conductor-implement

name	conductor-implement
description	Execute tasks from a track's implementation plan following TDD workflow
risk	critical
source	community
date_added	2026-02-27

Implement Track

Execute tasks from a track's implementation plan, following the workflow rules defined in conductor/workflow.md.

Use this skill when

• Working on implement track tasks or workflows
• Needing guidance, best practices, or checklists for implement track

Do not use this skill when

• The task is unrelated to implement track
• You need a different domain or tool outside this scope

Instructions

• Clarify goals, constraints, and required inputs.
• Apply relevant best practices and validate outcomes.
• Provide actionable steps and verification.
• If detailed examples are required, open resources/implementation-playbook.md.

Pre-flight Checks

1. Verify Conductor is initialized:

   • Check conductor/product.md exists
   • Check conductor/workflow.md exists
   • Check conductor/tracks.md exists
   • If missing: Display error and suggest running /conductor:setup first

2. Load workflow configuration:

   • Read conductor/workflow.md
   • Parse TDD strictness level
   • Parse commit strategy
   • Parse verification checkpoint rules

Track Selection

If argument provided:

• Validate track exists: conductor/tracks/{argument}/plan.md
• If not found: Search for partial matches, suggest corrections

If no argument:

1. Read conductor/tracks.md

2. Parse for incomplete tracks (status [ ] or [~])

3. Display selection menu:

   Select a track to implement:
   
   In Progress:
   1. [~] auth_20250115 - User Authentication (Phase 2, Task 3)
   
   Pending:
   2. [ ] nav-fix_20250114 - Navigation Bug Fix
   3. [ ] dashboard_20250113 - Dashboard Feature
   
   Enter number or track ID:
   

Context Loading

Load all relevant context for implementation:

1. Track documents:

   • conductor/tracks/{trackId}/spec.md - Requirements
   • conductor/tracks/{trackId}/plan.md - Task list
   • conductor/tracks/{trackId}/metadata.json - Progress state

2. Project context:

   • conductor/product.md - Product understanding
   • conductor/tech-stack.md - Technical constraints
   • conductor/workflow.md - Process rules

3. Code style (if exists):

   • conductor/code_styleguides/{language}.md

Track Status Update

Update track to in-progress:

1. In conductor/tracks.md:

   • Change [ ] to [~] for this track

2. In conductor/tracks/{trackId}/metadata.json:

   • Set status: "in_progress"
   • Update updated timestamp

Task Execution Loop

For each incomplete task in plan.md (marked with [ ]):

1. Task Identification

Parse plan.md to find next incomplete task:

• Look for lines matching - [ ] Task X.Y: {description}
• Track current phase from structure

2. Task Start

Mark task as in-progress:

• Update plan.md: Change [ ] to [~] for current task
• Announce: "Starting Task X.Y: {description}"

3. TDD Workflow (if TDD enabled in workflow.md)

Red Phase - Write Failing Test:

Following TDD workflow for Task X.Y...

Step 1: Writing failing test

• Create test file if needed
• Write test(s) for the task functionality
• Run tests to confirm they fail
• If tests pass unexpectedly: HALT, investigate

Green Phase - Implement:

Step 2: Implementing minimal code to pass test

• Write minimum code to make test pass
• Run tests to confirm they pass
• If tests fail: Debug and fix

Refactor Phase:

Step 3: Refactoring while keeping tests green

• Clean up code
• Run tests to ensure still passing

4. Non-TDD Workflow (if TDD not strict)

• Implement the task directly
• Run any existing tests
• Manual verification as needed

5. Task Completion

Commit changes (following commit strategy from workflow.md):

git add -A
git commit -m "{commit_prefix}: {task description} ({trackId})"

Update plan.md:

• Change [~] to [x] for completed task
• Commit plan update:

git add conductor/tracks/{trackId}/plan.md
git commit -m "chore: mark task X.Y complete ({trackId})"

Update metadata.json:

• Increment tasks.completed
• Update updated timestamp

6. Phase Completion Check

After each task, check if phase is complete:

• Parse plan.md for phase structure
• If all tasks in current phase are [x]:

Run phase verification:

Phase {N} complete. Running verification...

• Execute verification tasks listed for the phase
• Run full test suite: npm test / pytest / etc.

Report and wait for approval:

Phase {N} Verification Results:
- All phase tasks: Complete
- Tests: {passing/failing}
- Verification: {pass/fail}

Approve to continue to Phase {N+1}?
1. Yes, continue
2. No, there are issues to fix
3. Pause implementation

CRITICAL: Wait for explicit user approval before proceeding to next phase.

Error Handling During Implementation

On Tool Failure

ERROR: {tool} failed with: {error message}

Options:
1. Retry the operation
2. Skip this task and continue
3. Pause implementation
4. Revert current task changes

• HALT and present options
• Do NOT automatically continue

On Test Failure

TESTS FAILING after Task X.Y

Failed tests:
- {test name}: {failure reason}

Options:
1. Attempt to fix
2. Rollback task changes
3. Pause for manual intervention

On Git Failure

GIT ERROR: {error message}

This may indicate:
- Uncommitted changes from outside Conductor
- Merge conflicts
- Permission issues

Options:
1. Show git status
2. Attempt to resolve
3. Pause for manual intervention

Track Completion

When all phases and tasks are complete:

1. Final Verification

All tasks complete. Running final verification...

• Run full test suite
• Check all acceptance criteria from spec.md
• Generate verification report

2. Update Track Status

In conductor/tracks.md:

• Change [~] to [x] for this track
• Update the "Updated" column

In conductor/tracks/{trackId}/metadata.json:

• Set status: "complete"
• Set phases.completed to total
• Set tasks.completed to total
• Update updated timestamp

In conductor/tracks/{trackId}/plan.md:

• Update header status to [x] Complete

3. Documentation Sync Offer

Track complete! Would you like to sync documentation?

This will update:
- conductor/product.md (if new features added)
- conductor/tech-stack.md (if new dependencies added)
- README.md (if applicable)

1. Yes, sync documentation
2. No, skip

4. Cleanup Offer

Track {trackId} is complete.

Cleanup options:
1. Archive - Move to conductor/tracks/_archive/
2. Delete - Remove track directory
3. Keep - Leave as-is

5. Completion Summary

Track Complete: {track title}

Summary:
- Track ID: {trackId}
- Phases completed: {N}/{N}
- Tasks completed: {M}/{M}
- Commits created: {count}
- Tests: All passing

Next steps:
- Run /conductor:status to see project progress
- Run /conductor:new-track for next feature

Progress Tracking

Maintain progress in metadata.json throughout:

{
  "id": "auth_20250115",
  "title": "User Authentication",
  "type": "feature",
  "status": "in_progress",
  "created": "2025-01-15T10:00:00Z",
  "updated": "2025-01-15T14:30:00Z",
  "current_phase": 2,
  "current_task": "2.3",
  "phases": {
    "total": 3,
    "completed": 1
  },
  "tasks": {
    "total": 12,
    "completed": 7
  },
  "commits": [
    "abc1234: feat: add login form (auth_20250115)",
    "def5678: feat: add password validation (auth_20250115)"
  ]
}

Resumption

If implementation is paused and resumed:

1. Load metadata.json for current state

2. Find current task from current_task field

3. Check if task is [~] in plan.md

4. Ask user:

   Resuming track: {title}
   
   Last task in progress: Task {X.Y}: {description}
   
   Options:
   1. Continue from where we left off
   2. Restart current task
   3. Show progress summary first
   

Critical Rules

1. NEVER skip verification checkpoints - Always wait for user approval between phases
2. STOP on any failure - Do not attempt to continue past errors
3. Follow workflow.md strictly - TDD, commit strategy, and verification rules are mandatory
4. Keep plan.md updated - Task status must reflect actual progress
5. Commit frequently - Each task completion should be committed
6. Track all commits - Record commit hashes in metadata.json for potential revert

Limitations

• Use this skill only when the task clearly matches the scope described above.
• Do not treat the output as a substitute for environment-specific validation, testing, or expert review.
• Stop and ask for clarification if required inputs, permissions, safety boundaries, or success criteria are missing.