future-idea-capture

source	shipped
name	future-idea-capture
description	Use when a future idea should be captured with trigger conditions rather than forced into the active phase
type	colony
domains	["idea-management","forward-planning","knowledge-base"]
agent_roles	["keeper","chronicler","queen"]
workflow_triggers	["discuss","plan"]
task_keywords	["future","someday","seed","later","idea"]
priority	normal
version	1.0

Future Idea Capture

Purpose

Capture forward-looking ideas with trigger conditions that auto-surface when the right milestone arrives. Tracks seed lifecycle from planting through germination to harvest (implementation) or withering (discarded).

When to Use

• An idea is too early to act on but too good to lose
• User says "someday we should...", "in the future...", "when we get to X, consider Y"
• A dependency or prerequisite exists before the idea can be pursued
• You want to queue up improvements for a future milestone
• Reviewing roadmap and identifying opportunities that aren't ready yet

Instructions

Plant a Seed

1. Capture the idea with structured metadata:

   {
     "id": "SEED-{NNN}",
     "title": "{concise title}",
     "description": "{full idea description}",
     "planted": "ISO8601",
     "status": "planted",
     "triggers": {
       "milestone": "{milestone id or null}",
       "phase": "{phase number or null}",
       "tag": "{keyword tag}",
       "condition": "{natural language condition}"
     },
     "priority": "low|normal|high",
     "source": "{where the idea came from}",
     "related_seeds": ["SEED-{NNN}"]
   }
   

2. Append to .aether/data/seeds.jsonl

3. Confirm planting with the user, showing the seed ID and trigger conditions

Check for Germination

1. Run automatically at milestone creation and phase planning
2. For each planted seed, evaluate triggers against current context:
   • milestone: Does the current or upcoming milestone match?
   • phase: Is the current phase number >= the trigger phase?
   • tag: Does any active work mention or relate to the tag?
   • condition: Natural language condition evaluated against current project state
3. Seeds with met triggers transition to germinating status
4. Present germinated seeds to the user for triage:
   • Harvest now: Promote to a todo or phase requirement
   • Let grow: Keep germinating, revisit next cycle
   • Wither: Mark as withered with reason

Lifecycle States

• planted -> Trigger conditions not yet met, waiting
• germinating -> Triggers met, awaiting user decision
• harvested -> Promoted to actionable work (link to todo or phase)
• withered -> Discarded (with reason recorded)
• dormant -> Temporarily paused (user explicitly deferred)

Review Seeds

1. List all seeds with optional filters:
   • --status planted|germinating|harvested|withered|dormant
   • --tag <tag>
   • --milestone <milestone id>
2. Display as a table with age (days since planting) and trigger status

Key Patterns

• Trigger specificity: Vague triggers ("eventually") are valid; specific triggers ("milestone 3") are preferred
• Non-blocking: Seeds never block current work; they only surface when conditions align
• Deduplication: Before planting, check for similar seeds. Merge if 80%+ similar.
• Age awareness: Seeds older than 90 days with no trigger match should be flagged for review
• Harvest trail: When a seed is harvested, record what it became (todo ID, phase number, etc.)

Output Format

SEED-007 planted: "Migrate to event-sourced order processing"
  Triggers: milestone >= MS-04, tag: "scalability"
  Priority: low | Age: 0 days
  Status: planted -> waiting for conditions

Germinating seeds for this milestone:
  SEED-003: "Add real-time notifications via WebSocket" (42 days old)
  -> [harvest] [let grow] [wither]

Examples

# Plant a seed
> seed-planter plant "When we hit 10k users, migrate to read replicas" --trigger "milestone:MS-05" --tag scalability

# Check for germinating seeds
> seed-planter check

# List all seeds
> seed-planter list --status planted

# Harvest a germinated seed
> seed-planter harvest SEED-003 --as todo