buildpad-spec-tasks Skill

Core Mission

• Success Criteria:
  • All requirements mapped to specific tasks
  • Tasks properly sized (1-3 hours each)
  • Clear task progression with proper hierarchy
  • Natural language descriptions focused on capabilities
  • A lightweight task-plan sanity review confirms the task graph is executable before tasks.md is written

Execution Steps

Step 1: Gather Context

If steering/spec context is already available from conversation, skip redundant file reads. Otherwise, load all necessary context:

• .kiro/specs/{feature}/spec.json, requirements.md, design.md
• .kiro/specs/{feature}/tasks.md (if exists, for merge mode)
• Core steering context: product.md, tech.md, structure.md
• Additional steering files only when directly relevant to requirements coverage, design boundaries, runtime prerequisites, or team conventions that affect task executability
• Determine execution mode:
  • sequential = (sequential flag is true)

Validate approvals:

• If auto-approve flag (-y) is true: Auto-approve requirements and design in spec.json. Tasks approval is also handled automatically in Step 4.
• Otherwise: Verify both approved (stop if not, see Safety & Fallback)

Step 2: Generate Implementation Tasks

• Read rules/tasks-generation.md from this skill's directory for principles
• Read rules/tasks-parallel-analysis.md from this skill's directory for parallel judgement criteria
• Read .kiro/settings/templates/specs/tasks.md for format (supports (P) markers)

Parallel Research

The following research areas are independent and can be executed in parallel:

1. Context loading: Spec documents (requirements.md, design.md), steering files
2. Rules loading: tasks-generation.md, tasks-parallel-analysis.md, tasks template

After all parallel research completes, synthesize findings before generating tasks.

Generate task list following all rules:

• Use language specified in spec.json
• Map all requirements to tasks and list numeric requirement IDs only (comma-separated) without descriptive suffixes, parentheses, translations, or free-form labels
• Ensure all design components included
• Verify task progression is logical and incremental
• Ensure each executable sub-task includes at least one detail bullet that states what "done" looks like in observable terms
• Keep normal implementation tasks within a single responsibility boundary; if work crosses boundaries, make it an explicit integration task
• Apply (P) markers to tasks that satisfy parallel criteria when !sequential
• Explicitly note dependencies preventing (P) when tasks appear parallel but are not safe
• If sequential mode is true, omit (P) entirely
• If existing tasks.md found, merge with new content

Step 3: Review Task Plan

• Keep the draft task plan in working memory; do NOT write tasks.md yet
• Run the Task Plan Review Gate from rules/tasks-generation.md
• Review coverage:
  • Every requirement ID appears in at least one task
  • Every design component, contract, integration point, runtime prerequisite, and validation concern is represented
• Review executability:
  • Each sub-task is an executable 1-3 hour work unit
  • Each sub-task has a verifiable deliverable
  • Each executable sub-task includes an observable completion bullet
  • No implicit prerequisites remain hidden
  • _Depends:_, _Boundary:_, and (P) markers still match the dependency graph and architecture boundaries
• If issues are task-plan-local, repair the draft and re-run the review gate before writing
• Keep the review bounded to at most 2 repair passes
• If review exposes a real requirements/design gap or contradiction, stop and send the user back to requirements/design instead of inventing filler tasks

Step 3.5: Run Task-Graph Sanity Review

Before writing tasks.md, run one lightweight independent sanity review of the task graph.

• If fresh subagent dispatch is available, spawn one fresh review subagent for this step. Otherwise perform the same review in the current context.
• Provide only file paths, the draft task plan, and merge context if an existing tasks.md is being updated. The reviewer should read requirements.md, design.md, and the task-generation rules directly instead of relying on a parent-synthesized coverage summary.
• Check only:
  • hidden prerequisites or missing setup tasks
  • dependency or ordering mistakes
  • boundary overlap or ambiguous ownership between tasks
  • tasks that are too large, too vague, cross boundaries without being explicit integration tasks, or are missing a verifiable deliverable
  • contradictions introduced between requirements, design, and the task graph
• Return one verdict:
  • PASS
  • NEEDS_FIXES
  • RETURN_TO_DESIGN
• If NEEDS_FIXES, repair the draft once and re-run the sanity review one time.
• If RETURN_TO_DESIGN, stop without writing tasks.md and point back to the exact gap in requirements/design.
• Keep this bounded. Do not turn it into a second full planning cycle.

Step 4: Finalize

Write tasks.md:

• Create/update .kiro/specs/{feature}/tasks.md
• Update spec.json metadata:
  • Set phase: "tasks-generated"
  • Set approvals.tasks.generated: true, approved: false
  • Set approvals.requirements.approved: true
  • Set approvals.design.approved: true
  • Update updated_at timestamp

Approval:

• If auto-approve flag (-y) is true:
  • Set approvals.tasks.approved: true in spec.json
  • Display task summary (task count, major groups, parallel markers)
  • Respond: "Tasks generated and auto-approved. Start implementation with /buildpad-impl {feature}"
• Otherwise (interactive):
  • Display a summary of the generated tasks (task count, major groups, parallel markers)
  • Ask the user: "Tasks generated. Approve and proceed to implementation?"
  • If the user approves:
    • Set approvals.tasks.approved: true in spec.json
    • Respond: "Tasks approved. Start implementation with /buildpad-impl {feature}"
  • If the user wants changes:
    • Keep approvals.tasks.approved: false
    • Respond with guidance on what to adjust and re-run

Critical Constraints

• Task Integration: Every task must connect to the system (no orphaned work)
• Boundary annotations: Required for (P) tasks, recommended for all (_Boundary: ComponentName_)
• Explicit dependencies: Cross-boundary non-obvious dependencies declared with _Depends: X.X_
• Executable deliverable granularity: Each task must produce a verifiable deliverable (file, endpoint, UI component, config). Infrastructure tasks (project scaffolding, manifest, host integration, build config) must be explicit — never assume they exist
• Observable done state: Each executable sub-task must include at least one detail bullet that makes the completed state visible without adding new bookkeeping fields
• No implicit prerequisites: If a task requires a runtime, SDK, framework setup, or config file, that setup must be a separate preceding task

Output Description

Provide brief summary in the language specified in spec.json:

1. Status: Confirm tasks generated at .kiro/specs/{feature}/tasks.md
2. Task Summary:
   • Total: X major tasks, Y sub-tasks
   • All Z requirements covered
   • Average task size: 1-3 hours per sub-task
3. Quality Validation:
   • All requirements mapped to tasks
   • Design coverage and runtime prerequisites reviewed
   • Task dependencies verified
   • Task plan review gate passed
   • Independent task-graph sanity review passed
   • Testing tasks included
4. Next Action: Review tasks and proceed when ready

Format: Concise (under 200 words)

Safety & Fallback

Error Scenarios

Requirements or Design Not Approved:

• Stop Execution: Cannot proceed without approved requirements and design
• User Message: "Requirements and design must be approved before task generation"
• Suggested Action: "Run /buildpad-spec-tasks {feature} -y to auto-approve all (requirements, design, and tasks) and proceed"

Missing Requirements or Design:

• Stop Execution: Both documents must exist
• User Message: "Missing requirements.md or design.md at .kiro/specs/{feature}/"
• Suggested Action: "Complete requirements and design phases first"

Incomplete Requirements Coverage:

• Warning: "Not all requirements mapped to tasks. Review coverage."
• User Action Required: Confirm intentional gaps or regenerate tasks

Spec Gap Found During Task Review:

• Stop Execution: Do not write a patched-over tasks.md
• User Message: "Requirements/design do not provide enough clear coverage to generate an executable task plan"
• Suggested Action: "Refine requirements.md or design.md, then re-run /buildpad-spec-tasks {feature}"

Template/Rules Missing:

• User Message: "Template or rules files missing in .kiro/settings/"
• Fallback: Use inline basic structure with warning
• Suggested Action: "Check repository setup or restore template files"
• Missing Numeric Requirement IDs:
  • Stop Execution: All requirements in requirements.md MUST have numeric IDs. If any requirement lacks a numeric ID, stop and request that requirements.md be fixed before generating tasks.

Next Phase: Implementation

Tasks are approved in Step 4 via user confirmation. Once approved:

• Autonomous implementation: /buildpad-impl {feature}
• Specific tasks only: /buildpad-impl {feature} 1.1,1.2