document-linking

created	"2026-01-20T00:00:00.000Z"
modified	"2026-05-09T00:00:00.000Z"
reviewed	"2026-04-25T00:00:00.000Z"
name	document-linking
description	Unified ID system for PRDs, ADRs, PRPs, and GitHub issues with bidirectional links. Use when linking docs, finding orphans, auto-assigning IDs, or validating cross-doc references.
user-invocable	false
allowed-tools	Read, Write, Edit, Grep, Glob, Bash, TodoWrite

Document Linking

Provides a unified ID system connecting PRDs, ADRs, PRPs, work-orders, GitHub issues, commits, and PRs. IDs are project-scoped, auto-generated on first access, and maintained bidirectionally.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when...	Use blueprint-sync-ids instead when...
You need bidirectional links between PRD/ADR/PRP/issue at runtime	You're doing a one-shot bulk ID assignment for docs missing IDs
You're auto-assigning an ID on first document access	You want a --dry-run preview of bulk ID changes
You want to validate broken cross-document references	Use blueprint-adr-validate instead for ADR-only relationship checks
You need to find orphan docs/issues across the project	Use document-detection instead when capturing a brand-new doc

ID Format

Document Type	Format	Example	Notes
PRD	PRD-NNN	PRD-001	3-digit, zero-padded
ADR	ADR-NNNN	ADR-0003	4-digit (matches existing convention)
PRP	PRP-NNN	PRP-007	3-digit, zero-padded
Work-Order	WO-NNN	WO-042	3-digit, matches work-order number

Frontmatter Schema

All blueprint documents should include these fields:

---
id: PRD-001                    # Unique identifier (auto-generated if missing)
relates-to:                    # Cross-document references (optional)
  - ADR-0003
  - PRP-002
github-issues:                 # Linked GitHub issues (optional)
  - 42
  - 87
implements:                    # For PRPs: source PRD (optional)
  - PRD-001
# ... existing fields (created, modified, status, etc.)
---

ID Registry (manifest.json)

IDs are tracked in docs/blueprint/manifest.json:

{
  "id_registry": {
    "last_prd": 3,
    "last_prp": 7,
    "documents": {
      "PRD-001": {
        "path": "docs/prds/user-authentication.md",
        "github_issues": [42, 87],
        "title": "User Authentication"
      },
      "ADR-0003": {
        "path": "docs/adrs/0003-database-choice.md",
        "github_issues": [],
        "title": "Database Choice"
      },
      "PRP-002": {
        "path": 
         
         
         
      
    
     
        
       
       
    
  

Auto-ID Generation

When Triggered

IDs are automatically generated when:

1. Creating documents - /blueprint:derive-plans, /blueprint:prp-create
2. Accessing documents without IDs - Any command reading PRD/ADR/PRP files
3. Batch sync - /blueprint:sync-ids assigns IDs to all documents

Generation Algorithm

# Get next PRD ID
get_next_prd_id() {
  local manifest="docs/blueprint/manifest.json"
  local last=$(jq -r '.id_registry.last_prd // 0' "$manifest")
  local next=$((last + 1))
  printf "PRD-%03d" "$next"
}

# Get next PRP ID
get_next_prp_id() {
  local manifest="docs/blueprint/manifest.json"
  local last=$(jq -r '.id_registry.last_prp // 0' "$manifest")
  local next=$((last + 1))
  printf "PRP-%03d" "$next"
}

# ADR IDs use existing 4-digit number from filename
get_adr_id() {
  local filename="$1"
  local num=$(basename "$filename" | grep -oE '^[0-9]{4}')
  printf "ADR-%s" "$num"
}

Auto-Assignment on Access

When reading a document without an ID:

1. Check frontmatter for existing id field
2. If missing: Generate next available ID
3. Update document frontmatter with new ID
4. Update manifest ID registry
5. Continue with original operation

# Check if document has ID
ensure_document_id() {
  local file="$1"
  local type="$2"  # PRD, ADR, PRP

  # Extract existing ID from frontmatter
  local existing_id=$(head -50 "$file" | grep -m1 "^id:" | sed 's/^id:[[:space:]]*//')

  if [ -z "$existing_id" ]; then
    # Generate and assign new ID
    case "$type" in
      PRD) new_id=$(get_next_prd_id) ;;
      PRP) new_id=$(get_next_prp_id) ;;
      ADR) new_id=$(get_adr_id "$file") ;;
    esac

    # Insert ID into frontmatter (after first ---)
    # Update manifest registry
    # Return new ID
  fi

  echo "${existing_id:-$new_id}"
}

GitHub Integration

Issue Title Format

When creating GitHub issues from documents:

[PRD-001] User authentication feature
[PRP-002] Implement OAuth integration
[WO-042] Add JWT token generation

Issue Body Format

## Related Documents
- PRD-001: User Authentication
- ADR-0003: Database Choice

## Traceability
- **Implements**: PRD-001
- **Related ADRs**: ADR-0003, ADR-0005
- **Work Orders**: WO-042, WO-043

---
*Auto-linked by Blueprint. Update document frontmatter to modify links.*

Commit Message Format

feat(PRD-001): add login form component

Implements requirement FR-003 from PRD-001.
Related: ADR-0003 (session storage decision)

PR Title/Body Format

Title: [PRD-001] Implement user authentication

Body:

## Summary
Implements user authentication as specified in PRD-001.

## Related Documents
- PRD-001: User Authentication
- ADR-0003: Database Choice
- PRP-002: OAuth Integration

## Closes
- Fixes #42
- Fixes #87

Bidirectional Link Maintenance

When Creating Links

1. Document → GitHub Issue

   • Add issue number to document's github-issues array
   • Add document ID to issue body (comment or edit)
   • Update manifest registry

2. Document → Document

   • Add target ID to source's relates-to array
   • Add source ID to target's relates-to array (bidirectional)
   • Update manifest registry

3. PRP → PRD (implements)

   • Add PRD ID to PRP's implements field
   • Add PRP ID to PRD's implemented-by tracking in manifest

Link Validation

Check for broken links during /blueprint:status:

# Validate all links in manifest
validate_links() {
  local manifest="docs/blueprint/manifest.json"

  # Check each document exists
  jq -r '.id_registry.documents | to_entries[] | "\(.key) \(.value.path)"' "$manifest" | \
  while read id path; do
    if [ ! -f "$path" ]; then
      echo "BROKEN: $id -> $path (file missing)"
    fi
  done

  # Check GitHub issues exist (if gh available)
  if command -v gh &>/dev/null; then
    jq -r '.id_registry.github_issues | keys[]' "$manifest" | \
    while read issue; do
      if ! gh issue view "$issue" &>/dev/null; then
        echo "BROKEN: GitHub issue #$issue (not found or closed)"
      fi
    done
  fi
}

Traceability Queries

Find All Related Documents

# Get all documents related to a specific ID
get_related() {
  local id="$1"
  local manifest="docs/blueprint/manifest.json"

  # Direct relations from document
  jq -r --arg id "$id" '
    .id_registry.documents[$id].relates_to // [] | .[]
  ' "$manifest"

  # Documents that reference this one
  jq -r --arg id "$id" '
    .id_registry.documents | to_entries[] |
    select(.value.relates_to // [] | contains([$id])) | .key
  ' "$manifest"
}

Find Implementation Chain

# PRD -> PRP -> Work-Orders -> GitHub Issues
get_implementation_chain() {
  local prd_id="$1"
  local manifest="docs/blueprint/manifest.json"

  echo "=== Implementation Chain for $prd_id ==="

  # Find PRPs implementing this PRD
  echo "PRPs:"
  jq -r --arg id "$prd_id" '
    .id_registry.documents | to_entries[] |
    select(.value.implements // [] | contains([$id])) |
    "  - \(.key): \(.value.title)"
  ' "$manifest"

  # Find work-orders for those PRPs
  echo "Work-Orders:"
  # ... similar query

  # Find GitHub issues
  echo "GitHub Issues:"
  jq -r --arg id "$prd_id" '
    .id_registry.documents[$id].github_issues // [] | .[] | "  - #\(.)"
  ' "$manifest"
}

Orphan Detection

Documents Without GitHub Issues

find_orphan_documents() {
  local manifest="docs/blueprint/manifest.json"

  echo "Documents without GitHub issues:"
  jq -r '
    .id_registry.documents | to_entries[] |
    select((.value.github_issues // []) | length == 0) |
    "  - \(.key): \(.value.title)"
  ' "$manifest"
}

GitHub Issues Without Documents

find_orphan_issues() {
  # List recent open issues
  gh issue list --json number,title --limit 50 | jq -r '.[] | "\(.number) \(.title)"' | \
  while read num title; do
    # Check if issue is in registry
    if ! jq -e --arg n "$num" '.id_registry.github_issues[$n]' docs/blueprint/manifest.json &>/dev/null; then
      # Check if title contains document ID
      if ! echo "$title" | grep -qE '\[(PRD|ADR|PRP|WO)-[0-9]+\]'; then
        echo "  - #$num: $title"
      fi
    fi
  done
}

Duplicate Detection

Before Creating GitHub Issue

check_for_duplicates() {
  local feature_name="$1"
  local manifest="docs/blueprint/manifest.json"

  # Search for similar document titles
  echo "Checking for existing documents..."

  # Fuzzy match against PRD titles
  jq -r '.id_registry.documents | to_entries[] |
    select(.key | startswith("PRD")) |
    "\(.key): \(.value.title)"
  ' "$manifest" | grep -i "$feature_name" || true

  # Search existing GitHub issues
  gh issue list --search "$feature_name" --json number,title --limit 5 | \
  jq -r '.[] | "#\(.number): \(.title)"'
}

Integration Points

/blueprint:prd

After creating PRD:

1. Generate PRD-NNN ID
2. Add to frontmatter
3. Update manifest registry
4. Prompt: "Create GitHub issue for tracking?"

/blueprint:adr

After creating ADR:

1. Extract ADR-NNNN from filename
2. Add to frontmatter (if missing)
3. Update manifest registry
4. Link to related PRDs if applicable

/blueprint:prp-create

After creating PRP:

1. Generate PRP-NNN ID
2. Prompt: "Which PRD does this implement?"
3. Add implements field
4. Update manifest registry with bidirectional link

/blueprint:work-order

After creating work-order:

1. Assign WO-NNN ID
2. Auto-link to source PRP/PRD
3. Create GitHub issue with ID in title
4. Update manifest registry

/blueprint:status

Show traceability section:

Traceability:
- Documents: 15 total (3 PRDs, 5 ADRs, 7 PRPs)
- Linked to GitHub: 12/15 (80%)
- Orphan documents: 3 (PRD-002, ADR-0004, PRP-006)
- Orphan issues: 2 (#23, #45)
- Broken links: 0

Quick Reference

Operation	Command
Assign IDs to all docs	/blueprint:sync-ids
Link doc to issue	Update github-issues in frontmatter
Link doc to doc	Update relates-to in frontmatter
View traceability	/blueprint:status
Find orphans	/blueprint:status (included)

GitHub Format	Example
Issue title	[PRD-001] Feature name
Commit scope	feat(PRD-001): description
PR reference	Implements PRD-001, Fixes #42