status is non-PASS (UNVERIFIED / BLOCKED / NO_INFRA /
RUNNER_BROKEN / REGRESSION):
- Review approval CANNOT upgrade unverified dev work. The TECH commit
gate consumes the dev result, not the review verdict.
- Branch on the parsed dev status using the same rules as the UC loop
(Step 4b below): UNVERIFIED → no commit, write 'verified-pending';
BLOCKED → operator override or abort; NO_INFRA / RUNNER_BROKEN →
halt and escalate; REGRESSION → halt and file bug.
8. If FAILED (3 retries exhausted):
a. Update conductor-state.json: status = "failed", reason = [details]
b. Log failure, continue to next TECH task
Waves 1..N -- UC tasks
For each UC in wave order (sequential within wave, wave-by-wave):
1. Update conductor-state.json: UC### status = "in_progress"
2. Launch sub-agent (Task tool):
Execute /nacl-tl-full --task UC###
(The previous SKIP-PLAN pass-through was removed in W9-ci-clean-checkout
— /nacl-tl-full auto-detects an already-populated graph and skips its
planning subagent in that case, so the flag became redundant. The
previous bulk-QA-skip pass-through was removed in W3-blocking-qa. QA
bypass is no longer a flag; users who need stage-level skip pass
`--skip-e2e` directly to /nacl-tl-qa, and any resulting NOT_RUN on a
mandatory stage requires a W4 signed exception.)
This runs the full 8-step UC lifecycle:
BE dev -> BE review -> FE dev -> FE review -> Sync -> Stubs -> QA -> Docs
3. Wait for completion
4. Read aggregated UC status (Step 4a then branch per Step 4b):
a. Parse `Status: {value}` from nacl-tl-full's report:
- The `Status:` line is the only authoritative classifier (P1).
Recognised values: PASS / UNVERIFIED / BLOCKED / NO_INFRA /
RUNNER_BROKEN / REGRESSION.
- The decorative headline (e.g. "FULL COMPLETE", "FULL APPLIED —
UNVERIFIED") is advisory only and MUST NOT be used to classify
the result. A report whose `Status:` line and headline disagree
is classified by `Status:`; the disagreement is logged and
surfaced in Phase 6.
- If no parseable `Status: {PASS|UNVERIFIED|BLOCKED|NO_INFRA|
RUNNER_BROKEN|REGRESSION}` line is present:
HALT. Emit:
"CONDUCTOR HALTED — UNVERIFIED (downstream report unparseable: UC###)"
Update conductor-state.json: status = "unverified".
Do NOT commit; do NOT advance to next UC.
- Cross-check .tl/status.json for UC### (nacl-tl-full also writes
it). If the JSON file contradicts the parsed `Status:` line, the
graph and `Status:` line win; surface the contradiction in
Phase 6.
b. Branch on aggregated status:
PASS:
- Stage and commit:
git add -A
git commit -m "UC###: [title from task-be.md or status.json]"
- Update Neo4j: t.status = 'done'
- Update conductor-state.json: status = "done", commit = [hash]
UNVERIFIED:
- DO NOT commit
- Update Neo4j: t.status = 'verified-pending'
- Update conductor-state.json: status = "unverified", reason = [details]
- Log: "UC### complete but UNVERIFIED — no test exercises the change"
- Continue to next UC (will appear in report)
BLOCKED:
- HALT; post advisory to user:
"UC### blocked: [reason]. Override with --yes to record as blocked
and continue, or fix blocker first."
- If user confirms override (or --yes flag):
- Update Neo4j: t.status = 'blocked'
- Update conductor-state.json: status = "blocked"
- Continue
- If no confirmation: abort batch
NO_INFRA / RUNNER_BROKEN:
- HALT; escalate:
"Infrastructure problem for UC###: [status]. Fix infra before
continuing. Re-run /nacl-tl-conductor to resume."
- Update conductor-state.json: status = "infra_error"
- Do NOT continue to next UC automatically
REGRESSION:
- HALT; file new bug:
"UC### introduced a regression. File a bug, do not ship."
- Update conductor-state.json: status = "regression"
- Do NOT commit; do NOT advance to delivery
Bug fixes (independent, after TECH, can interleave with UCs)
For each BUG item:
1. Update conductor-state.json: BUG-### status = "in_progress"
2. Launch sub-agent (Task tool):
Execute /nacl-tl-fix "[description from intake]"
3. Wait for completion
4. Parse `Status: {value}` from nacl-tl-fix's Step 8 report:
- The `Status:` line is the only authoritative classifier (P1).
Recognised values: PASS / UNVERIFIED / BLOCKED / NO_INFRA /
RUNNER_BROKEN / REGRESSION.
- Headlines such as "FIX COMPLETE" or "FIX APPLIED — UNVERIFIED" are
advisory only. Since 0.10.0 nacl-tl-fix has used the same headline
("FIX APPLIED — UNVERIFIED") for several distinct statuses; the
`Status:` line is what disambiguates them.
- If no parseable `Status: {PASS|UNVERIFIED|BLOCKED|NO_INFRA|
RUNNER_BROKEN|REGRESSION}` line is present:
HALT. Emit:
"CONDUCTOR HALTED — UNVERIFIED (downstream report unparseable: BUG-###)"
Update conductor-state.json: status = "unverified".
Do NOT commit; do NOT advance to next bug.
5. Branch on status:
PASS:
a. Stage and commit:
git add -A
git commit -m "fix: [short description]"
b. Update Neo4j: t.status = 'done'
c. Update conductor-state.json: status = "done", commit = [hash]
UNVERIFIED:
a. DO NOT commit
b. Update Neo4j: t.status = 'verified-pending'
c. Update conductor-state.json: status = "unverified"
d. Log: "BUG-### fixed but UNVERIFIED — no test exercises the change"
e. Continue (will appear in report)
BLOCKED:
a. Halt; ask user to confirm override before continuing
b. If confirmed: Update Neo4j t.status = 'blocked'; continue
c. If not confirmed: abort batch
NO_INFRA / RUNNER_BROKEN:
a. Halt; escalate as infrastructure problem
b. Update conductor-state.json: status = "infra_error"
REGRESSION:
a. Halt; log new regression; do NOT commit
b. Update conductor-state.json: status = "regression"
Updating Task Node Status in Neo4j
After each item completes, update the corresponding Task node using the
aggregated sub-skill status. Graph writes are GATED on verification status,
and every terminal write MUST also set t.verification_evidence so that
nacl-tl-release can report Evidence level without a "Verification gap"
warning (see nacl-core/SKILL.md § Task.verification_evidence).
Deriving $evidence from the sub-skill report
Before issuing the Cypher write, parse the sub-skill report (nacl-tl-full /
nacl-tl-fix) for the Regression test: line (case-sensitive, exactly that
prefix). The value of $evidence follows this table:
Sub-skill Status: | Regression test: value | $evidence |
|---|
| PASS | <repo-relative path> | 'test-GREEN:' + <path> |
| PASS | "covered by existing test: <path>" | 'test-GREEN:' + <path> (path extracted from the suffix) |
| PASS | "verification: <path>" (Workflow-B infrastructure PASS — path of the committed verification record, e.g. .tl/tasks/TECH-013/verification.md) | 'verify-GREEN:' + <path> |
| PASS | "none — UNVERIFIED" or missing | HALT — CONDUCTOR HALTED — UNVERIFIED (PASS report missing Regression test line: <taskId>). Do NOT write done. |
PASS (the NO-TEST flag was REMOVED in W4-blocking-release; the 'no-test' evidence string is no longer producible by this skill — see "Removed Flags" note below) | (n/a) | (n/a) |
| UNVERIFIED | any | 'test-UNVERIFIED' |
| BLOCKED | any | 'test-UNVERIFIED' (the test seam did not transition; surface as such) |
| REGRESSION / NO_INFRA / RUNNER_BROKEN | any | not written — task moves to failed; verification_evidence stays NULL by design |
<repo-relative path> must be a forward-slash path without a leading ./.
If the sub-skill returned an absolute path, normalise to repo-relative
(strip the project root prefix) before composing $evidence. The same
normalisation applies to the path inside a verification: <path> value.
Graph writes
// PASS — task verified and committed
MATCH (t:Task {id: $taskId})
SET t.status = 'done',
t.commit = $commitHash,
t.completed_at = datetime(),
t.verification_evidence = $evidence // 'test-GREEN:<path>' or 'verify-GREEN:<path>'
// UNVERIFIED — fix applied but no test covers the change
MATCH (t:Task {id: $taskId})
SET t.status = 'verified-pending',
t.unverified_reason = $reason,
t.verification_evidence = 'test-UNVERIFIED',
t.updated = datetime()
// BLOCKED — fix applied, pre-existing failures, user override recorded
MATCH (t:Task {id: $taskId})
SET t.status = 'blocked',
t.blocked_reason = $reason,
t.verification_evidence = 'test-UNVERIFIED',
t.updated = datetime()
// REGRESSION / NO_INFRA / RUNNER_BROKEN — halt without graph status advance
MATCH (t:Task {id: $taskId})
SET t.status = 'failed',
t.failed_phase = $failedPhase,
t.failure_reason = $reason,
t.failed_at = datetime()
// verification_evidence is intentionally NOT set — release-skill excludes
// failed tasks from the merge plan, so no evidence is required.
Rule: t.status = 'done' is written ONLY when sub-skill status is PASS.
For UNVERIFIED: write 'verified-pending'. For BLOCKED: write 'blocked'.
For REGRESSION/NO_INFRA/RUNNER_BROKEN: write 'failed'.
This keeps the graph in sync with the actual verification state.
Evidence rule: t.verification_evidence is written for every terminal
state EXCEPT failed. A PASS report that does not carry a parseable
Regression test: line — either a <path> (test-based) or
verification: <path> (Workflow-B infrastructure record) — is treated as
a contract violation — the conductor HALTs rather than write done
without evidence. The NO-TEST flag (which used to permit 'no-test'
evidence on PASS reports) was REMOVED in W4-blocking-release; 'no-test'
evidence is no longer producible by this skill. Bare PASS reports must
produce test-GREEN or verify-GREEN or the conductor HALTs.
Removed Flags (W4-blocking-release)
The NO-TEST flag (was: "PASS + the NO-TEST override → 'no-test'
evidence") was REMOVED in W4-blocking-release. Its literal token
is scrubbed from this skill's prose. The bypass use case routes
through emergency mode — see
nacl-tl-core/references/emergency-mode.md. Emergency mode does
NOT re-enable the removed flag; under emergency mode the
conductor STILL HALTs on a PASS report without a parseable
Regression test: line, prints the halt banner, advances under
the recorded bypass, and emits Status: PARTIALLY_VERIFIED with
the (emergency-bypass) suffix on the closure headline.
Phase 4: QUALITY GATE
After all development items have been processed:
-
Launch sub-agent (Task tool): /nacl-tl-stubs --final
-
Parse result:
- If critical stubs = 0 -> proceed
- If critical stubs > 0:
a. Attempt fix (launch sub-agent to resolve critical stubs)
b. Re-scan (max 2 retries)
c. If still critical -> record in state, warn in report
-
Re-query Neo4j to confirm terminal state (graph is the source of truth):
// Phase 4 graph-truth gate — must run BEFORE reading conductor-state.json
MATCH (t:Task)
WHERE t.intake_id = $intakeId
AND t.status IN ['pending', 'in_progress']
RETURN t.id AS taskId, t.status AS currentStatus
-
Bind $intakeId to the current intake (from conductor-state.json header).
-
If the query returns any rows: HALT immediately.
Post this advisory and do NOT advance to Phase 5:
HALT — graph/JSON mismatch detected before Phase 5.
The following tasks are NOT in a terminal state in Neo4j
even though conductor-state.json marks them as done:
<taskId> graph status: <currentStatus>
Do NOT proceed to delivery until the graph reflects the correct
terminal state (done / verified-pending / blocked / failed).
Resolution options:
[1] Re-run /nacl-tl-full <taskId> to replay and re-write graph status.
[2] Run /nacl-tl-diagnose to reconcile JSON vs graph manually.
[3] Abort this conductor run and investigate the crash.
-
If the query returns zero rows: all tasks are terminal in the graph.
Continue to step 3b.
3b. Evidence-completeness gate — verify every done / verified-pending
/ blocked task carries verification_evidence. This closes the gap
that would otherwise surface as a "Verification gap" at release time
(see nacl-core/SKILL.md § Task.verification_evidence).
// Phase 4 evidence-completeness gate — must run AFTER step 3 succeeds
MATCH (t:Task)
WHERE t.intake_id = $intakeId
AND t.status IN ['done', 'verified-pending', 'blocked']
AND (t.verification_evidence IS NULL OR t.verification_evidence = '')
RETURN t.id AS taskId, t.status AS currentStatus
-
Bind $intakeId to the current intake (from conductor-state.json header).
-
If the query returns any rows: HALT immediately.
Post this advisory and do NOT advance to Phase 5:
HALT — verification_evidence missing on terminal tasks.
The following tasks reached a terminal status but have no evidence
string in Neo4j. `nacl-tl-release` would surface this as a
"Verification gap" — that is a contract violation, not normal output.
<taskId> graph status: <currentStatus> evidence: NULL
This is a writer bug: every Phase 3 graph write (PASS / UNVERIFIED /
BLOCKED) must set `t.verification_evidence` per the taxonomy in
`nacl-core/SKILL.md`. Resolution options:
[1] Re-run /nacl-tl-full <taskId> — replay the task; the writer
should populate evidence on the second pass.
[2] Run /nacl-tl-diagnose to inspect the graph state.
[3] Abort this conductor run and patch the writer that left
evidence NULL.
Do NOT manually set evidence to bypass this gate — that masks the
underlying writer regression.
-
If the query returns zero rows: all terminal tasks carry evidence.
Continue to step 4.
-
Review conductor-state.json:
- Count: done, failed, pending items
- If ALL items done -> proceed to Phase 5
- If SOME failed -> USER GATE (skip if
--yes):
Partial completion: 2/3 items done, 1 failed.
UC028: Image format selection -- DONE
BUG-003: Share button on mobile -- DONE
UC029: Scene prompt display -- FAILED at sync, 3 retries
Options:
[1] Continue to delivery (ship what's done)
[2] Abort (keep branch, fix manually later)
- If ALL failed -> abort delivery, full failure report
-
Update conductor-state.json: phase = "quality_gate_passed"
Phase 4.5: Cross-artifact reconciliation
Phase 4 closed the evidence-completeness gate (every terminal Task in
the graph carries a verification_evidence string). That guarantees
the graph alone is internally consistent. It does NOT guarantee
that the five other artifacts the chain produces — .tl/status.json,
.tl/conductor-state.json, .tl/changelog.md,
.tl/release-status.json — agree with the graph, with each other, or
with the signed-exception inventory. Codex postmortem episode 9–10
(Project-Alpha FR-007 in .tl/changelog.md but not in the live graph;
.tl/conductor-state.json declaring "typecheck clean" while CI
reported the opposite) is exactly this drift class. This wave-gate
catches it before the final report.
Sources of truth (six):
| # | Source | Read by Phase 4.5 |
|---|
| 1 | .tl/status.json | JSON file. Per-intake / per-UC status totals (done, unverified, blocked, failed). |
| 2 | .tl/conductor-state.json | JSON file. Per-phase markers (phase, techTasks[*].status, ucTasks[*].status, delivery.status). |
| 3 | .tl/changelog.md | Markdown file. Per-version sections listing FR-IDs / UC-IDs / fix entries shipped. |
| 4 | Live Neo4j graph | Cypher reads against the running per-project graph container. Node counts for Module, UseCase, Task, FeatureRequest; t.status, t.verification_evidence, t.intake_id, fr.release_tag properties. |
| 5 | .tl/release-status.json | JSON file. Last release outcome — release_tag, health.status, graph.status. |
| 6 | .tl/exceptions/ | YAML files (W4 schema). Active exceptions (expiry > now) vs expired exceptions (expiry ≤ now). Expired entries make their referenced gates blocking again. |
Live graph reads only — no .cypher export fallback. A stale
graph-infra/exports/*.cypher.gz file is by definition out-of-date
the moment the next graph write lands; consuming it would reintroduce
exactly the drift class this gate exists to catch. If the project's
graph container is unreachable, the gate refuses to advance and emits
Status: BLOCKED with workflow detail graph_unavailable (see
"Unreachable graph" below). Operators who need to ship despite an
unavailable graph must file a signed exception (W4 schema) against
the graph-stale gate — the exception does NOT re-enable export
fallback; it accepts that the reconciliation gate is bypassed for
that release.
Step 1: Reach the live graph
Use the project-resolved Bolt endpoint (per config.yaml → graph.neo4j_bolt_port, default 3587):
RETURN 1 AS ok
If the call fails (container down, port mismatch, auth refusal):
HALT. Do NOT advance to Phase 5.
HALT — graph_unavailable (Phase 4.5 reconciliation).
The live Neo4j graph at bolt://localhost:<port> is unreachable.
A stale .cypher export is NOT an acceptable substitute (W5
binding: live graph reads only).
Resolution options:
[1] Bring the project graph container up (docker compose up -d
from graph-infra/) and rerun this conductor invocation —
the gate resumes from Phase 4.5.
[2] If the graph cannot be made live, file a signed exception
against gate `graph-stale` (.tl/exceptions/) and rerun.
Emergency bypass routes through W4 emergency mode.
Status: BLOCKED (workflow detail: graph_unavailable)
Step 2: Read the six sources
Read each artifact once into a local variable. Treat absence as data
(e.g. missing .tl/release-status.json → release_status = null,
recorded as a NULL row in the delta report, not silently skipped).
// Graph-side aggregate read (single round trip):
MATCH (m:Module) WITH count(m) AS modules
MATCH (uc:UseCase) WITH modules, count(uc) AS use_cases
MATCH (t:Task) WITH modules, use_cases, count(t) AS tasks
MATCH (t:Task)
WHERE t.intake_id = $intakeId
WITH modules, use_cases, tasks, collect({
id: t.id, status: t.status,
evidence: coalesce(t.verification_evidence, '')
}) AS intake_tasks
OPTIONAL MATCH (fr:FeatureRequest)
WITH modules, use_cases, tasks, intake_tasks,
collect({ id: fr.id, release_tag: fr.release_tag }) AS feature_requests
RETURN modules, use_cases, tasks, intake_tasks, feature_requests
Also read active exceptions from .tl/exceptions/:
Step 3: Pairwise cross-checks (6 binding pairs)
Each row below is an independent assertion. Any FAIL emits
Status: BLOCKED with the per-pair delta report (Step 4). A pair
is satisfied iff the assertion holds after active signed
exceptions are applied. Expired exceptions do NOT satisfy any
assertion.
| Pair | Sources | Assertion |
|---|
| P-S1 | .tl/status.json totals vs live graph counts | status.json.totals.tasks == graph.tasks AND status.json.totals.use_cases == graph.use_cases AND status.json.totals.modules == graph.modules. |
| P-S2 | .tl/changelog.md entries vs graph FeatureRequest nodes | For every FR-NNN mentioned in the most recent changelog section, the live graph contains a FeatureRequest {id: 'FR-NNN'}. (FRs not yet shipped MAY exist in graph but not in changelog — the assertion is unidirectional changelog → graph.) |
| P-S3 | .tl/release-status.json release_tag vs graph release_tag property | If .tl/release-status.json.release_tag is non-null, the graph has ≥1 FeatureRequest {release_tag: <same>} OR ≥1 Task {release_tag: <same>} for the intake. |
| P-S4 | .tl/conductor-state.json phase markers vs .tl/status.json terminal statuses | If conductor-state.json.phase == "quality_gate_passed", then every entry in status.json.tasks[*].status for the intake is terminal (done / verified-pending / blocked / failed). No pending / in_progress may remain. |
| P-S5 | .tl/conductor-state.json per-task entries vs live graph Task.status | For every taskId in conductor-state.json.{techTasks, ucTasks}, the live graph Task {id: <id>, intake_id: <intake>}.status matches the JSON status field (mapped through the closed-set vocabulary: JSON done ↔ graph done / verified-pending; JSON failed ↔ graph failed; etc.). |
| P-S6 | live graph staleness (L8) for this intake's UC closure | No node in the intake's UC closure carries review_status='stale'. A change landed upstream (UC/entity/endpoint) but its dependents (typically Tasks) were never re-synced — /nacl-tl-plan clears them. Assertion: MATCH (uc:UseCase {intake_id:$intake})-[:GENERATES|HAS_REQUIREMENT|USES_FORM*0..3]-(n) WHERE coalesce(n.review_status,'current')='stale' RETURN count(n)=0. Mirrors nacl-sa-validate L8 / release condition #7; the W4 override gate is stale-downstream. |
In addition, recording-only (informational, not blocking):
- Exception inventory: for every active signed exception
referenced by any pair above, record
(exception_id, owner, expiry, affected_gates) in the reconciliation artifact. Expired exceptions
whose presence would have satisfied a pair are listed as EXPIRED
and the corresponding pair becomes FAILING again — the gate fires.
Step 4: Delta report (on any FAIL)
If any of P-S1 … P-S6 fails, HALT and emit a per-pair delta. Example
(Project-Alpha-style FR-007 changelog vs graph mismatch):
HALT — cross-artifact reconciliation failed at Phase 4.5.
The following sources of truth disagree. The conductor refuses
to declare CONDUCTOR COMPLETE on inconsistent state.
P-S2 changelog.md vs live graph FeatureRequest
.tl/changelog.md mentions FR-007 in section "0.18.0 — verification-
evidence writer contract" (line 142) but the live graph contains
NO FeatureRequest {id: 'FR-007'}.
delta = ['FR-007' present in changelog; missing from graph]
P-S4 conductor-state.json vs status.json
conductor-state.json.phase = "quality_gate_passed" but
status.json.tasks['UC-105'].status = "in_progress". A
conductor-state advance past quality_gate_passed requires
every task to be terminal in status.json.
delta = ['UC-105' in_progress in status.json]
Active signed exceptions against affected gates: none.
Resolution options:
[1] Replay the missing graph write (FR-007 was emitted to
changelog by a release that did not commit its graph
mutations). Run /nacl-sa-feature FR-007 to reissue.
[2] Resolve the orphaned terminal in conductor-state.json
by re-running /nacl-tl-full UC-105 to drive UC-105 to
a terminal state in BOTH artifacts.
[3] If you accept the drift consciously (e.g. FR was rolled
back but changelog kept the historical entry), file a
signed exception against `graph-stale` referencing this
intake and rerun. Note: this is NOT a deliver-time bypass
— Phase 5 still runs against the unreconciled state.
Status: BLOCKED (workflow detail: artifact-drift)
The Codex postmortem episode-10 "Project-Alpha live graph 1083 nodes vs
handover artifact 970 nodes" surfaces here as P-S1 failing (the
handover snapshot at tests/fixtures/graph-snapshots/project-alpha/_summary.json
shows 1083 nodes; a stale .tl/status.json
reflecting the 970-node handover would disagree). The
conductor-state-says-clean-but-CI-says-red episode surfaces here as
P-S4 failing (conductor-state advancing to
quality_gate_passed while status.json still has CI-red Tasks in
non-terminal status).
Step 5: Write reconciliation evidence
If all pairs pass (or pass under active signed exceptions), write
the reconciliation artifact to:
.tl/reconciliation/<ISO-8601-utc>.json
Format follows <NaCl-checkout>/.tl/reconciliation/ _template.json. Required fields:
timestamp — wall-clock UTC, same string as the filename basename.intake_id — the conductor's current intake.sources_checked — list of 6, each with name, path (relative
to project root), read_at, summary (counts where applicable).deltas — per-pair object with pair_id (P-S1 … P-S6),
assertion, outcome (PASS / FAIL / PASS_UNDER_EXCEPTION),
details (per-side values).active_exceptions — list of exception entries that influenced
outcome (each: exception_id, affected_gates, expiry).expired_exceptions — list of exception entries whose expiry has
passed; recorded for audit, do not satisfy any pair.terminal_status — closed-set status (VERIFIED if all PASS or
PASS_UNDER_EXCEPTION; BLOCKED if any FAIL; BLOCKED with
workflow detail graph_unavailable if Step 1 failed).
Only on terminal_status == VERIFIED does the conductor advance
to Phase 5.
Worked examples (mapped to the W0 baseline)
| Episode | Source | Pair that fires | Outcome |
|---|
| Project-Alpha FR-007 in changelog but not in graph | project-alpha-postmortem-codex.md § 4 | P-S2 | BLOCKED — changelog references FR-007; graph has no FeatureRequest {id: 'FR-007'}. Operator can replay the SA-feature step or file a graph-stale exception. |
| Project-Alpha conductor-state says "typecheck clean" but CI red | project-alpha-postmortem.md § 3.12 | P-S4 + P-S5 | BLOCKED — conductor-state.json.phase == quality_gate_passed but status.json still has tasks in non-terminal; graph Task.status also disagrees with conductor JSON. The seven-commit remediation that landed at 17:35 on 2026-05-11 would have been blocked at 17:07 by this gate. |
| Project-Alpha 1083-node live graph vs 970-node stale handover | W0-baseline.md anomaly #7 | P-S1 | BLOCKED — status.json.totals.tasks reflects the stale 970-node snapshot; live graph reports 1083 nodes. Bringing the graph live + rerunning is the fix. |
Phase 5: DELIVERY
-
Update conductor-state.json: phase = "delivery"
-
Launch sub-agent (Task tool):
Execute /nacl-tl-deliver --branch [branch_name]
nacl-tl-deliver handles:
- Push branch to origin
- Create PR (if feature-branch strategy)
- Wait for CI pipeline
- Run verification on staging (nacl-tl-verify)
- Health check
-
Wait for result
-
Parse delivery result:
- If ALL PASS -> update conductor-state.json: delivery.status = "done"
- If VERIFY FAIL -> update: delivery.status = "verify_failed"
- If DEPLOY FAIL -> update: delivery.status = "deploy_failed"
- If CI FAIL -> update: delivery.status = "ci_failed"
Phase 6: REPORT
Display the final report (in user's language):
===============================================================
BATCH EXECUTION COMPLETE
===============================================================
Branch: feature/FR-001-generation-controls
Duration: 2h 14m
Scope source: Neo4j graph
Development:
TECH-001: Shared types setup (commit abc1234) -- DONE [PASS] Evidence: test-GREEN (backend/src/__tests__/shared-types.spec.ts)
UC028: Image format selection (commit def5678) -- DONE [PASS] Evidence: test-GREEN (frontend/src/components/__tests__/format-selector.spec.tsx)
UC029: Scene prompt display (no commit) -- UNVERIFIED [UNVERIFIED] Evidence: test-UNVERIFIED
BUG-003: Share button on mobile (commit 789abcd) -- DONE [PASS] Evidence: test-GREEN (frontend/src/__tests__/share-button.spec.tsx)
Result: 3/4 items completed
Status summary: 3 PASS, 1 UNVERIFIED, 0 BLOCKED, 0 REGRESSION
Evidence is sourced from `Task.verification_evidence` in Neo4j
(taxonomy: `nacl-core/SKILL.md`). The same string is what
`nacl-tl-release` will surface in its Evidence-level column.
Quality:
Stubs: 0 critical, 3 warnings
Pre-ship QA: 2/2 passed (UC029 skipped -- failed)
Delivery:
Ship: pushed to origin/feature/FR-001, PR #42
CI: passed (3m 12s)
Verify: PASS (code analysis + E2E)
Deploy: staging healthy (https://staging.example.com)
YouGile: completed tasks -> ToRelease
Graph: Task nodes updated (3 done, 1 failed)
Problems:
1. UC029 failed at sync phase after 3 retries.
See .tl/tasks/UC029/sync-report.md
Fix manually: /nacl-tl-full --task UC029
Verification gaps: UC029 (test-UNVERIFIED) — release will surface this.
Next:
/nacl-tl-release -- production release
/nacl-tl-full --task UC029 -- fix unverified UC
/nacl-tl-conductor --items ... -- next batch
===============================================================
Headline: CONDUCTOR APPLIED — UNVERIFIED
(Use CONDUCTOR COMPLETE when all items PASS; CONDUCTOR INCOMPLETE — REGRESSION
when any item has REGRESSION status.)
The Verification gaps: footer is rendered when any terminal-state task in
the current intake has verification_evidence ∈ {test-UNVERIFIED,
no-test}. It mirrors the footer nacl-tl-release emits, so the user is
never surprised by a release-time gap report when the conductor itself
already declared COMPLETE. The footer is computed from the same Cypher
query the release skill runs:
MATCH (t:Task)
WHERE t.intake_id = $intakeId
AND t.status IN ['done', 'verified-pending', 'blocked']
AND t.verification_evidence IN ['test-UNVERIFIED', 'no-test']
RETURN t.id, t.verification_evidence
ORDER BY t.id
If the result is empty, the footer is omitted entirely (no Verification gaps: none line — silence is the positive signal).
Failure Handling Matrix
Every possible sub-agent outcome has a defined response:
| Situation | Conductor Action |
|---|
| nacl-tl-full returns PASS (FULL COMPLETE) | Commit atomically, write t.status='done' to graph, continue |
| nacl-tl-full returns UNVERIFIED | DO NOT commit; write t.status='verified-pending'; log; continue |
| nacl-tl-full returns BLOCKED | Halt; ask user override; if confirmed write t.status='blocked'; continue |
| nacl-tl-full returns NO_INFRA / RUNNER_BROKEN | Halt; escalate as infra problem; do NOT continue automatically |
| nacl-tl-full returns REGRESSION | Halt; file bug; do NOT commit or advance to delivery |
| nacl-tl-full returns FAILED for UC (old-style) | Record failure with phase + reason, update Task node, continue to next UC |
| nacl-tl-dev returns FAILED for TECH | Retry with review loop (max 3), then record failure |
| nacl-tl-fix returns PASS | Commit atomically, write t.status='done', continue |
| nacl-tl-fix returns UNVERIFIED | DO NOT commit; write t.status='verified-pending'; continue |
| nacl-tl-fix returns BLOCKED | Halt; ask user override before continuing |
| nacl-tl-fix returns REGRESSION | Halt; do NOT commit |
| Sub-agent timeout / no response | Record as timeout, continue. Recommend manual retry in report |
| Git conflict on commit | Attempt git add -A && git commit. If conflict -> pause, ask user |
| Git conflict on branch creation | Checkout existing branch (resume scenario) |
| nacl-tl-deliver FAIL at ship (push rejected) | Pull --rebase, retry push. If still fails -> report |
| nacl-tl-deliver FAIL at CI | Read CI logs, include in report. Suggest fix |
| nacl-tl-deliver FAIL at verify | Record. Suggest /nacl-tl-reopened for specific UCs |
| nacl-tl-deliver FAIL at deploy | Record with details. Suggest checking pipeline |
| All items failed | Skip delivery entirely. Full failure report |
| Partial success (some done, some failed) | User gate: continue with partial delivery or abort |
| Conductor session interrupted | State saved in conductor-state.json. Resume on next run |
| Neo4j unavailable at Phase 0 | Fall back to file-based scope resolution (read FR-NNN.md) |
| Neo4j unavailable at Phase 3 | nacl-tl-full handles its own fallback; conductor continues normally |
| Neo4j write fails after completion | Log warning, continue (graph sync is best-effort, not blocking) |
Resumption Logic
On start, if .tl/conductor-state.json exists:
- Read state file
- Determine current phase and last completed item
- Resume from the right point:
phase = "development":
- Find first item with status != "done" and status != "failed"
- For TECH: check if dev done but review pending
- For UC: delegate to nacl-tl-full --task (it has its own resumption via status.json)
- For BUG: re-run nacl-tl-fix if status = "in_progress"
phase = "quality_gate_passed":
- Skip directly to Phase 5 (delivery)
phase = "delivery":
- Read .tl/delivery-status.json
- Resume nacl-tl-deliver from incomplete step (ship/ci/verify/deploy)
phase = "complete":
- Show last report, ask if user wants to re-run anything
- USER GATE (skip if
--yes):
Resuming from previous session.
Branch: feature/FR-001-generation-controls
Completed: TECH-001, UC028
Resuming from: UC029 (Wave 1)
Continue? [y/n]
YouGile Integration
| Phase | Column Transition | Actor |
|---|
| Phase 0 (init) | UserRequests -> Backlog | nacl-tl-intake (before conductor) |
| Phase 3 (dev start) | Backlog -> InWork | conductor (or nacl-tl-full internally) |
| Phase 3 (dev done) | InWork -> DevDone | nacl-tl-full (per UC, automatic) |
| Phase 5 (verify) | DevDone -> Testing | nacl-tl-verify (inside nacl-tl-deliver) |
| Phase 5 (verify pass) | Testing -> ToRelease | nacl-tl-verify (inside nacl-tl-deliver) |
| Phase 5 (verify fail) | Testing -> Reopened | nacl-tl-verify (inside nacl-tl-deliver) |
| Phase 6 (release) | ToRelease -> Done | nacl-tl-release (merges PRs, verifies deploy, tags version) |
Conductor does NOT directly move YouGile tasks. It delegates to sub-skills that handle their own YouGile transitions. Conductor only reads YouGile state for awareness.
Relationship to Other Skills
nacl-tl-intake -> classifies requests (graph-aware) -> recommends /nacl-tl-conductor
nacl-tl-conductor -> orchestrates batch -> delegates to:
+-- /nacl-tl-plan (graph-based planning, if needed)
+-- /nacl-tl-dev TECH-### (infrastructure -- unchanged)
+-- /nacl-tl-review TECH-### (TECH review -- unchanged)
+-- /nacl-tl-full --task UC### (graph-aware per-UC lifecycle)
+-- /nacl-tl-fix "description" (bug fixes -- unchanged)
+-- /nacl-tl-stubs --final (quality gate -- unchanged)
+-- /nacl-tl-deliver (push -> verify -> deploy -- unchanged, format-agnostic)
nacl-tl-full remains the per-UC lifecycle executor (graph-aware).
nacl-tl-deliver handles the ship->verify->deploy chain (format-agnostic, unchanged).
nacl-tl-conductor is the process manager that ties everything together.
Differences from nacl-tl-conductor
| Phase | nacl-tl-conductor delegates to | nacl-tl-conductor delegates to |
|---|
| Phase 0 INIT | .tl/feature-requests/FR-NNN.md | Neo4j graph (fallback: FR-NNN.md) |
| Phase 2 PLAN | /nacl-tl-plan | /nacl-tl-plan |
| Phase 3 DEV (UC lifecycle) | /nacl-tl-full | /nacl-tl-full |
| Phase 3 DEV (TECH) | /nacl-tl-dev | /nacl-tl-dev (unchanged) |
| Phase 3 DEV (BUG) | /nacl-tl-fix | /nacl-tl-fix (unchanged) |
| Phase 4 QUALITY GATE | /nacl-tl-stubs | /nacl-tl-stubs (unchanged) |
| Phase 5 DELIVERY | /nacl-tl-deliver | /nacl-tl-deliver (unchanged) |
What conductor does NOT do:
- Write or review code (delegates to nacl-tl-dev-be/fe via nacl-tl-full)
- Run tests (delegates to nacl-tl-full, nacl-tl-verify)
- Create specifications (delegates to nacl-sa-feature via nacl-tl-intake)
- Move YouGile tasks (delegates to sub-skills)
- Query Neo4j during development (nacl-tl-full and nacl-tl-plan handle that)
What conductor DOES do:
- Create and manage feature branches
- Decide execution order (waves, dependencies)
- Commit completed work atomically
- Handle failures and retries at the batch level
- Coordinate delivery timing
- Maintain persistent state for resumption
- Update Task node statuses in Neo4j after completion/failure
- Report progress and final results
Edge Cases
Single item batch
If only one FR or BUG is provided, conductor still creates a feature branch and follows the full workflow. This ensures consistent git history and delivery process.
No TECH tasks
If master-plan.md has no Wave 0 (TECH), skip directly to UC waves.
All items are bugs
Skip planning phase. Each bug gets /nacl-tl-fix -> commit. Then deliver.
Feature branch already exists on remote
If git push reports the branch exists:
- If conductor-state.json exists -> resume mode, checkout and continue
- If no state -> ask user: "Branch exists. Checkout and continue, or create new branch?"
Conflicting changes between UCs
If UC029 modifies files that UC028 already committed:
- Git handles this naturally (both commits on same branch)
- If actual conflict (same lines changed): git commit will succeed (both changes are staged)
- If test failures after commit: the quality gate (Phase 4) catches this
Neo4j unavailable
If mcp__neo4j__read-cypher fails during Phase 0 scope resolution:
- Log warning: "Neo4j unavailable, falling back to file-based scope resolution"
- Read
.tl/feature-requests/FR-NNN.md instead (same as nacl-tl-conductor)
- Continue the workflow normally -- graph unavailability does NOT block orchestration
- Sub-agents (nacl-tl-plan, nacl-tl-full) handle their own Neo4j fallback
Graph write failures
If mcp__neo4j__write-cypher fails when updating Task node status:
- Log warning: "Failed to update Task node in graph"
- Continue -- graph sync is best-effort, not blocking
- Include in report: "Graph sync incomplete, run manual sync if needed"
References
config.yaml -> git strategy, modules, deploy, yougile.tl/master-plan.md -> wave structure, task dependencies.tl/status.json -> per-UC phase tracking.tl/conductor-state.json -> conductor's own state (created by this skill).tl/delivery-status.json -> delivery state (created by nacl-tl-deliver).tl/feature-requests/FR-NNN.md -> feature request artifacts (fallback)nacl-core/SKILL.md -> Neo4j connection, schema, query librarygraph-infra/queries/sa-queries.cypher -> sa_uc_full_context, sa_find_uc_by_keywordsgraph-infra/queries/tl-queries.cypher -> Task node queries
