name: north-star
description: Use when docs/north-star.md exists (the project has been onboarded) OR the operator explicitly asks to check/apply the North Star — steer every task, decision, and fix toward the project's locked vision and flag drift away from it. On the absence path it is a silent no-op by default, with ONE narrow sanctioned output: a single one-time onboarding offer (D5, at most once, only when the operator is clearly doing project work) — so a matcher may load it there for that offer alone. It never creates the file and never nags. Not for projects that have not been onboarded.
source_inspiration: conceptual-only
license_status: clean-room-original
fusebase_flow_version: 3.30.8
risk_level: low
invocation: automatic
expected_outputs:
- a north-star alignment check (on-vision vs drift) for the current work
- a drift flag + recommended correction when work diverges from the vision
related_workflows:
- eight-phase-flow.md
- verification-gate.md
hook_dependencies:
- none
North Star
Style: Mode-B-lite. Artifact-gated skill — inert unless docs/north-star.md exists.
Purpose
Keep all work aligned to the project's vision. When a project has been onboarded (docs/north-star.md exists), this skill reads it and checks that tasks, decisions, and fixes serve that vision — catching drift before it compounds. It is the canonical example of the artifact-gated pattern: ship complete, stay dormant until fed.
When to invoke
docs/north-star.md exists AND a task / decision / fix is in progress.- Operator says "check the north star", "is this on-vision", "does this drift".
- During Specify / Plan / Decisions / Tasks / a non-trivial fix (alongside FR-20 zoom-out).
Do not invoke when
docs/north-star.md does NOT exist → silent no-op by default. The one narrow exception is the one-time D5 offer (step 6, at most once, only when the operator is clearly doing project work); after it fires (or is declined) stay silent. Never prompt repeatedly, never create the file. (Project simply hasn't been onboarded; that's fine.)- Trivial mechanical edits.
Required inputs
| Input | Where it lives | If missing |
|---|
| Project North Star | docs/north-star.md | Skill is a no-op (default) — the sole absence-path output is the one-time D5 offer (step 6). Do not create it. (Onboarding via project-onboarding / /onboard creates it.) |
| Current work | spec / decision / task / fix in progress | nothing to check; exit |
Procedure
- Existence gate (MANDATORY FIRST STEP). If
docs/north-star.md does not exist → this skill contributes no check: skip steps 2-5. Default is silent no-op; the ONLY sanctioned output on the absence path is the one-time D5 offer (step 6). Do NOT create the file. Do NOT nag.
- Read
docs/north-star.md (vision, audience, in/out scope, success, constraints).
- Align-check the current work: does it serve the vision; is it in-scope; does it fit the audience (internal vs client); does it respect the constraints?
- Flag drift — via the Required output block below. If the work diverges (out-of-scope, wrong audience, against a constraint), say so plainly and recommend the on-vision alternative.
- Ambiguity → ask the operator in chat (FR-19); do not silently reinterpret the vision.
- Offer-once (D5) — sole absence-path output. Applies only when step 1 found no
docs/north-star.md AND the operator is clearly doing project work AND no prior offer was made (if unsure whether one was, do not offer). Offer once: "No North Star is set — want to capture one (/onboard)? Or continue without." Silence or decline → permanent silent no-op for the rest of the project.
Required output — alignment verdict (3 lines)
Every activation that reaches step 3 MUST emit this block — in chat (Mode A context) and verbatim into the gate/ticket note when one is written. A north-star claim without the block is unverifiable and does not count as a check.
North-star: <On-vision | Drift | Blocked (locked-decision conflict, FR-11)>
Dimension: <vision | scope | audience | constraint | success-metric> — <which line of docs/north-star.md, one clause>
Recommendation: <proceed | on-vision alternative in one line | question for operator (FR-19)>
On-vision still emits the block (Dimension: the strongest match; Recommendation: proceed) — silence is indistinguishable from a skipped check.
Output artifacts
| Artifact | Location | Mode |
|---|
| Alignment verdict block (3 lines, above) / drift flag | chat (Mode A) or ticket note | Mode A / Mode-B-lite |
Failure cases
| Failure | Detection | Response |
|---|
| Artifact absent | step 1 | silent no-op (correct behavior, not an error) |
| Work contradicts vision | step 3 | flag; recommend on-vision path; escalate to operator if locked-decision conflict (FR-11) |
| Vision itself is stale | operator says vision changed | route to project-onboarding to update docs/north-star.md |
Escalation path
- Drift vs a locked decision → stop and ask operator (FR-11/FR-19).
- Vision needs updating →
project-onboarding ("update my North Star").
Anti-patterns
- Do not activate (beyond the single one-time D5 offer, step 6) or create the file when
docs/north-star.md is absent.
- Do not nag every turn when unset (offer at most once — D5).
- Do not reinterpret/rewrite the vision on the operator's behalf.
- Do not block trivial work that doesn't touch the vision.
Clean-room note
Original Fusebase Flow content. See docs/source-map.md. No third-party code, prompts, or skill files copied.
