Suggest Next Features

suggest-next-features

The ledger runs dry. Either every feature_list.json entry has passes: true, or the last few sessions have been shuffling half-features and adding no new work because the spec grew and the list did not.

This skill drafts candidate additions — but to a separate file, feature_list.suggestions.json. feature_list.json is immutable except for the single passes: false → true flip that [[feature-list-json]] permits. Silently appending entries would break that contract and let a runaway session invent its own scope.

The suggestions file is a proposal. A human hand-merges chosen entries into feature_list.json; the rest are ignored or deleted. No agent, ever, edits feature_list.json directly from this skill.

Trigger

Apply when either condition holds:

• jq '[.[] | select(.passes==false)] | length' feature_list.json returns 0.
• The last 3 progress entries in claude-progress.txt show no new passes: true flips AND the user has referenced behavior not present in feature_list.json.

Do not apply just because the list looks short. 30 unfinished entries is not a trigger; 0 is.

Procedure

1. git log --pretty=format:'%h %s' "$(git log --grep='chore: initial scaffold' --format=%H | tail -1)"..HEAD — every commit since the scaffold. This is what actually shipped, not what was claimed.
2. Read the last 3 "What's done" / "Notes for the next session" entries from claude-progress.txt. This is where recent scope creep leaks.
3. Read feature_list.json in full. You need to know what is already enumerated so you do not propose duplicates.
4. Compare (1)+(2) against (3). Look for:
   • Behavior the user asked for in recent sessions that has no matching entry.
   • Natural next steps implied by shipped features (a feature ships a POST endpoint but no list view for its results).
   • Categories the initial list under-covered (error states, empty states, mobile layout, keyboard shortcuts, offline behavior).
5. Draft 5–10 candidate entries in the same shape as feature_list.json. Every one starts passes: false. Order them roughly by priority.
6. Write the array to feature_list.suggestions.json at the project root. Overwrite any prior draft — this file is regenerable, not append-only.
7. Print a one-line summary per suggestion so the operator can scan without opening the file.
8. Stop. Do not touch feature_list.json. Do not commit feature_list.suggestions.json (it is a proposal, not project state).

Output shape

feature_list.suggestions.json — same schema as feature_list.json:

[
  {
    "category": "ux",
    "description": "Empty conversation list shows an onboarding CTA",
    "steps": [
      "Load app as a user with zero conversations",
      "Verify the sidebar shows a 'Start your first chat' CTA",
      "Click the CTA and land in a fresh conversation"
    ],
    "passes": false,
    "rationale": "Sessions 41/43 both hit the empty-list path and rendered a blank sidebar; no entry covers it."
  }
]

The rationale field is unique to the suggestions file — it justifies the proposal so the human merger can decide fast. Strip rationale before merging into feature_list.json.

Anti-patterns

• Never edit feature_list.json directly from this skill. Not to append, not to reorder, not to add a comment. The immutability rule from [[feature-list-json]] wins.
• Do not delete feature_list.suggestions.json on the next run. Overwrite it — the operator may have partly consumed it, and a rewrite is clearer than a diff-merge.
• Do not propose more than 10 at a time. Long lists get skimmed, not read. If more are warranted, ship the top 10 and note the rest in claude-progress.txt.
• Do not commit the suggestions file. It is a proposal for the operator, not a source-of-truth artifact. Add feature_list.suggestions.json to .gitignore if the operator has not already.

Related

• [[feature-list-json]] — the immutability contract this skill respects.
• [[shift-notes]] — where recent-scope-drift signals live.
• [[progress-reading-protocol]] — the fresh-session read this skill mirrors in reverse (reads history, writes forward proposals).