doc-ears-autopilot

name	doc-ears-autopilot
description	Generate EARS documents end-to-end from a PRD, a prompt, or an IPLAN - detect input, validate readiness, generate formal statements, validate, and run the audit/fix cycle. Use to create or batch-create EARS.
metadata	{"tags":["sdd-workflow","layer-3-artifact","automation-workflow"],"custom_fields":{"layer":3,"artifact_type":"EARS","skill_category":"automation-workflow","upstream_artifacts":["BRD","PRD"],"downstream_artifacts":["BDD","ADR","SPEC","TDD","IPLAN"],"version":"0.24.0","framework_spec_version":"0.40.0","last_updated":"2026-05-23","adapts":["section_toggles","active_layers","audit_threshold","glossary","review_mode"]}}

doc-ears-autopilot

Purpose

Automated EARS generation pipeline. From an upstream PRD, a user prompt, or an implementation plan (IPLAN-*), it analyzes the source, verifies upstream readiness, generates a complete EARS document of atomic WHEN-THE-SHALL-WITHIN statements, validates readiness, maintains EARS-00_index.md, and drives the audit↔fix cycle to a passing score — for one EARS or a batch.

Layer: 3. Upstream: a PRD (and its BRD), a prompt, or an IPLAN. Downstream: a validated EARS + index entry.

Skill Dependencies

Skill	Role
../doc-ears/SKILL.md	EARS structure, the four patterns, syntax rules
../doc-ears-audit/SKILL.md	quality gate (scoring + findings)
../doc-ears-fixer/SKILL.md	applies fixes from the audit report
../doc-naming/SKILL.md	element-ID standards and @threshold: tags

Input Contract

Accepts: a target EARS id/path; an upstream PRD id/path; a free-text prompt; or an IPLAN path. Optional: score threshold (default 90), max fix iterations (default 3), batch list. With no explicit input, treat the request as a prompt.

Smart Document Detection

For each target, check whether the EARS already exists (nested folder docs/03_EARS/EARS-NN_{slug}/):

• Missing → generate mode (from the upstream PRD / prompt / IPLAN).
• Exists → review & fix mode (audit, then fix if below threshold).

Determine deliverable_type (code/document/ux/risk/process, inherited from the upstream PRD) from the source content.

Model precheck

Advisory, best-effort. Surfaces the model you recommended for this layer; it cannot switch the session model. Before invoking the driver:

1. If .claude/aidoc-flow.config.yaml is absent, or has no model.* keys, skip this section entirely (no output).
2. Resolve the recommended model: model.per_layer.EARS if set, else model.default.
3. Act on model.precheck (warn | silent | block):
   • warn (default) — print one line, then continue to the driver: ℹ EARS recommends model '<rec>'. If you're not on it, run /model <rec> (or set model.precheck: silent to hide this).
   • silent — print nothing; continue.
   • block — print the line above plus precheck=block: confirm you want to draft on the current model, or run /model <rec> first., then wait for the user to confirm before continuing.

Workflow

Saga-driven generation loop (review_mode: team)

Step 1 — Invoke the driver. Period. The harness sets PREV_OUTPUT, ARTIFACT_ID, ARTIFACT_PATH env vars before invoking this SKILL. Your first orchestration action MUST be the Bash tool (the Model precheck above runs first), running exactly:

python3 "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/tools/saga_driver.py" \
  --layer 03_EARS

Use a generous timeout (≥1800s). Do not pre-analyze the input. Do not read the upstream. Do not classify type/scope. The driver and its dispatched subprocesses (/aidoc-flow:doc-ears for draft, /aidoc-flow:doc-ears-audit for review, /aidoc-flow:doc-ears-fixer for fixer) handle all of that. The driver enforces the state machine preemptively per ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/framework/governance/REVIEW_SAGA.md; this SKILL's job is to invoke it and report.

Step 2 — After the driver returns, report. Read .aidoc/review/03_EARS/${ARTIFACT_ID}/saga.json. Final status MUST be one of CLOSED (PASS), ESCALATED (terminal FAIL), or PARTIAL_TIMEOUT (soft-deadline; resumable). Print the status, the final score from verdict.json if present, and a 1-line summary.

Step 3 — Index update (only on CLOSED). Add a row to docs/03_EARS/EARS-00_index.md referencing the new EARS; update the upstream artifact's downstream entry.

That is the entire workflow in team mode. If you find yourself doing anything else here — drafting prose, dispatching Task subagents, invoking other slash commands — STOP, recognize that you are bypassing the driver, and invoke the Bash command above instead.

Linear Pipeline (review_mode: single_pass)

Unchanged legacy behaviour — used when the profile says so, when Task subagent dispatch is unavailable, or at write-time (on_author) where cost is the primary concern. The 5-step in-session pattern below produces the EARS without saga.json; the harness's saga-journal check will then fail the layer, so this mode is only appropriate for manual dry-runs.

1. Input analysis — classify the input (PRD / prompt / IPLAN), locate the upstream PRD and its BRD, and decide generate vs review-and-fix.
2. Readiness check — confirm the upstream PRD exists and is EARS-Ready (score ≥ threshold); reserve the next EARS-NN. Categorize PRD requirements into the four EARS patterns (Event, State, Unwanted, Ubiquitous).
3. Generation — produce the EARS per ../doc-ears/SKILL.md: Document Control first, all 5 sections, atomic WHEN-THE-SHALL-WITHIN statements, tabular Quality Attributes (percentile timing), element IDs EARS.NN.SS.xxxx, cumulative @brd/@prd tags, @threshold: references, state/sequence diagram tags via ../charts-flow/SKILL.md.
4. Validation — run ../doc-ears-audit/SKILL.md from scratch.
5. Audit ↔ fix cycle — while score < threshold and iterations < max: run ../doc-ears-fixer/SKILL.md, then re-audit. On pass, update docs/03_EARS/EARS-00_index.md; on exhausting iterations, flag for manual review.

Execution Modes

• Single — one EARS (generate or review-and-fix).
• Batch — multiple EARS, processed in chunks of 3 to bound context; generate each EARS only after its upstream PRD is confirmed ready.
• Dry-run — report the planned actions (patterns, sections, IDs) without writing files.

Quality Gates

• Generation does not complete until the audit passes (BDD-Ready ≥ threshold, 0 Tier-1 errors) or the iteration cap is hit (then: manual-review flag).
• The EARS index is updated only after an EARS passes.
• Fresh audit every cycle — no cached scores.

Error Handling

Situation	Action
Upstream PRD missing or below EARS-Ready threshold	stop; report the missing/unready dependency
Max iterations reached below threshold	write reports, flag for manual review, continue batch
Source input ambiguous	fall back to prompt mode; record assumptions in the EARS
Vague/compound statement cannot be auto-resolved	flag for manual review, continue batch
Write/permission error	log, skip the item, continue the batch

Adaptation

Before applying defaults, read the project adaptation profile (.aidoc/profile.yaml) and apply it in both the generation and the internal audit/fix phases. Honor section_toggles, active_layers, audit_threshold (raise-only — stricter only), and glossary. Ignore any unknown or out-of-surface key; absent a profile, use framework defaults. Authority: ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/framework/governance/ADAPTATION.md.

Related Resources

• Create: ../doc-ears/SKILL.md · Audit: ../doc-ears-audit/SKILL.md · Fix: ../doc-ears-fixer/SKILL.md
• Authority: ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/framework/layers/03_EARS/EARS-TEMPLATE.yaml, ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/framework/layers/03_EARS/README.md, ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/framework/layers/03_EARS/EARS-00_index.TEMPLATE.md