/create-app — From Description to Verified Application

Orientation

Use when: building a new app from scratch -- full scaffold, design system, and feature set from a single description. Don't use when: adding a feature to an existing app (use /marshal or /archon); generating a single component (use /scaffold).

Tier Detection

Use when the user wants to create an app, add a feature, or scaffold a project. Classify the input into one of five tiers:

Tier 1: Blank Project

• Trigger: "create a blank project", "new project", "scaffold"
• Action: Run /scaffold with stack detection. No PRD, no architecture.

Tier 2: Guided

• Trigger: "I want to build...", "help me create...", description with questions
• Action: /prd → user approves → /architect → user approves → /archon
• Human checkpoints: after PRD, after architecture, before each major phase.

Tier 3: Templated

• Trigger: Describes a well-known app type ("a todo app", "a blog", "a dashboard with auth")
• Action: Load template PRD if available → /architect with template defaults → /archon
• Template detection: check .planning/_templates/app-types/ for matching templates. If no template matches, fall through to Tier 2.

Tier 4: Generated (Full Autonomy)

• Trigger: "build me [detailed description]", "create [app] and deploy it"
• Action: /prd (minimal questions) → /architect (auto-approve if confidence high) → /archon with self-correction loop
• Human checkpoints: after PRD only. Architecture and execution are autonomous.
• Safety: all Archon self-correction mechanisms active. Direction alignment every 2 phases. Quality spot-checks every phase. Circuit breakers armed.

Tier 5: Feature Addition (Existing Codebase)

• Trigger: existing project + feature description ("add auth", "add a dashboard", "add dark mode")
• Detection: project has source files (src/, app/, lib/, package.json with deps) AND description is a feature, not a standalone app
• Action: /prd in feature mode → /architect in existing codebase mode → /archon
• Key differences from greenfield tiers:
  • PRD reads existing codebase before asking questions
  • Architecture describes changes to existing files, not a standalone system
  • Phase 0 is always "Baseline" — record current typecheck/test state
  • Every phase end condition includes "no new typecheck errors" + "existing tests pass"
  • Risk register always includes "regression in existing functionality"
• Human checkpoints: after feature spec (PRD). Architecture can auto-approve if the feature is well-scoped and all conditions are machine-verifiable.

Tier Classification

Input Pattern	Tier
"blank project", "scaffold", "new empty"	1
"help me build", "I want to create", "guide me"	2
"todo app", "blog", "dashboard", well-known app type	3
"build me [detailed]", "create [app]", confident description	4
"add [feature]", "implement [feature]", existing project + feature description	5
Ambiguous	Default to Tier 2 (safest)

Protocol

Step 1: CLASSIFY

Read the user's input. Determine the tier. Announce what you'll do in plain language — not tier numbers. If the classification is wrong, accept user overrides ("just scaffold it" → Tier 1, "just build it" → Tier 4).

Step 2: EXECUTE TIER

Tier 1: Invoke /scaffold. Done.

Tier 2: /prd → user approves → /architect → user approves → Archon campaign → brief user after each major phase.

Tier 3: Check .planning/_templates/app-types/ for template → present PRD, ask for changes → /architect with template defaults → Archon campaign.

Tier 4:

1. /prd express mode (0-1 questions)
2. User approves PRD (only mandatory checkpoint)
3. /architect (auto-approve if all end conditions are machine-verifiable)
4. Archon campaign with ALL safety systems active:
   • Direction alignment every 2 phases, quality spot-check every phase
   • Circuit breakers: 3 failures = new approach, 5+ type errors = park
5. Execute autonomously until complete or parked
6. Run full verification of all PRD end conditions, present results

Tier 5 (Feature Addition):

1. Read existing codebase — file tree, package.json, key entry points, existing patterns
2. /prd in feature mode (max 2 questions)
3. User approves feature spec (one mandatory checkpoint)
4. /architect in existing codebase mode — Phase 0 always "Baseline" (run typecheck + tests, record counts). Auto-approve if machine-verifiable.
5. Archon campaign — every phase end condition includes "no new typecheck errors vs baseline" and "existing tests pass"
6. On completion: verify all feature end conditions + baseline regression check, present results

Step 3: VERIFY (All Tiers except 1)

Check each PRD end condition (run commands, check files, invoke /live-preview for visual checks). Report PASS / PARTIAL / FAIL with specifics.

Step 4: DELIVER

Present: what was built, what was verified, what needs attention, how to run it, and suggested next step (e.g., /postmortem or deploy command).

Quality Gates

• PRD exists and is approved before any code is written
• Architecture exists before Archon starts
• Every campaign phase has machine-verifiable end conditions
• Final verification checks all PRD end conditions
• User receives a clear report of what was built and what needs attention

Fringe Cases

Vague requirements: Default to Tier 2 and ask clarifying questions before producing the PRD.

Project already initialized: Existing source files (src/, app/, package.json with deps) → automatically classify as Tier 5. Do not scaffold over an existing project.

If .planning/ does not exist: /prd and /architect will create it. If not possible, present inline and ask the user to run /do setup first.

Tier misclassification: Switch immediately on user correction without re-reading the input.

Exit Protocol

After the campaign completes and verification runs, output:

---HANDOFF---
- App: {name}
- Built: {feature ledger summary}
- Verified: {N}/{total} end conditions passed
- Status: {complete | partial | failed}
- To run: {start command}
- Next: {suggested next step, e.g., /postmortem or deploy command}
- Reversibility: amber -- multi-tier creation, revert the creation commits
---