# Cy Implement Spec > Implement Spec Driver - Skill: `compozy/cy-implement-spec` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 17 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add compozy/cy-implement-spec` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/compozy/cy-implement-spec/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools - Author: compozy (https://skillmd.com/u/compozy) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/compozy/cy-implement-spec --- # Implement Spec Driver Drive a Compozy spec to completion as a **self-healing continue** loop that works **directly on the spec documents** — there is no task queue and none is ever created. Task decomposition existed to fit specs into small model contexts; this loop instead registers the spec's own exit conditions as **criteria** (`pending → met`) and lets the model manage the work between checkpoints in its own context. State tracks *what is proven*, never *what to do next*. Each iteration detects the current phase, runs exactly one phase action, writes memory, updates `state.yaml`, and prints the iteration summary — then **continues** at detect unless the outcome is an evidence-backed external blocker or Phase E. A failed command stays inside the current phase action: diagnose, repair, and rerun it before writing iteration state. Filesystem state still resumes cleanly if the session ends mid-loop. The loop is a five-phase state machine: | Phase | Action | Executor | |-------|--------|----------| | 0 | bootstrap: read spec docs, register criteria | orchestrator | | B | one milestone + verify + checkpoint commit, until every criterion is met | orchestrator | | C | `qa_report`, then `qa_execution` | Fable 5 herdr worker, then orchestrator | | D | `deep-review` rounds until SHIP + checkpoint commit per round | orchestrator | | E | done-signature | orchestrator | Compatible with `~/dev/ai/codex-loop-plugin` goal mode; the plugin itself is never modified. Prefer in-session **continue** over waiting for a Stop→restart — restarts are a resume safety net, not the driver. ## Inputs - `` — directory name under `.compozy/tasks/`. - `` — verbatim `[[CODEX_LOOP goal="..."]]` text or the manual reason for the run. Captured once at bootstrap into `state.yaml.goal_signature`. Syntax in `references/goal-header-template.md`. - A pre-authored `.compozy/tasks//_techspec.md`. Without it, bootstrap stops with a blocker. Companion documents are read when present: `_prd.md`, `_tests.md`, `_user_stories.md`, `_design-spec.md`, `adrs/`. - The slug must carry **no** `_tasks.md` / `task_*.md` — `init-state.py` refuses a task graph (exit 5); that slug belongs to `cy-loop-tasks`. ## Helper scripts Bundled under `.agents/skills/cy-implement-spec/scripts/` — stdlib-only Python 3.11+, no network, no model calls. Invoke by the explicit repo-root paths shown in the workflow steps. | Script | Role | Phase | |--------|------|-------| | `_state_io.py` | private strict state codec (imported, not invoked) | all state helpers | | `init-state.py` | bootstrap (mutating once) | 0 | | `detect-phase.py` | read-only | every iteration | | `update-state.py` | mutating | every iteration | | `commit-checkpoint.py` | mutating (git commit) | B, D | | `test_scripts.py` | read-only self-test | skill maintenance only | ## Worker delegation One lane dispatches work to a herdr worker TUI, for judgment independence: the orchestrator implements the whole spec, so `qa_report` (Phase C) is always produced by a fresh Claude Fable 5 worker with unbiased eyes — launched direct, never plan-first. Before any dispatch, read `references/worker-delegation.md` in full and activate the `herdr-orchestration` skill it builds on. Every other action runs locally. ## Workflow Each **iteration** is one detect → phase action → memory → state → summary cycle. After a completed (non-blocked) summary that is not Phase E, **continue** at Step 1 in the same turn — do not end the session between rounds. If any command, gate, worker, or artifact check fails during a phase action, read `references/recovery-loop.md` in full immediately and run its repair loop. Do not write final iteration state or print the summary for an intermediate failure. **Step 1 — Detect.** 1. Print `pwd` and confirm the working directory is the repo root (the directory containing `.compozy/tasks/`). On mismatch, locate that root, change into it, and confirm again; block only when the task tree is absent. 2. Activate `cy-workflow-memory` so its protocol is loaded for later use (once per session is enough; re-activate only if context was dropped). 3. Run `python3 .agents/skills/cy-implement-spec/scripts/detect-phase.py `. The printed line decides the whole iteration; the output catalog and entry/exit conditions are in `references/phase-transitions.md`. Done when: detect-phase emitted exactly one supported phase/action line and the matching branch below is selected. **Step 2 — Run exactly one phase branch.** ### Phase 0 — Bootstrap 1. Confirm `.compozy/tasks//_techspec.md` exists. Missing → scaffold `memory/MEMORY.md` from `references/memory-protocol.md`, record the blocker under `## Open Risks`, print the iteration summary with `outcome=blocked`, and stop (`state.yaml` does not exist yet, so there is no update-state call). 2. Activate `cy-spec-preflight` so the repository's playbook, lessons, directives, and glossary ground the whole run. 3. Read every spec document in the slug **in full** — `_techspec.md` plus the companions listed under Inputs. These documents are the entire contract; nothing else will be generated from them. 4. Extract the spec's exit conditions into a criteria list: every acceptance criterion and deliverable from `_techspec.md`, anchored to spec text — split or merge entries only so each is independently provable, and keep each unique. When `_tests.md` exists, add one standing criterion: "every test case in _tests.md is implemented in its owning suite". Criteria are **exit conditions, not work items** — never register a to-do list. 5. Run `python3 .agents/skills/cy-implement-spec/scripts/init-state.py --goal "" --criterion ""`, repeating `--criterion` once per extracted criterion. 6. Scaffold `.compozy/tasks//memory/MEMORY.md` with the canonical sections from `references/memory-protocol.md`. 7. Run `python3 .agents/skills/cy-implement-spec/scripts/update-state.py --phase 0 --action "bootstrap ( criteria registered)" --outcome completed --memory-written "memory/MEMORY.md"`. Done when: `state.yaml` exists with every criterion registered and `memory/MEMORY.md` has the canonical sections. ### Phase B — implement one milestone There is no queue to pull from: re-read the spec, judge the gap between the codebase and the pending criteria, and close part of it. One iteration = one **milestone** — a coherent, provable increment chosen by the model (a subsystem landed, a contract co-shipped end to end, a vertical slice passing its tests). No size ceiling: implement as far as coherent judgment allows before checkpointing; a milestone is cut by provability, not by clock or file count. 1. Re-anchor from filesystem truth: `state.yaml` (which criteria are pending), `memory/MEMORY.md` (decisions so far), and — on the first Phase B iteration or after any context loss or compaction — the spec documents in full. Never trust a summarized recollection of the spec. 2. State the milestone in one line; this exact text becomes the update-state `--action` suffix and the checkpoint commit header. The current memory file is `memory/impl-iter-.md`, `` = `state.iteration + 1`, zero-padded to three digits. 3. Activate the repository's required domain skills for the surfaces about to be touched (per the repo's skill dispatch table) before writing code. 4. Implement the milestone. Record decisions, learnings, and repairs in the current memory file as they happen — memory is the loop's continuity across compaction, not an afterthought. 5. Run scoped validation for every touched lane, then `cy-final-verify`. 6. Map evidence to criteria: a criterion is met only when its proof is named in the memory file's `## Criteria Advanced` section (command + result, test id, or artifact path). Implementation without proof stays pending. Skip any peer-review step a spec document requests — that review is Phase D (see Critical Rules). 7. Run `python3 .agents/skills/cy-implement-spec/scripts/update-state.py --phase B --action "milestone: " --outcome completed --criterion-met "" --memory-written "memory/impl-iter-.md,memory/MEMORY.md" --verify-pass`, repeating `--criterion-met` once per criterion proven this iteration (omit it for a foundation milestone that proves none — then also record in memory what it unblocks). When the last pending criterion is proven, add `--implementation-complete` to the same call — the script refuses it while any criterion is pending or without `--verify-pass`. 8. Run `python3 .agents/skills/cy-implement-spec/scripts/commit-checkpoint.py --milestone ""`, passing `--coauthor` with the driving agent's identity (e.g. `"Codex "` or `"Claude Fable 5 "`). Stdout is a commit SHA or `SKIP: no changes`; copy it into the iteration summary. On exit 1, enter the repair loop and retry the normal checkpoint after its root cause is fixed. Never bypass the hook with `--no-verify`. Done when: the milestone's criteria flips, memory, `state.yaml`, and the checkpoint result all reflect the same completed milestone. ### Phase C — QA Run only the printed action. `qa_report` — dispatched, never authored locally: 1. When release-grade runtime scope needs a lab and no active `bootstrap-manifest.json` exists, activate the project's QA bootstrap skill first (e.g. `agh-qa-bootstrap` in AGH) when installed. 2. Dispatch the Fable 5 worker per `references/worker-delegation.md`. The worker activates `qa-report` with `qa-docs-path=docs/qa` and updates journey flows, `docs/qa/scenarios/` files, and cycle charters. 3. Verify the worker evidence (each reported artifact exists, no worker commit), then run `python3 .agents/skills/cy-implement-spec/scripts/update-state.py --phase C --qa-report-done --action "qa-report produced" --outcome completed --memory-written "memory/qa-report.md,memory/MEMORY.md"`. `qa_execution` — local: 1. Activate `qa-execution` with `qa-docs-path=docs/qa`; it writes the dated run report at `docs/qa/reports/-.md` and updates scenario-file verdicts. 2. When the report is "not ready" or a Blocks-Completion/Data-Loss bug is open, keep the Phase C action open: repair every in-scope bug, rerun the affected QA, and repeat `qa-execution` through the recovery loop. Do not set `--qa-execution-done` on an intermediate report. 3. Once the report is ready, run `python3 .agents/skills/cy-implement-spec/scripts/update-state.py --phase C --qa-execution-done --action "qa-execution produced" --outcome completed --memory-written "memory/qa-execution.md,memory/MEMORY.md" --verify-pass`. Done when: the printed QA artifact exists on disk and its flag is recorded in `state.yaml`. ### Phase D — peer-review rounds until SHIP One round per iteration; detect-phase re-emits `peer_review` until the verdict is SHIP on a verify-PASS tree. Enter this phase only after `implementation_complete=true` and both QA flags are true. 1. Activate `deep-review` for the round number printed by detect-phase, scoped to the loop's full diff: `--base` = the ref the loop started from when known (default `main`), `--spec .compozy/tasks/` (contract conformance), `--subagent codex` (cross-LLM reviewer lane — the implementing model never solely reviews its own work). Later rounds ride deep-review's incremental state; never pass `--full` mid-loop. 2. The loop is the deciding authority over the round: remediate **every confirmed finding and every nitpick** from the round's review.md in this same iteration, then re-run the project verification gate. The round's verdict is the SHIP/FIX_BEFORE_SHIP/REWORK value in review.md/state.json. 3. Update `memory/peer-review.md` (a `## Round ` section per round), then run `python3 .agents/skills/cy-implement-spec/scripts/update-state.py --phase D --review-round-done --action "peer-review round ()" --outcome completed --memory-written "memory/peer-review.md,memory/MEMORY.md" --verify-pass`. The call uses `--verify-pass`: a failed post-remediation gate stays inside the repair loop, and a SHIP verdict on a failing tree is void. 4. Run `python3 .agents/skills/cy-implement-spec/scripts/commit-checkpoint.py --review-round ` (same `--coauthor` and SKIP / exit-1 semantics as Phase B). Done when: the round's review.md exists with a verdict, every confirmed finding and nitpick from it is remediated (or the verdict was SHIP), and `state.yaml` records the round. ### Phase E — done 1. Run a final `cy-final-verify` and confirm `state.verify.last_status=PASS`. A regression enters the repair loop and Phase E remains open until the fresh gate passes; skip the done-signature while repairing. 2. Walk the Phase E section of `references/checklist.md`; every box must pass. 3. Print the iteration summary block from `assets/iteration-summary.template.md` with `phase_out=E` and checkpoint field `n/a (phase != B/D)`. 4. Print the literal contents of `assets/done-signature.txt` on its own line — the codex-loop goal-check confirmation scans for it. 5. Stop — Phase E is the only successful terminal. Done when: the Phase E checklist passes, the iteration summary is printed, and the done-signature is the final output line. **Step 3 — Self-audit, summarize, then continue.** 1. Walk `references/checklist.md` for the phase just executed; every box must pass before summarizing. 2. Print the iteration summary block from `assets/iteration-summary.template.md` (Phase E already printed it and adds only the done-signature line). 3. **Continue gate:** stop only when `phase_out=E` or the external-blocker criteria in `references/recovery-loop.md` are proven and `outcome=blocked`. Otherwise re-enter Step 1 immediately — the summary marks the round; it does not end the session. Done when: the phase checklist passes, its summary is printed, and control either returned to Step 1 or stopped at a permitted terminal. ## Memory protocol Memory goes through the `cy-workflow-memory` skill — the exact paths per phase are in `references/memory-protocol.md`. Update memory **before** flipping any tracking field. ## Goal-mode integration The canonical `[[CODEX_LOOP ...]]` header and the manual invocation text live in `references/goal-header-template.md`. ## Critical Rules - Criteria are **exit conditions, not work items**: `state.yaml` tracks what is proven; the model owns the work breakdown inside its own context. Never author `_tasks.md` or `task_*.md`, and never activate `cy-create-tasks`, `cy-execute-task`, or `cy-tasks-tail-qa-pair` inside this loop — a slug that needs a task graph belongs to `cy-loop-tasks`. - One phase action per iteration; repair failures inside that action, then **continue** at detect until Phase E or a proven external blocker — never idle between rounds waiting for a restart or re-invocation. - `state.yaml` mutates only through `init-state.py` and `update-state.py`; hand-edits void resume guarantees. There is no top-level `current_phase` — `detect-phase.py` derives it from durable state every run. - Memory updates precede status flips. Always. - Every `--criterion-met` is backed by proof named in memory (command + result, test id, or artifact path); `--implementation-complete` is script-guarded — zero pending criteria plus `--verify-pass` in the same call — and a criterion is never edited or reverted, only superseded via `--add-criterion` with a memory note. - Every Phase B milestone runs scoped validation then `cy-final-verify` before its checkpoint commit. A FAIL opens the repair loop; only the final PASS closes the phase action. - `qa_report` is always produced by the Fable 5 worker; `qa_execution` always runs locally. Workers never commit. - Peer review (`deep-review`) runs only in Phase D. Per-milestone review instructions inside spec documents are superseded by this loop's phase machine — note "deferred to Phase D" in the iteration memory and move on. - Phase D repeats in consecutive rounds until SHIP; every non-SHIP round remediates all blockers and nits before the next round starts. - Checkpoint commits (Phases B and D) belong to the orchestrator and capture code, memory, and the advanced `state.yaml` in one atomic, restorable snapshot. - Phase E requires `progress.implementation_complete=true`, `qa.report_done=true`, `qa.execution_done=true`, `review.ship=true`, and `verify.last_status=PASS`. - Spec regeneration is out of scope: do not rewrite `_techspec.md` or `_prd.md` with authoring skills. The only exception is a repository-mandated two-touch corrective TechSpec: activate its required spec skills, let the loop decide choices already bounded by the current goal/contract, persist the corrective design, register any new exit conditions via `--add-criterion`, and continue. ## Error Handling - **Any failure** — read `references/recovery-loop.md` in full and execute it before mutating iteration state. Failed commands are repair work, not blockers. Use `outcome=blocked` only after its external-blocker test passes. - **`_techspec.md` missing at bootstrap** — record the blocker in `memory/MEMORY.md` `## Open Risks`, print the iteration summary with `outcome=blocked`, stop. No update-state call: `state.yaml` does not exist yet. - **Task graph present** — `init-state.py` exits 5. Do not delete the graph to force this loop; hand the slug to `cy-loop-tasks` and report the mismatch in the summary. - **`state.yaml` parse failure** — `detect-phase.py` exits 1 with the parse error on stderr. Diagnose the malformed writer or interrupted write from evidence and repair it without discarding unrelated worktree changes. - **`--criterion-met` text mismatch** — `update-state.py` exits 1 naming the unmatched text. Re-read `state.yaml`, pass the exact stored text, and fix the memory note if it quoted the criterion wrong. - **A criterion is unprovable as written** — follow the criterion classification row in `references/recovery-loop.md`: resolve against the spec, supersede via `--add-criterion`, record the supersession in memory. - **`commit-checkpoint.py` exit 1** — repair the hook or commit failure and retry normally. If the repair changes tracked source after the last PASS, rerun `cy-final-verify` before retrying. `SKIP: no changes` is success. - **Worker launch or delegation failure** — the pane shows raw JSON instead of a TUI banner, `rtk herdr agent list` stays `unknown`, or the status wait times out with no progress: interrupt (`rtk herdr pane send-keys ctrl+c`) and relaunch once via `rtk herdr agent start`; if it fails again, diagnose and repair the worker environment through the recovery loop. - **Delegated run lacks artifacts or committed anyway** — keep the phase open, recover the missing evidence or rerun the lane, and do not advance. A worker commit is a contract breach that requires preserving the worker's work and repairing checkpoint ownership before continuing. - **Invalid peer-review round** (missing or malformed review artifacts, or no verdict) — the round does not count; follow `deep-review` error handling and re-run it. - **Two-touch rule** — on the third corrective touch, replace patching with the structural redesign required by the repository, validate it, and continue. It becomes a blocker only when that redesign needs an external product decision or authority unavailable to the loop. - **External blocker proven** — record the evidence and exhausted alternatives in memory, call `update-state.py` with `--verify-fail --blocker --outcome blocked`, print the summary, and stop without the done-signature.