sdlc-gather-context

name	sdlc-gather-context
description	Use only as part of the Agentic SDLC workflow; use when an Agentic SDLC feature needs technical, product, vendor, internal, codebase, or test context before design or implementation. Produces a compact feature-specific context pack.

Gather Context

Purpose

Gather only the context needed for one feature and produce a compact context pack for design and planning.

When To Use

• A REQ-* or FEAT-* needs technical context before design.
• Vendor, internal, codebase, or test facts may affect implementation.
• A design or plan is blocked by missing context.

When Not To Use

• Do not use to make design decisions without evidence.
• Do not use to implement code.
• Do not use to dump raw webpages, Slack threads, or logs.

Inputs

• One REQ-* or FEAT-*.
• Relevant requirement or feature block.
• User-provided links or references.
• Existing design block when present.

Required Reads

• docs/requirements.md.
• docs/design.md if present.
• Relevant source files, tests, README, and architecture docs.
• Official vendor docs first.
• Internal Confluence, Slack, Jira, GitHub, or MCP resources when available.

Writes

• context/FEAT-*.context.md.
• Context fingerprint, source list, and open context questions.

Process

• Use assets/templates/context-pack.md.template when creating a context pack.
• Identify technologies and vendors used by the feature.
• Gather official vendor facts first, internal docs second, code and tests third.
• Summarize only facts that affect design or implementation.
• Record exact versions, APIs, constraints, unresolved risks, and design implications.

Idempotency

• If context sources and feature requirements are unchanged, reuse the context pack.
• If sources changed, update the context pack and mark affected design blocks stale.

Failure Handling

• If official docs are unavailable, state that the behavior could not be verified.
• If internal docs conflict with vendor docs, record the conflict and prefer official docs unless internal platform behavior overrides it.
• If context is insufficient, mark CONTEXT_GAP.

Must Not

• Implement code.
• Create design decisions without evidence.
• Store secrets or private tokens in context packs.
• Use unofficial sources when official docs are available.

Completion Criteria

• Context pack exists.
• Important facts have source traceability.
• Design implications and open blockers are explicit.

SDLC Invariants

• Treat docs/requirements.md and docs/design.md as committed product truth.
• Only sdlc-create-requirements writes docs/requirements.md; only sdlc-create-design writes docs/design.md. Other skills route spec changes to those owners.
• Keep run state, plans, evidence, steering, screenshots, and transcripts under ~/.codex/sdlc-runs/<project-id>/<run-id>/.
• When an active run exists, reload current-state.json and the latest checkpoint before changing phase or writing evidence.
• Work on one feature at a time unless the user explicitly asks for a different SDLC shape.
• Classify every failure before retrying or routing backward.
• Use MCP servers for browser, GitHub, internal docs, Slack, Confluence, Jira, and other external systems when they are available and appropriate.
• Treat hooks as invariant guardrails only; do not make hooks orchestrate the workflow.

Learning Loop

When using this skill, capture durable, reusable, public-safe learnings back into this skill's local source materials before completion when the current task contract allows source edits. Update the narrowest appropriate surface: SKILL.md for runtime rules, references/ for detailed guidance, assets/ for reusable templates, scripts/ for deterministic helpers, and README or changelog entries for human-facing or release-note updates.

If the current task is explicitly read-only/report-only, or source writes are outside this skill's task contract, do not edit skill sources; report the skipped source update instead.

Do not capture secrets, private URLs, customer data, raw logs, one-off local state, or unverified/vendor-specific claims. If a useful learning is not safe, not evidence-backed, or outside this skill's scope, report that it was skipped.

Output Contract

Return a concise result with:

• Scope handled and current REQ-* or FEAT-* IDs.
• Files or local state written.
• Evidence created or checked.
• Failure classification and next recommended skill when blocked.
• Confirmation that private SDLC state was kept out of committed project files.

References

• Use assets/templates/context-pack.md.template when creating the corresponding artifact.