feature

name	feature
description	Start a new feature in an isolated git worktree with proportional verification
when_to_use	when the user says "start a feature", "new feature", invokes "/agent-dashboard:feature", or describes work that needs an isolated branch + worktree + planned implementation loop. NOT for hotfixes, single-file edits, pure exploration, or non-code changes (use /agent-dashboard:chore, /agent-dashboard:fix, /agent-dashboard:investigate instead).
version	1.0.0
disable-model-invocation	true
effort	max

Start a new feature in an isolated git worktree.

Feature description: $ARGUMENTS

Instructions

Follow these phases in order. Each phase has a gate — do not proceed until the gate is satisfied.

If the feature touches browser UI, Playwright, dev-server ports, screenshots, or interactive Browser/Chrome inspection, apply ../_shared/ui-automation.md at planning, environment setup, verification, delegation, and cleanup points.

For Verification profiles, apply ../_shared/verification-profiles.md. Active AGENTS.md/core rules may add doctrine, but this shared glossary is the standalone agent-dashboard fallback.

---

Phase 1: Setup

Follow ../_shared/worktree-setup.md with branch prefix feat.

Gate: Working directory is the new worktree on the correct branch, based on latest main. If .env* files existed in the source repo, they are all present in the worktree.

---

Phase 2: Plan

Start two tracks in parallel:

Background — Environment setup: First check for a reusable environment: if .env-setup-done exists in the worktree root AND every dependency manifest/lockfile present (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, yarn.lock, requirements.txt, pyproject.toml, uv.lock, go.mod, go.sum) is older than the sentinel ([ "$f" -ot .env-setup-done ]), skip the launch and note the reuse — the setup from a prior run in this worktree is current. Otherwise, launch a background agent (run_in_background: true) to set up the dev environment per ../_shared/env-setup.md.

Foreground — Planning:

Phase order: research first, interview second, plan mode third, submit fourth. Plan mode is the last gate before approval, not a pre-research speed-bump. Each step has a HARD-GATE you cannot rationalize past.

1. Research with Explore. Use the built-in Explore subagent for any non-trivial codebase question or library lookup. Do not call Agent with subagent_type=Plan — composing the plan is your job, not a delegated subagent's. Synthesize what you found inline as your own assistant text.

   Research subagent (`Explore`): allowed and encouraged. Planning subagent (`Plan`): forbidden in this skill. Compose the plan yourself.

   Do not wait for environment setup to finish.

2. Interview the user via AskUserQuestion. Identify every gating decision the implementation depends on — URLs, IDs, scope boundaries, copy text, what to delete vs keep, version pins, credentials. Ask them as a single AskUserQuestion call with multi-choice options, not as freeform numbered text in your assistant message.

   Load via ToolSearch if AskUserQuestion isn't in scope: ToolSearch("select:AskUserQuestion").

   Schema: 1–4 questions per call, each with a header (≤12 chars), 2–4 mutually exclusive options, multiSelect: false unless the choices genuinely combine. Recommended option goes first with (Recommended) suffix. The user always gets an "Other" escape hatch automatically.

   Worked example:

   AskUserQuestion({
     questions: [{
       question: "Where should focus.json live?",
       header: "Focus path",
       multiSelect: false,
       options: [
         {label: "~/.agent-dashboard/focus.json (Recommended)", description: "Co-located with agents/ state dir already watched."},
         {label: "$XDG_RUNTIME_DIR/agent-dashboard/focus.json", description: "Tmpfs-backed, cleared on reboot."},
       ],
     }]
   })
   

   The plan you submit in step 4 must be implementable as written. No "Decisions needed", "Phase 0", "TBD", "?", or "to be confirmed" sections in the body. If a user answer changes scope, return to this step and re-interview.

   Freeform numbered questions in assistant text are a violation. If you find yourself typing "1." "2." "3." to ask the user something — STOP, call `AskUserQuestion` instead. The plan is not ready for review until every decision it gates is answered.

3. Enter plan mode via EnterPlanMode, then draft the plan inline. Now that research is done and decisions are resolved, call EnterPlanMode (load via ToolSearch if not in scope). This flips the parent's permission_mode='plan' and restricts you to read-only tools while you write the plan as your own assistant text.

   Caveat: on approval (step 4), CC drops to its default permission_mode, not back to bypassPermissions. Subsequent edits in Phase 3 will re-prompt unless the user re-enables bypass. Accepted trade-off — visible planning is worth the one-time mode reset.

   No drafting the plan in assistant text until `EnterPlanMode` has been called and `permission_mode='plan'` is active.

   Phase format for multi-phase plans. If the plan has 3+ distinct work units, structure it with a ## Phases checklist and matching ### Phase X: headings. Step 4 reads this format to offer the dispatch probe; /agent-dashboard:implement parses it to drive the dispatch loop. Plans without it can't be dispatched.

   ## Phases
   
   - [ ] **Phase A: <short name>** — files: <globs>, deps: -
   - [ ] **Phase B: <short name>** — files: <globs>, deps: A
   - [ ] **Phase C: <short name>** — files: <globs>, deps: B
   
   ### Phase A: <short name>
   
   <10–50 lines: what files, Verification profile (Surgical/Targeted/Full) + proof command, what invariants, what to leave alone.>
   
   ### Phase B: <short name>
   
   <...>
   

   Rules:

   • The ## Phases block is the dispatch index. Phase names MUST match between checklist and ### Phase X: headings (case-sensitive).
   • Each phase body MUST name a Verification profile and proof command so /agent-dashboard:implement does not default to whole-repo tests for isolated work.
   • deps: defaults to "depends on previous phase". Use - for "no dependencies".
   • - [ ] = pending. - [x] = done. /agent-dashboard:implement flips these as it dispatches.
   • Fewer than 3 work units? Skip this format. Inline paragraphs are fine; the probe fires only at 6+ phases.

4. Submit via ExitPlanMode. Wait for user approval. Pass the full plan markdown to the plan file (per CC's plan-mode workflow) and call ExitPlanMode. This renders the plan in CC's native plan-review UI for accept/reject.

   ExitPlanMode is the only acceptable submission. Pasting the plan as assistant text is a violation, even if you also call ExitPlanMode afterwards. The user reviews and approves through the plan-review UI — nowhere else.

   No exceptions:

   • Don't start a "small" preparatory edit while waiting.
   • Don't write the test file "to save time".
   • Don't ask "should I proceed?" in assistant text — the plan-mode UI's accept action is the approval.

   Post-approval actions (immediately after the user accepts the plan, before Phase 3):

   1. Write the plan-path sentinel (always). CC's plan-mode system prompt told you where the approved plan markdown lives (typically ~/.claude/plans/<slug>.md). Record that path so /agent-dashboard:implement can find it:

      echo "<absolute-plan-path>" > .feature-plan-path
      

   2. Count the phases. Read the plan; count - [ ] / - [x] lines under ## Phases. If there's no ## Phases block or the count is < 6, skip step 3 below and start Phase 3 inline.

   3. Probe for dispatch handoff (only when phase count ≥ 6). Call AskUserQuestion exactly once:

      • Question: "Plan has {N} phases. Continue inline here, or hand off to /agent-dashboard:implement for context isolation?"
      • Header: "Dispatch"
      • Options (recommended first):
        • "Hand off to /agent-dashboard:implement (Recommended for 6+ phases)" — Exit /agent-dashboard:feature. The user invokes /agent-dashboard:implement in a fresh session; each phase dispatches to its own subagent.
        • "Continue inline" — Stay in this session; run each phase with its selected Verification profile and proof command.

      If Continue inline: start Phase 3. The ## Phases structure becomes documentation — inline implementation ignores the index.

      If Hand off to /agent-dashboard:implement: print the message below and exit cleanly. Do not start Phase 3.

      Plan saved to <plan-path>.
      Worktree ready at <worktree-path>.
      To continue, run:
      
          /agent-dashboard:implement
      
      (Recommended: open a fresh terminal session for max context isolation.)
      

Gate: Plan approved with no open decisions. .feature-plan-path written. Either Phase 3 begins (inline) or the skill exited with the handoff message (dispatch).

---

Phase 3: Implement

Pre-gate: Check for .env-setup-done in the worktree root.

• If present: verify dependencies are installed (e.g. node_modules/ exists, pip list succeeds, go env GOPATH works) and data symlinks resolve correctly.
• If .env-setup-failed exists: surface the error and halt.
• If neither file exists: the background agent is still running — wait for it to finish before proceeding.

Effort note: When launched via the agent-dashboard's New Agent flow, this skill spawns with --effort high on the CLI, which Claude Code pins at the session level. The dynamic dispatcher in agent-state-fast.js bumps effort to max automatically while permission_mode='plan' (EnterPlanMode active) and drops back to high on exit — so planning runs at max effort without paying that cost during implementation. When invoked as a slash command inside an existing claude session, you can run /effort max before entering plan mode and /effort high (or lower) before implementation.

Delegation gate: Invoke /codex:setup to check Codex CLI availability. If the output contains "ready": true, delegate only if the user explicitly requested Codex delegation OR the plan touches 10+ files / ~3,000+ lines of implementation. Below that threshold, the orchestration overhead (skill loading, prompt construction, subagent context, result parsing, review) costs more tokens than Claude implementing directly. If delegating, invoke /codex-delegate with the approved plan (Phase 2) as implementation context, then skip to the phase gate. Otherwise, proceed below.

Build the feature using the active AGENTS.md/core proportional verification doctrine when present, and ../_shared/verification-profiles.md as the standalone fallback. This skill selects the profile, records the proof command, and runs that command.

Loop:

1. Profile first. State Verification profile: <Surgical|Targeted|Full> and Proof command: <command or none> before editing. Escalate the profile if the diff grows.
2. RED where it adds value. When the selected profile calls for behavior or regression coverage, write the smallest failing test first and show the failing output. Do not add implementation-only tests; when no new test is warranted, name the existing proof or why no executable proof applies.
3. GREEN. Write the minimum implementation and rerun the proof command until it passes. No "while I'm here" additions or premature abstractions.
4. REFACTOR. Clean up only structure. Rerun the proof command after meaningful edits; escalate if the refactor crosses package boundaries or changes shared behavior.
5. Final implementation proof. Before committing from this skill, run the profile's proof command. The PR skill owns the final branch-wide cleanup, formatting, and full test gate.

For UI verification, prefer headless Playwright with worktree-local resources. Use interactive Browser/Chrome inspection only when the shared policy says it is warranted.

Gate: Environment ready. The selected verification profile passes. Implementation matches the approved plan, and unnecessary new tests were not added.

---

Phase 4: Review

Review all changes for correctness, security, and convention adherence. Apply all project rules and conventions that are in your context. If language-specific strict reviewer agents are available in your context (per your dispatch rules), spawn every applicable reviewer in one message so they run in parallel — never sequentially; address critical and high findings, fix medium when cheap.

Gate: No critical or high-severity issues remain.

---

Phase 5: Deliver

1. Commit the feature changes with a feat: conventional commit message.
2. Open the PR by invoking /agent-dashboard:pr. That skill owns conditional cleanup/formatting, final test gating when available, push, and gh pr create. Do not call gh pr create directly — a pr-skill-gate hook will block it.

Gate: Clean commit history with conventional commit messages. PR opened via /agent-dashboard:pr.

---

Phase 6: Cleanup (on merge)

Triggered when the user indicates the feature has been merged upstream.

1. Verify the branch is merged (warn if unmerged commits remain)
2. Tear down environment resources: remove symlinks, stop dev servers or emulators, release any browser lease, remove worktree-local UI scratch state, delete .env-setup-done / .env-setup-failed / .feature-plan-path sentinel files
3. Remove worktree and delete branch
4. Confirm cleanup is complete

---

Red Flags — STOP

If you catch yourself saying or thinking any of these, pause and re-read the relevant phase. (Hooks block the common paths for commits on main and direct gh pr create, so those get no self-check bullets here.)

• "I'll just sketch the implementation first" → Phase 3 verification violation. Pick a profile, then follow it.
• "I'll delegate the plan to a Plan subagent" → Phase 2 step 1 violation. Research with Explore; plan inline. The dashboard can't surface delegated plans.
• "I'll skip EnterPlanMode, plan mode resets bypassPermissions" → Phase 2 step 3 violation. The reset to default permission_mode is the accepted cost.
• "I'll just paste the plan as text instead of calling ExitPlanMode" → Phase 2 step 4 violation. ExitPlanMode is the only acceptable submission.
• "The plan is obvious, let me start" → Phase 2 gate violation. Wait for approval.
• "Tests pass on my reading of the code" → no executable proof. Run the profile's command, or state why none applies.
• "I'll skip the worktree, it's a small change" → wrong skill. Use a feature branch directly without invoking this skill.
• "I'll bundle this unrelated cleanup into the feature commit" → split it. Open a separate PR.
• "User picked hand-off, but I'm already here — I'll just do Phase 3 myself" → exit cleanly. They opted out of inline implementation for a reason (context). Don't second-guess.
• "I'll write .feature-plan-path later, after I start Phase 3" → write it now. /agent-dashboard:implement and resume can't find the plan without it.