| name | goal |
| description | Manage the build-mode goal-loop — set, inspect, pause, resume, extend, or clear a durable build objective with a budget ceiling. Drives the goal-loop + goal-gate hooks via a repo-root .goal-active sentinel. Invoke with /goal. |
| lifecycle | experimental |
Goal — build-mode goal-loop control
/goal manages a durable build objective for the current repo. The state lives in a flat .goal-active sentinel at the repo root; the goal-loop (UserPromptSubmit) and goal-gate (PreToolUse) hooks read it. This skill is the human control surface. Use it for code/build work only — it is the opposite of /exploration.
Sentinel schema (<repo-root>/.goal-active, flat key:value)
objective: <one line — what "done" means>
stop_condition: <falsifiable end state>
budget_ceiling_usd: 10
turn_ceiling: 25
turns: 0
spent_usd: 0
mode: engaged # engaged | armed | paused
started_at: <ISO8601>
engaged = hook injects objective + budget each turn and forces a checkpoint at either ceiling; destructive ops require approval. armed = advisory only (set by /specification). paused = inert but preserved.
Subcommands
/goal or /goal status — read .goal-active and report mode, objective, stop condition, turns/ceiling, spent/budget. If absent: "No active goal in this repo."/goal "<objective>" — ENGAGE. Write .goal-active with mode: engaged, the given objective, turns: 0, spent_usd: 0, defaults budget_ceiling_usd: 10 / turn_ceiling: 25, and started_at = current ISO timestamp (get it via date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ). If no stop condition is obvious, ask the user for one before writing. Then ensure .goal-active is git-ignored (add to .gitignore or .git/info/exclude)./goal pause — set mode: paused (loop goes inert, state preserved)./goal resume — set mode: engaged./goal spend <usd> — set spent_usd: <usd> (log real cost observed from the statusline; honored against budget_ceiling_usd)./goal extend [n] — raise turn_ceiling by n (default +15) and reset turns: 0. Use after a checkpoint to authorize another budget window./goal clear — delete the .goal-active sentinel (goal complete or abandoned).
Rules
- Always operate on the sentinel at
$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)/.goal-active. If not in a git repo, tell the user the goal-loop requires one.
- Edit individual fields in place (don't rewrite unrelated fields); preserve
turns unless the subcommand resets it.
- Never set
mode to a value other than engaged / armed / paused.
- The checkpoint exists to honor the $10 spend-checkpoint discipline. When the hook reports a checkpoint, stop and report ROI before continuing; only
/goal extend re-authorizes autonomous progress.
