aso-edge-tactics

name	aso-edge-tactics
description	Audit an app's ASO surface against the 8 highest-leverage moves and the 2025–2026 algorithm shifts. Produces a prioritized gap report separating metadata gaps from engineering gaps from operational gaps.
user-invocable	true
argument-hint	[mode: eight-moves/algorithm-shifts/full]
allowed-tools	Agent AskUserQuestion Read Write Edit Glob Grep Bash

/aso-edge-tactics

Standalone audit against the smart-ASO playbook at specs/aso-pipeline/smart-aso-techniques.md. Surfaces what most marketers leave on the table because the tactics live in engineering, operations, or a re-evaluation cadence most teams don't run.

Use when:

• Onboarding a product to figure out the highest-leverage moves first
• Quarterly re-evaluation (Part 2 algorithm shifts decay — re-audit every 90 days)
• After a competitor launches something visibly successful
• Before allocating engineering capacity to ASO ("is Spotlight indexing worth it for this app?")

This skill is also invoked from:

• aso-director final synthesis on every full /aso-pipeline run (mode: eight-moves, auto-appends to changes.md)
• /aso-pipeline audit as a lens (mode: eight-moves, merged into the audit report)

Mode Detection

Parse $ARGUMENTS:

Argument	Mode	Behavior
(none) or eight-moves	eight-moves (default)	Audit the 8 highest-leverage moves only — fastest path
algorithm-shifts	algorithm-shifts	Audit only the 2025–2026 algorithm shifts — for quarterly re-eval
full	full	All 8 moves + algorithm shifts + extended tactics (rare / heavier moves)

Phase 0: Preflight

1. Verify the playbook spec is present at specs/aso-pipeline/smart-aso-techniques.md. If absent:

   Missing spec: specs/aso-pipeline/smart-aso-techniques.md. This skill depends on the smart-ASO techniques playbook. Restore the file from the nextc-claude repo and re-run.

   STOP. Do not spawn the agent.

2. Check for an app brief at aso/config/app_brief.yaml. If absent:

   No app brief found. The edge-tactics audit needs at least basic app context.

   Two options:

   1. Run /aso-pipeline build first to construct a brief (~5 min)
   2. Continue without a brief — the audit will rely entirely on what you tell the agent interactively. Useful for an early-stage gut check; less useful as a record.

   Ask the user which path to take.

3. Optional inputs (read if present, never failure conditions):

   • aso/outputs/*.md — prior phase outputs
   • aso/.snapshots/<latest>.json — last full snapshot
   • docs/proposal.md — product context

4. Report preflight state:

   Preflight passed.
     Spec: specs/aso-pipeline/smart-aso-techniques.md ✓
     App brief: aso/config/app_brief.yaml [found/not found]
     Prior pipeline outputs: [N files found]
     Snapshot: [found/not found]
     Mode: [eight-moves/algorithm-shifts/full]
   

Cost & Time Estimate

Mode	Tokens	Time
eight-moves	~25K	~5 min
algorithm-shifts	~18K	~4 min
full	~50K	~10 min

Show the estimate before spawning.

Output Destination

Invocation context	Path
Standalone /aso-edge-tactics	aso/outputs/edge-tactics-audit.md
From aso-director final synthesis	Appended to aso/outputs/changes.md as ## Edge Tactics Gap section
From /aso-pipeline audit	aso/outputs/edge-tactics-audit.md, merged into audit report

The spawning context passes the destination into the agent's spawn prompt.

Spawn the Agent

Agent(
  subagent_type: "nextc-aso:aso-edge-tactics",
  model: "sonnet",
  prompt: """
  Mode: [eight-moves/algorithm-shifts/full]
  Working directory: [cwd]
  Output path: [aso/outputs/edge-tactics-audit.md | aso/outputs/changes.md | custom]
  Append vs overwrite: [overwrite | append]

  App brief: [aso/config/app_brief.yaml] [found/not found]
  Prior outputs available: [list of aso/outputs/*.md]
  Snapshot: [aso/.snapshots/<latest>.json] [found/not found]
  Proposal: [docs/proposal.md] [found/not found]

  Playbook spec (mandatory read): specs/aso-pipeline/smart-aso-techniques.md
  Naming framework (for move #1): specs/aso-pipeline/strategic-product-naming.md
  """
)

After the Agent Returns

1. Display the consultant SUMMARY from the agent's return block.
2. Show the path to the gap report (or note where it was appended).
3. If EDGE_TACTICS_HIGH_GAP signal: surface the top recommendation prominently.
4. If ENGINEERING_BLOCKER signal: note that some closing paths require dev capacity, separate from ASO pipeline work.
5. Offer next steps:
   • Standalone: "Highest leverage gap is [X]. Close via [agent/skill]. Want me to run that phase now?"
   • From /aso-pipeline audit: integrated into the broader audit summary.
   • From director synthesis: integrated into the final pipeline wrap-up.

Mode-Specific Notes

eight-moves (default)

Fastest audit. Anchored on §"Quick Reference" of the spec. Skips the rarer tactics (portfolio play, editorial pitching, reactive ASO operations) because those are decisions that need separate user buy-in beyond an audit.

algorithm-shifts

Only Part 2 of the spec. Designed for quarterly re-evaluation — the algorithm shifts have a half-life and the audit answers "did the market catch up to these yet, and are we ahead or behind?"

full

Comprehensive — includes the rarer tactics in Part 1 (reactive ASO, web→app funnel detail, portfolio play recommendation, editorial pitching readiness, app preview video, the gray-area §1.8 tactic with honest framing), plus Part 5 ongoing levers (promotional text rotation, Apple Ads as research, competitor review mining, category selection, update cadence).

Use sparingly. Most teams don't have the operational bandwidth to execute on all of it at once — running full quarterly is plenty.

Error Recovery

Failure	Recovery
Spec file missing	Stop in preflight
App brief missing AND user wants the record	Run /aso-pipeline build first
Agent returns FAILED	Display reason. Most common cause: no app brief AND no interactive answers.
Engineering gap flagged but no dev team	Audit still useful — surfaces the bottleneck explicitly so the user can plan