opsx-continue

name	opsx-continue
description	Continue working on a change - create the next artifact (Experimental)
metadata	{"category":"Workflow","tags":["workflow","artifacts","experimental"]}

Continue working on a change by creating the next artifact.

Input: Optionally specify a change name after /opsx-continue (e.g., /opsx-continue add-auth). If omitted, check if it can be inferred from conversation context. If vague or ambiguous you MUST prompt for available changes.

Steps

1. If no change name provided, prompt for selection

   Run openspec list --json to get available changes sorted by most recently modified. Then use the AskUserQuestion tool to let the user select which change to work on.

   Present the top 3-4 most recently modified changes as options, showing:

   • Change name
   • Schema (from schema field if present, otherwise "spec-driven")
   • Status (e.g., "0/5 tasks", "complete", "no tasks")
   • How recently it was modified (from lastModified field)

   Mark the most recently modified change as "(Recommended)" since it's likely what the user wants to continue.

   IMPORTANT: Do NOT guess or auto-select a change. Always let the user choose.

1.5. Load app design context (if present)

Before creating any artifact, check for and silently load app design documents. These inform proposal scope, architecture constraints, and applicable ADRs.

File	If present, use to...
openspec/changes/<name>/context-brief.md	Specter intelligence brief — features, user stories, stakeholders, journeys, schemas. Primary input when present — read fully
openspec/architecture/	Repo-specific ADRs — the lowest-numbered ADR is typically the data model
../../../openspec/architecture/ (relative to skill base dir)	Company-wide ADRs (always apply) — these live in the Hydra repo that contains this skill
docs/ARCHITECTURE.md	Understand app-specific technology decisions and data model
docs/FEATURES.md	Confirm the feature tier and roadmap phase for what is being built

If a context-brief.md exists, it contains market-researched intelligence data. Use it directly — do not invent features or stories when the brief provides them.

If none of these files exist beyond the standard ADRs, proceed silently — do not block or prompt the user.

2. Check current status

   openspec status --change "<name>" --json
   

   Parse the JSON to understand current state. The response includes:

   • schemaName: The workflow schema being used (e.g., "spec-driven")
   • artifacts: Array of artifacts with their status ("done", "ready", "blocked")
   • isComplete: Boolean indicating if all artifacts are complete

3. Act based on status:

   ---

   If all artifacts are complete (isComplete: true):

   • Congratulate the user

   • Show final status including the schema used

   • Show What's Next:

     Recommended: /opsx-apply — start implementing the tasks

     Optional before that:

     • /opsx-plan-to-issues — create GitHub Issues for progress tracking

   • STOP

   ---

   If artifacts are ready to create (status shows artifacts with status: "ready"):

   • First, determine which ready artifacts are required vs optional:
     • Build the required set by walking the dependency graph backwards from applyRequires — any artifact transitively needed to satisfy apply.requires is required; all others are optional
     • If any required artifacts are status: "ready", pick the first one and proceed normally
     • If only optional artifacts are status: "ready" (all required artifacts are done), ask the user using AskUserQuestion:

       "All required artifacts are done. These optional artifacts are available — would you like to create one before implementing?" Present each optional artifact with its id and description as a choice, plus "No — proceed to implementation (/opsx-apply)" Create whichever artifact the user selects, or stop if they choose to proceed.

   • Pick the selected artifact with status: "ready" from the status output
   • Get its instructions:

     openspec instructions <artifact-id> --change "<name>" --json
     

   • Parse the JSON. The key fields are:
     • context: Project background (constraints for you - do NOT include in output)
     • rules: Artifact-specific rules (constraints for you - do NOT include in output)
     • template: The structure to use for your output file
     • instruction: Schema-specific guidance
     • outputPath: Where to write the artifact
     • dependencies: Completed artifacts to read for context
   • Create the artifact file:
     • Read any completed dependency files for context
     • Use template as the structure - fill in its sections
     • Apply context and rules as constraints when writing - but do NOT copy them into the file
     • Write to the output path specified in instructions
   • Show what was created and what's now unlocked
   • STOP after creating ONE artifact

   ---

   If no artifacts are ready (all blocked):

   • This shouldn't happen with a valid schema
   • Show status and suggest checking for issues

4. After creating an artifact, show progress

   openspec status --change "<name>"
   

Output

After each invocation, show:

• Which artifact was created
• Schema workflow being used
• Current progress (N/M complete)
• What artifacts are now unlocked

What's Next

Recommended: /opsx-continue — create the next artifact

Alternative (skip ahead): /opsx-ff — generate all remaining artifacts in one go

Artifact Creation Guidelines

The artifact types and their purpose depend on the schema. Use the instruction field from the instructions output to understand what to create.

Common artifact patterns:

spec-driven schema (proposal → specs → design → tasks):

• proposal.md: Ask user about the change if not clear. Fill in Why, What Changes, Capabilities, Impact.
  • The Capabilities section is critical - each capability listed will need a spec file.
  • After creating proposal.md: check the ## Capabilities section. For each capability listed under "Modified Capabilities" or "New Capabilities", find (or create) the corresponding spec at openspec/specs/<capability>/spec.md and:
    • Add this change to the **OpenSpec changes** list (new entry at bottom, oldest-first ordering)
    • Set **Status**: in-progress if it was planned or done — a new active change always moves the spec back to in-progress
    • If the list exceeds 15 entries, apply the grouping rule from writing-specs.md (group by timeframe, never remove entries)
• specs//spec.md: Create one spec per capability listed in the proposal's Capabilities section (use the capability name, not the change name).
• design.md: Document technical decisions, architecture, and implementation approach. MUST include a Seed Data section (ADR-001) with realistic objects per schema — general organization data that works for municipalities, consultancies, or travel agencies. Research realistic field values. The apply agent generates _registers.json entries from this section.
• tasks.md: Break down implementation into checkboxed tasks. Include a task for generating seed data in _registers.json when the change introduces or modifies schemas.

For other schemas, follow the instruction field from the CLI output.

Guardrails

• Create ONE artifact per invocation
• Always read dependency artifacts before creating a new one
• Never skip artifacts or create out of order
• If context is unclear, ask the user before creating
• Verify the artifact file exists after writing before marking progress
• Use the schema's artifact sequence, don't assume specific artifact names
• IMPORTANT: context and rules are constraints for YOU, not content for the file
  • Do NOT copy <context>, <rules>, <project_context> blocks into the artifact
  • These guide what you write, but should never appear in the output