skill-phase-context

name	skill-phase-context
description	Skill loading tiers: TIER 0 (always), TIER 1 (phase-triggered), TIER 2 (extended). Defines when to load which skills.
tier	2
version	1.1

Phase Context Loading Protocol

This skill defines skill loading tiers to optimize token consumption while preserving automation capabilities.

[!IMPORTANT] Single Source of Truth for Skill Loading Strategy. Reference this skill to understand WHEN to load WHICH skills.

TIER 0: System Foundation — ALWAYS LOADED

[!CAUTION] NEVER lazy-load TIER 0 skills. They enable core automation. These skills MUST be available in EVERY session at bootstrap.

Skill	Tokens	Why Always Load
core-principles	~519	Anti-hallucination rules, Stub-First, Documentation First
skill-safe-commands	~927	Enables automation — mv, ls, git, tests auto-run
artifact-management	~636	Archiving protocol, file management, dual state tracking
TOTAL	~2,082	Non-negotiable system foundation

TIER 0 Loading Rule

• Load at session bootstrap (via GEMINI.md / .cursorrules)
• These skills are loaded BEFORE any phase begins
• Never remove or defer loading of TIER 0 skills

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TIER 1: Phase-Triggered — Load on Phase Entry

These skills are phase-specific and loaded when entering the corresponding phase.

Phase	Skills to Load	Approx. Tokens
Analysis	requirements-analysis, skill-task-model, artifact-formalizer (contract only), (skill-archive-task if new task)	~3,100-4,000
Architecture	architecture-design, artifact-formalizer (contract only), (architecture-format-core OR -extended)	~2,850-4,200
Planning	planning-decision-tree, skill-planning-format, tdd-stub-first, artifact-formalizer (contract only)	~2,525
Development	developer-guidelines, documentation-standards	~1,100
Review	Phase-specific -review-checklist skill	~300-400
Security	security-audit	~500
VDD	vdd-adversarial, (adversarial-* per workflow)	~1,000-2,500

TIER 1 Loading Conditions

Analysis Phase:

• requirements-analysis — When 02_analyst activated
• skill-task-model — When creating/updating TASK.md
• skill-archive-task — When existing TASK.md detected AND new (unrelated) task

Architecture Phase:

• architecture-design — When 04_architect activated
• architecture-format-core — Default for most updates
• architecture-format-extended — Load ONLY for:
  • Creating NEW system from scratch
  • Major refactor (>3 components affected)
  • User explicitly requests "full architecture template"

Planning Phase:

• planning-decision-tree — When 06_planner activated
• skill-planning-format — When creating PLAN.md
• tdd-stub-first — When stub creation starts

Development Phase:

• developer-guidelines — When 08_developer activated
• documentation-standards — When updating docs

Review Phase:

• Load the appropriate *-review-checklist for the current review type

Every authoring phase (Analysis, Architecture, Planning):

• artifact-formalizer — load references/authoring-contract.md before the first sentence of any artifact is written. Load the SKILL.md body and the scanner only when auditing an artifact that already exists.
• Why. The contract is ~1,100 tokens; auditing an artifact afterwards costs a full re-read of that artifact plus the rewrite. Measured cost of the late order: artifact-formalizer/references/measurement-baseline.md §5.

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TIER 2: Extended — Load Only When Explicitly Requested

These skills are specialized and loaded only when explicitly invoked by user or workflow.

Skill	Tokens	Loading Condition
architecture-format-extended	~3,000	New system / major refactor / user requests full template
skill-reverse-engineering	~1,322	User requests "sync docs with code" / docs-code mismatch
skill-update-memory	~1,101	Post-development phase, .AGENTS.md updates needed
skill-adversarial-security	~838	VDD workflow with security focus
skill-adversarial-performance	~946	VDD workflow with performance focus
vdd-sarcastic	~145	VDD workflow with sarcastic mode

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Integration

How Agents Should Reference This

Agent prompts should:

1. Always load TIER 0 skills at session start
2. Load TIER 1 skills when entering their specific phase
3. Load TIER 2 skills only when explicitly triggered

Referenced By

• .gemini/GEMINI.md — TIER 0 at bootstrap
• .cursorrules — TIER 0 at bootstrap
• All agent prompts — TIER 1 at phase entry
• VDD workflows — TIER 2 when invoked