Auto Pipeline

Run the complete development pipeline from idea to merged code. This skill is self-contained — it includes all the logic needed to execute each phase without loading other skills.

Command Format

/unipi:auto <string(greedy)>(optional) plan:<path>(optional) specs:<path>(optional)

• string(greedy) — what to build (triggers full pipeline from brainstorm)
• plan:<path> — existing plan to execute (skips brainstorm + plan, starts at work)
• specs:<path> — existing spec to plan from (skips brainstorm, starts at plan)
• No args → ask user what to do

Pipeline Stages

brainstorm → plan → work → review → merge

Each phase must complete before the next begins. User can intervene at any gate.

---

Phase 1: Determine Entry Point

Based on args:

If string(greedy) provided (no plan/specs): → Start at Phase 2 (Brainstorm). Full pipeline.

If specs:<path> provided (no plan): → Start at Phase 3 (Plan). Skip brainstorm.

If plan:<path> provided: → Start at Phase 4 (Work). Skip brainstorm + plan.

If no args: → Ask user:

1. "What do you want to build?" → brainstorm
2. "I have a spec, plan from it" → provide spec path
3. "I have a plan, execute it" → provide plan path
4. "I have a plan, just review + merge" → provide plan path

Exit: Entry point determined. Pipeline scope clear.

---

Phase 2: Brainstorm

2.1: Explore Context

1. Run read-only commands to understand current state:

   find . -type f -name "*.ts" | head -20
   ls -la src/
   cat package.json
   git log --oneline -10
   

2. Identify relevant files and patterns
3. Note existing conventions

2.2: Ask Clarifying Questions

Ask one question at a time:

1. "What problem are we actually solving?"
2. "Who has this problem and when?"
3. "What does success look like?"

Prefer multiple choice when natural options exist.

2.3: Propose Approaches

Propose 2-3 approaches with trade-offs:

• What each optimizes for (speed, flexibility, simplicity)
• What each costs (complexity, maintenance, time)
• Recommendation with reasoning

Present conversationally. Ask user to choose.

2.4: Design

Once approach chosen, present design in sections:

• Architecture / components
• Data flow
• Error handling
• Testing approach

Ask after each section if it looks right.

2.5: Write Spec

Create .unipi/docs/specs/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic>-design.md:

---
title: "{Topic}"
type: brainstorm
date: YYYY-MM-DD
---

# {Topic}

## Problem Statement
{The actual problem, reframed}

## Context
{Key findings from exploration}

## Chosen Approach
{High-level description}

## Why This Approach
{Decision rationale, alternatives rejected}

## Design
{Architecture, components, data flow}

## Implementation Checklist
- [ ] Task 1 — description
- [ ] Task 2 — description
- [ ] Task 3 — description

## Open Questions
{Questions for planning phase}

## Out of Scope
{Explicitly excluded}

2.6: Self-Review

Before presenting:

1. Any "TBD", "TODO", incomplete sections? Fix them.
2. Do sections contradict each other?
3. Could any requirement be interpreted two ways? Pick one.

2.7: Design Gate

"Spec written to .unipi/docs/specs/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic>-design.md. Please review and let me know if you want changes before we plan."

WAIT for user approval. If changes requested, make them and re-review.

Exit: User approves design. Proceed to Phase 3.

---

Phase 3: Plan

3.1: Load Spec

1. Read the spec file (from Phase 2 or from specs: arg)
2. Understand: problem, approach, design, checklist

3.2: Ask Clarifying Questions

1. Review spec critically — identify concerns or gaps
2. If concerns: raise with user before proceeding
3. Ask about work branch:

"Where should this work happen?"

1. Main branch — work directly on main (small/medium tasks, low risk)
2. New branch — isolated worktree (larger tasks, risky changes)

Record the decision for plan frontmatter.

3.3: Create Implementation Plan

Create .unipi/docs/plans/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic>-plan.md:

---
title: "{Topic} — Implementation Plan"
type: plan
date: YYYY-MM-DD
workbranch: {branch-name}   # empty string = work on main branch
specs:
  - path/to/spec.md
---

# {Topic} — Implementation Plan

## Overview
{Brief summary of what this plan covers}

## Tasks

- unstarted: Task 1 — {Task Name}
  - Description: {What needs to be done}
  - Dependencies: {None, or list of tasks}
  - Acceptance Criteria: {How to verify done}
  - Steps:
    1. {Concrete step}
    2. {Concrete step}

- unstarted: Task 2 — {Task Name}
  - Description: ...
  - Dependencies: ...
  - Acceptance Criteria: ...
  - Steps: ...

## Sequencing
{Order of execution, dependency graph if complex}

## Risks
{Potential blockers or concerns}

Task Status Lifecycle:

Status	Meaning
unstarted:	Not started
in-progress:	Being worked on
completed:	Done and verified
failed:	Attempted but failed
awaiting_user:	Needs user action
blocked:	Waiting on dependency
skipped:	Intentionally not doing

3.4: Update Spec Checkboxes

After plan is complete:

1. Read the source spec
2. For each checklist item covered by this plan, mark [x]
3. Leave items not covered as [ ]
4. Write updated spec back

Semantics: Spec [x] means "planned" (covered by a plan). It does NOT mean "done".

3.5: Self-Review

• Every task has clear acceptance criteria
• Dependencies are correct (no circular, no missing)
• Steps are bite-sized (agent can follow without guessing)
• Plan is focused enough for single work session

3.6: Plan Gate

Present plan summary to user.

WAIT for user approval. If changes requested, make them.

Exit: User approves plan. Proceed to Phase 4.

---

Phase 4: Work

4.1: Setup

1. Read workbranch from plan frontmatter
2. If workbranch non-empty:
   • Create worktree: git worktree add .unipi/worktrees/{branch} -b {branch}
   • Work within worktree directory
3. If workbranch empty:
   • Work directly on current branch (main)

4.2: Execute Tasks

For each task in order, skip completed:, skipped:, and awaiting_user: tasks:

If unstarted::

1. Change unstarted: to in-progress: in plan
2. Follow each step exactly (plan has bite-sized steps)
3. Run verifications as specified in acceptance criteria
4. Change in-progress: to completed: when complete
5. Update plan file with progress

If in-progress::

1. Continue from where it left off
2. Follow remaining steps
3. Change to completed: when done

If failed::

1. Read failure notes
2. Investigate root cause
3. Fix and re-verify
4. Change to completed: when fixed, or keep failed: if still broken

If awaiting_user::

1. Remind user what's needed
2. Wait for user response
3. Resume when user provides input

If blocked::

1. Check if blocker is resolved
2. If resolved → change to unstarted: and continue
3. If still blocked → skip and move to next task

4.3: When to Stop and Ask

STOP immediately when:

• Hit blocker (missing dependency, test fails, instruction unclear)
• Plan has critical gaps
• You don't understand an instruction
• Verification fails repeatedly

Ask for clarification rather than guessing.

4.4: Commit Progress

After each task or group of tasks:

1. Stage changes
2. Commit with descriptive message referencing task name
3. Continue to next task

Don't wait until end to commit — incremental commits are safer.

4.5: Work Complete

When all tasks are completed::

1. Run final verification (tests, lint, build)
2. Commit all remaining changes

Exit: All tasks complete. Proceed to Phase 5.

---

Phase 5: Review

5.1: Setup

1. Read workbranch from plan frontmatter
2. If workbranch exists and not empty → switch to that branch/worktree
3. If workbranch missing or empty → review on current branch (main)

5.2: Check Task Completion

For each task in plan:

1. Read acceptance criteria
2. Verify against actual implementation
3. Determine status:
   • Done — all criteria met → completed:
   • Partially Done X/Y — some steps complete, others not
   • Unstarted — nothing done
   • Failed — attempted but broken

5.3: Run Codebase Checks

Run project's verification suite:

1. Lint — npm run lint or equivalent
2. Type check — tsc --noEmit or equivalent
3. Tests — npm test or equivalent
4. Build — npm run build or equivalent
5. Docker — docker build . if Dockerfile exists

Report results. If any fail:

• Note which checks failed
• Identify which tasks are affected

5.4: Write Reviewer Remarks

Add REVIEWER-REMARK at the end of the plan document, behind a divider:

---

## Reviewer Remarks

REVIEWER-REMARK: Done
- All tasks complete, verified against acceptance criteria

Codebase Checks:
- ✓ Lint passed
- ✓ Type check passed
- ✓ Tests passed
- ✓ Build passed

5.5: Review Gate

If all tasks done and checks pass: → Proceed to Phase 6

If tasks incomplete or checks fail:

"Tasks remaining and/or checks failing. Continuing back to work phase." → Go back to Phase 4 with failure context

Exit: All checks pass. Reviewer remarks say Done. Proceed to Phase 6.

---

Phase 6: Merge (if worktree)

6.1: Check Branch Strategy

If workbranch was set (worktree):

1. Load worktree-merge logic
2. Merge worktree branch back to main
3. Clean up worktree and branch
4. Run final verification on main

If workbranch was empty (main branch): → Skip merge — changes already on main.

Exit: Code on main. Worktree cleaned (if applicable).

---

Phase 7: Summary

Report pipeline results:

Pipeline Complete: {topic}

✓ Brainstorm — .unipi/docs/specs/{spec}
✓ Plan — .unipi/docs/plans/{plan}
✓ Work — {N} tasks completed on {branch or "main"}
✓ Review — all checks passed
✓ Merge — {merged to main, worktree cleaned or "already on main"}

Artifacts:
- Spec: .unipi/docs/specs/{spec}
- Plan: .unipi/docs/plans/{plan}

Suggest next steps:

• /unipi:consolidate — save learnings
• /unipi:scan-issues — deeper code review
• /unipi:document — generate docs

---

Interruption Handling

If any phase fails or user interrupts:

1. Record current phase and progress
2. Suggest resuming from the failed phase
3. Don't lose context — spec/plan/progress preserved

Example:

"Pipeline paused at review phase. 3/5 tasks complete, tests failing. Resume with: /unipi:auto plan:<plan-path>"

---

Coexist Triggers

When packages are present, auto pipeline enhances:

Package	Enhancement
@unipi/ask-user	Use ask_user for decision gates
@unipi/subagents	Parallel task execution in work phase
@unipi/mcp	MCP tools available throughout
@unipi/web-api	Web research in brainstorm phase
@unipi/ralph	Ralph loop for 3+ tasks in work phase

---

Notes

• This skill is self-contained — no need to load other skills
• Gates between phases ensure user oversight
• Pipeline is resumable — can restart from any phase
• Worktree isolation protects main branch (skipped for small tasks)
• Auto command has full sandbox — all tools available