Sdlc

sdlc

Turns an idea into shipped, verified code through six stages. Each stage produces one markdown artifact in sdlc/, committed to git. The artifact is the handoff: no stage starts until the previous one's artifact exists and the user has accepted it.

Adapted from Anthropic's AI-Native SDLC Playbook, trimmed for a solo developer. The org-scale layer (separation of duties, policy owners, leading/lagging metrics) lives in references/governance.md and is opt-in.

When to Use

Activate when the user asks to:

• Capture an idea, feature, or bug as a written intent before building
• Turn an intent into a requirements/design spec
• Plan an implementation before writing code
• Set up a verification loop so changes check themselves before review
• Define review policy (REVIEW.md) or run policy-driven review
• Add regression evals for agent configuration (CLAUDE.md, skills, hooks)
• Wire production metrics back into the planning loop

Also activate when a repo already has an sdlc/ directory and the user references an artifact in it.

The Artifact Chain

sdlc/intent/<slug>.md   -> what problem, why now, constraints, open questions
sdlc/spec/<slug>.md     -> requirements + design, concerns flagged
sdlc/plan/<slug>.md     -> files to change, work order, tests required
<diff> + tests          -> verified before a human looks
PR + REVIEW.md passes   -> reviewed against the spec and plan
production signal       -> new sdlc/intent/<slug>.md, loop restarts

One <slug> runs through all three files. That slug is the audit trail — git log sdlc/*/<slug>.md shows the whole decision history for a change.

Commands

Stage details, measurement, and governance notes: references/stages.md.

Core Rules

Never skip an artifact. If the user asks to implement something and no sdlc/plan/<slug>.md exists, say so and offer /sdlc:plan first. If they decline, proceed — but do not silently pretend a plan exists.

Never write the artifact alone. Each command drafts, then asks the user to correct. The user's acceptance is what triggers the next stage. Skipping their review turns the chain into theatre.

Never auto-commit. Write the file, show what changed, offer the exact git add + git commit command. The user runs it or tells you to.

Plan must stay true. If implementation departs from sdlc/plan/<slug>.md, update the plan in the same commit as the code. A stale plan is worse than no plan.

Always verify before reporting done. Run the repo's verification command (from CLAUDE.md) and paste real output. "Should work" is not a result. See /sdlc:verify.

Second mistake goes in CLAUDE.md. When the same correction is needed twice, write it into the repo's CLAUDE.md rather than fixing it again by hand.

Conventions

• Artifacts live in sdlc/ at repo root. Slug: kebab-case, derived from the intent title, max 5 words.
• Templates in templates/ are starting points — strip sections that do not apply rather than filling them with filler.
• Every artifact opens with a Status: line (draft / accepted / superseded by <slug>).
• The test-file guard hook is off unless sdlc/.lock-tests exists. See hooks/README notes in references/stages.md.

Requirements

• Git repository
• CLAUDE.md at repo root (/sdlc:init creates or extends it)
• For /sdlc:review: the code-review plugin, or GitHub CLI for PR review
• For /sdlc:evals: claude plugin eval (bundled with Claude Code)