| name | atdd |
| description | Use to write a feature's acceptance specs and generate its test pipeline — Checkpoint 3 of the DAE pipeline. The engineer-namespace entry point into the atdd plugin's acceptance workflow. Triggers — "/engineer.atdd", "write the spec", "Checkpoint 3", "formalize the ACs as specs", "generate the test pipeline". |
atdd
The DAE pipeline's Checkpoint 3 (Spec) entry point. AC discovery (Checkpoint 2,
discover-acs) decided what behaviors must work; this step formalizes them as
a standard-Gherkin spec.md and generates the project-specific test pipeline.
This skill is a thin bridge: the acceptance workflow itself lives in the
atdd plugin (atdd:atdd). engineer.atdd wraps it with the DAE checkpoint
contract — the entry gate in, the handoff out — so the acceptance pipeline is a
first-class checkpoint of the engineer pipeline rather than a separate detour.
Requires the atdd plugin. If it is not installed, tell the user to run
/plugin install atdd@disciplined-agentic-engineering and stop.
When to use
Checkpoint 3, after discover-acs (Checkpoint 2) has produced an approved
acs.md. Produces spec.md + the feature's .build/ pipeline.
Not for: AC discovery (discover-acs); planning (plan); using the
acceptance workflow outside a DAE feature folder (invoke atdd:atdd directly).
Workflow
Step 0 — Entry gate
Verify the prior checkpoint is complete: run
${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/dae_handoff.py <feature-dir> --through 2. On a
non-zero exit, stop and surface the gap to the human.
Verify branch hygiene: run ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/dae_branch.py <feature-dir>.
On a non-zero exit, stop and surface the message to the human — switch
branches and re-invoke. The check honors the git.manual: true manifest
opt-out.
After the gate passes, show the pipeline breadcrumb: run
${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/dae_progress.py <feature-dir> and present its
output to the human — it shows where this checkpoint sits in the DAE pipeline.
The breadcrumb is advisory: a non-zero exit or a missing progress.md never
blocks the skill. Then create one TodoWrite todo per workflow step below. See
${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/references/progress-indicator.md.
Step 1 — Run the acceptance workflow
Invoke the atdd:atdd skill, scoped to this feature: write the feature's
spec.md in standard Gherkin from acs.md, then generate the test pipeline
(the pipeline-builder agent + the portable dae_gherkin.py parser). Present
spec.md to the human for approval — specs are the human's contract.
Step 2 — Handoff
Emit a summary per ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/references/handoff-summary.md.
checkpoint: 3; the exit_criteria block asserts Checkpoint 3's criteria
(Foundation Design Section 8) — spec.md parses to a valid IR, every AC maps to
≥1 scenario, spec-check passes — each with verified_by and evidence.
recommended_next: "/engineer.plan".
Step 3 — Dispatch the next checkpoint
spec.md is the human's contract and gets human approval in Step 1. Once
approved, auto-dispatch /engineer.plan at autonomy medium/high;
confirm-then-dispatch at low. See
${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/references/handoff-dispatch.md. Don't bounce the
mechanical "ready to plan?" question back to the human after they already
approved the spec.
References
${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/references/handoff-dispatch.md — when to dispatch vs stop- Foundation Design —
the Checkpoint Exit Contract (Section 8)
atdd:atdd — the acceptance workflow this skill bridges to
