Guides creation of dubstack agent source files (agent.yaml + frontmatter.md + agent-body.md) through discovery, template selection, and iterative filling. Produces complete vera-cli native agent directories ready for `vera build`. Self-documenting templates teach the fill conversation; the skill orchestrates the process while the templates own the content knowledge. Primary entry point for adding a new agent to dubstack.
D-phase skill for the codesmith implementation workflow. Invokes render-design-doc-skeleton.py to overwrite the design.md placeholder with a tag-aware skeleton grounded in R-phase findings. Runs the always-interactive brain-surgery alignment conversation per Lock 6: agent presents each design section, human stress-tests via Question tool per substantive decision, iterate until aligned. Tracks the foundational-reversal strike counter per Lock 31. May identify multiple architecturally-distinct plans (NOT sub-tickets). Hands off to code-structure when D-phase is locked.
Q↔R loop skill for the codesmith implementation workflow. Applies Kipling structure (What/How/Who/When/Why/Where) × grill-with-docs discipline × per-tag emphasis matrix to derive code-layer questions. Composes research dispatch instructions (in-memory, NOT a written artifact) per the 7 composable research patterns. Dispatches `researcher` across the hide-the-intent boundary — researcher receives questions + scope only, not the ticket. Synthesizes returns into the bundle's research file. Updates CONTEXT.md inline as terms surface. Scaffolds Decision Records when the three-condition gate fires. Loops until five readiness criteria are met (problem scoped, current state mapped, impact understood, edge cases identified, agent can articulate unprompted). Hands off to code-design when readiness is confirmed.
I-phase orchestration skill per Lock 10. Iterates over the locked plan's slices in dependency order. For each slice: invokes worktree-setup (first slice only or once per parallel plan); dispatches `codesmith-worker` subagent with slice scope (plan + slice boundary + verification commands + commit convention + worktree path); awaits PHASE_COMPLETE or NEEDS_DECOMPOSITION; on decomposition triggers mini-replan per Lock 19; on completion invokes `code-verify` for the I-per-slice gate. Owns the plan-as-living-doc's structural sections; worker owns the per-slice log subsections. Tracks decomposition strike count (abort after 3 consecutive on the same slice per Lock 17.2).
Entry-point skill for the codesmith implementation workflow. Detects dual mode (planning vs execution) from initial input shape — ticket reference → planning mode; bundle directory → execution mode. In planning mode: loads the `status: ready` ticket, scaffolds the implementation bundle via scaffold-implementation-bundle.py, transitions ticket status `ready → active`, and hands off to code-grill. In execution mode: loads the existing bundle (ticket + design + structure + plans + optional research), confirms preconditions, and hands off to code-implement. Detects PR mode vs local-only mode based on remote configuration and user confirmation.
P-phase skill for the codesmith implementation workflow. Converts the structural skeleton into per-slice tactical steps (TDD vertical: failing test → minimal impl → green → verify → commit) per Lock 8. Produces one plan doc per plan identified in D-phase. Runs the Parallel-Safety Evaluation per Lock 27 to determine whether multiple plans execute in parallel worktrees or serialize. Spot-check user review; no open questions in the final plan. Hands off to worktree-setup (or directly to code-implement if Work-Tree is bypassed).
S-phase skill for the codesmith implementation workflow. Produces the structural skeleton (the C-header-file analog) per Lock 7. For each plan identified in D-phase, generates the list of files to create/modify with purpose, type/interface/schema signatures, test file structure, and vertical-slice identification. Locks STRUCTURE not tactics — the actual TDD steps (test → impl → green → verify → commit) are P-phase's job. Spot-check user review; hands off to code-plan when structure is locked.
V-phase verification gate orchestrator per Lock 11. Invoked at four of the five V-gates: D-review (after D locks), P-review (after P locks), I-per-slice (after each slice's commit), final-integration (after all slices). The fifth gate, PR-review, lives inline in pr-cycle. For each gate: selects mandatory + conditional angles from verification-angle-table.md; dispatches `codesmith-validator` with per-gate prompt; receives JSON findings; renders into the bundle's verification.md via render-verification-report.py; handles binary verdict (PROCEED | BLOCKED) with severity-driven blocking; returns loop-back target to the caller when BLOCKED.