| name | prd-to-backlog |
| description | Use when a PRD or spec exists and needs to become an executable backlog. Breaks the document into GitHub issues structured as vertical-slice tracer bullets, marks each as HITL or AFK, and files a final QA issue. Requires the gh CLI. |
PRD to Backlog
Turn a PRD into GitHub issues that agents and humans can execute from the same board. Issues beat rigid phase documents: they reorder, they absorb QA findings as new items, and gh makes them agent-readable.
Step 1: Slice vertically
Read the PRD. Decompose into slices where each issue crosses every layer it touches (data, logic, route, UI) and is independently verifiable. Tracer bullets, per The Pragmatic Programmer (Thomas & Hunt).
- Issue 1 is the thinnest end-to-end slice of the whole product. Simplest data, one happy path, but it works when done.
- Every later issue thickens a slice that already works.
- Reject horizontal slices. "Set up the database" is not an issue; it is the first 20 minutes of a real issue.
- Size each issue to fit one focused session, comfortably inside a context window's smart zone.
Step 2: Mark HITL or AFK
Label every issue:
hitl: needs human taste. Design decisions, UX judgment, architecture choices, anything where the spec says "feels right".afk: spec is pinned down and feedback loops (tests, typecheck, screenshot) can verify the result without a human watching. These are eligible for autonomous loops.
When unsure, mark hitl. A wrongly-AFK'd issue costs a bad merge; a wrongly-HITL'd one costs a few minutes of supervision.
Step 3: File via gh
gh label create hitl --color FFA500 --force
gh label create afk --color 0E8A16 --force
gh issue create --title "..." --label afk --body "..."
Each issue body contains: goal (one line), the PRD section it implements, acceptance criteria as a checklist, and verification command(s). Use blocking references ("Blocked by #1") to encode order.
Step 4: The final QA issue
Always file a last issue, labeled hitl: "QA pass: use the product like a user. File every flaw found as a new issue." This is where new backlog items come from after v1.
Output
Report the issue list with numbers, labels, and the dependency chain. The backlog is now the queue for /ship sessions or a Ralph loop.
