| name | create-initial-operating-contract |
| description | Generate an initial operating contract for autonomous Copilot work. Use when starting a new task stream, kickoff session, issue burndown, or multi-step implementation where scope, stop conditions, constraints, acceptance criteria, and execution policy must be explicit before coding. |
Create Initial Operating Contract
Create a concise, execution-ready operating contract the agent can follow from kickoff through completion.
When to Use This Skill
- User asks for an "operating contract", "working agreement", "execution contract", or "autopilot contract"
- A task has multiple steps and needs explicit boundaries and stop conditions
- A session is resuming after interruption and needs a fresh control plan
- Work involves issue burndown, parallel PR handling, or strict repo constraints
Contract Outputs
Produce a single contract containing:
- Mission and success definition
- Scope in/out
- Non-negotiable constraints
- Prioritized work order
- Verification and merge policy
- Progress reporting cadence
- Stop conditions and escalation rules
- Handoff format
Step-by-Step Workflow
- Gather context from the user prompt and repository state.
- Resolve ambiguous boundaries (include assumptions if user did not specify).
- Draft the contract using
templates/initial-operating-contract.md.
- Fill all required fields with concrete, testable wording.
- Return:
- Completed contract
- Immediate next action list (3-5 items max)
- Any explicit assumptions made
Authoring Rules
- Keep contract language operational and measurable, not aspirational.
- Prefer "done when..." criteria over vague quality statements.
- Include explicit failure behavior (retry, fallback, abort, ask user).
- Include repository-specific constraints when known (branching, CI, docs, tests).
- If requirements changed mid-session, include a "supersedes previous contract" note.
Contract Quality Checklist
References
- Template:
templates/initial-operating-contract.md
