manage
The manage-level front door to an SDD project — the user-facing handler for the gateway's "Manage the corpus" route, sibling to start-mission. Where start-mission changes what the project specifies (opens a CR, runs the mission loop), manage does non-mission work on the corpus: bootstrap, inspect, audit, housekeeping.
manage is a thin dispatcher: it classifies a manage request and loads the matching engine in the current session, holding no production logic, loading no governance, and writing no contract state. It opens no CR, invokes no gate, and performs no behavior change itself — a needed change to the project's specified behavior is handed off to start-mission.
Manage picks no model. Like the gateway, the model + effort a piece of work needs is set by the engine you load — the .mts engines are light; a backfill or formation grill wants a capable model. The loaded engine advises; the user switches manually. (Harness gap: manage cannot switch the session model itself.)
Intake
- Fast path — skip the menu. When the invocation already names the operation — "backfill the project spec", "list the specs", "check spec structure", "retire the finished plans" — load the matching engine directly, no menu.
- Two-level menu — bare invocation. When
manage is invoked with no operation named, do not guess. Conduct intake as a two-level menu, never a flat list. Never ask more than four options in a single AskUserQuestion (the tool rejects more than four). The top-level question presents the four operation groups; the second level picks the specific engine.
| # |
Operation group |
Covers |
| 1 |
Setup & discovery |
scaffold a project's spec envelope for the first time → scaffold-project-spec; curate discovery's extra spec anchors → manage-spec-anchors; curate the ignore file → manage-ignore; wire a project's scenario bridge → manage-scenario-bridge; set up or configure the mission statusline → init (all are prerequisites for a project being found and usable, not routine cleanup) |
| 2 |
Inspect |
list / navigate the corpus → discover-specs, concept-index, place-node, discover-plans |
| 3 |
Audit & align |
audit node-shape, drift, structure → check-spec-structure, formation-loop, align-spec (planned); scan plan briefs for machine-local path leaks → check-plan-safety |
| 4 |
Housekeeping |
retire completed mission plans → plan-retirement |
When a group's engine list would exceed four at the second level, present only the most-relevant few (≤ 4) or ask the user to name the engine directly; never enumerate into an over-four question and never truncate silently.
The routing table — group → engine
Classification routes a manage request to the handler that handles it; every handler already exists and is loaded here — most are user-invocable: false engines, except init, which stays independently user-invocable.
| Group |
Request |
Engine (handler) |
| Setup & discovery |
set up / backfill a project's spec for the first time |
scaffold-project-spec — scaffolds the spec envelope + stub nodes |
| Setup & discovery |
list / change discovery's extra spec anchors |
manage-spec-anchors — list fixed + custom anchors, CRUD the custom ones, induce a pattern from a path, preview its match (writes only .agents/sdd/spec-anchors.toml) |
| Setup & discovery |
curate the ignore file |
manage-ignore — curate .agents/sdd/.sddignore (list / add / remove / induce / preview); writes only the ignore file |
| Setup & discovery |
scaffold or curate a project's scenario-bridge config |
manage-scenario-bridge — list / scaffold / add sources in <project-path>/.agents/sdd/scenario-bridge.toml; writes only that project's scenario-bridge config |
| Setup & discovery |
set up / configure the mission statusline |
init — user-invocable onboarding skill; offers the opt-in statusline, wires the reader into project .claude/settings.json |
| Inspect |
list the specs + statuses |
discover-specs — frontmatter-only corpus scan |
| Inspect |
render / refresh the by-concept view |
concept-index — --check (read) / --write (refresh block) |
| Inspect |
where does a new concept belong |
place-node — provisional home + duplicate catch |
| Inspect |
list in-progress (resumable) missions |
discover-plans — plan-brief scan |
| Audit & align |
audit node-shape (orphans / oversized) |
check-spec-structure — read-only advisory |
| Audit & align |
scan plan briefs for machine-local path leaks |
check-plan-safety — read-only guard; flags home-abs paths + $HOME/$USER in .agents/plans |
| Audit & align |
reconcile prose↔suite drift |
align-spec (planned — spec-only, no engine yet) — a fix that edits behavior hands off to start-mission |
| Audit & align |
corpus-wide audit / split / reconcile |
formation-loop — emits new CRs (→ start-mission) |
| Housekeeping |
retire completed mission plans |
plan-retirement — gated, idempotent deletion of retired briefs |
Reviewing pending strategy is not a manage operation — it stays gateway-owned (the gateway's episodic pending-count, its option 3). manage does not surface or ratify strategy.
Load the engine in-session
When the route resolves, load the matched engine in the current session and run it directly — spawn nothing. Read-only engines (discover-specs, discover-plans, check-spec-structure, check-plan-safety, place-node, concept-index --check) run in place; write-capable operations stay owned by their engine — scaffold-project-spec scaffolds the skeleton, plan-retirement performs its gated deletion, concept-index --write refreshes the generated block, manage-spec-anchors writes its spec-anchors.toml config, manage-scenario-bridge writes its project's scenario-bridge.toml config. manage only routes.
Non-mission — the boundary
manage maintains and inspects the corpus; it never changes what the project specifies.
- Opens no CR, invokes no gate, writes no
status / approval. Those belong to start-mission and the internal gates.
- Hand off a behavior change. When an operation surfaces a needed change to the project's specified behavior — a
formation reconcile, an align-spec drift whose fix edits the spec/suite — hand off to start-mission, which opens a CR and runs the mission loop. Do not edit the spec/suite here.
- A change request is not a manage operation. A request to add or revise the project's specified behavior is redirected to
start-mission, not handled as a manage operation.
- Thin classifier. Classifying loads no governance and holds no production logic — it only loads the matched engine.
1---2name: manage3description: Use this skill when doing manage-level (non-mission) SDD work on the spec corpus — bootstrap, inspect, audit, or housekeeping — such as "set up the project spec", "backfill the spec", "list the SDD specs and statuses", "audit the corpus structure", "check for spec/suite drift", or "retire completed mission plans". Routes to the matching engine; it does not change what the project specifies (that is start-mission).4---56# manage78The **manage-level** front door to an SDD project — the user-facing handler for the gateway's **"Manage the corpus"** route, sibling to `start-mission`. Where `start-mission` **changes what the project specifies** (opens a CR, runs the mission loop), `manage` does **non-mission** work on the corpus: **bootstrap**, **inspect**, **audit**, **housekeeping**.910`manage` is a **thin dispatcher**: it classifies a manage request and **loads the matching engine in the current session**, holding **no production logic**, loading **no governance**, and writing **no contract state**. It **opens no CR**, **invokes no gate**, and **performs no behavior change** itself — a needed change to the project's specified behavior is **handed off to `start-mission`**.1112> **Manage picks no model.** Like the gateway, the model + effort a piece of work needs is set by the **engine you load** — the `.mts` engines are light; a `backfill` or `formation` grill wants a capable model. The loaded engine advises; the user switches manually. (Harness gap: `manage` cannot switch the session model itself.)1314## Intake1516- **Fast path — skip the menu.** When the invocation already **names the operation** — "backfill the project spec", "list the specs", "check spec structure", "retire the finished plans" — load the matching engine directly, no menu.17- **Two-level menu — bare invocation.** When `manage` is invoked with **no operation named**, do not guess. Conduct intake as a **two-level menu**, never a flat list. **Never ask more than four options** in a single `AskUserQuestion` (the tool rejects more than four). The top-level question presents the **four operation groups**; the second level picks the specific engine.1819| # | Operation group | Covers |20|---|---|---|21| 1 | **Setup & discovery** | scaffold a project's spec envelope for the first time → `scaffold-project-spec`; curate discovery's extra spec anchors → `manage-spec-anchors`; curate the ignore file → `manage-ignore`; wire a project's scenario bridge → `manage-scenario-bridge`; set up or configure the mission statusline → `init` (all are prerequisites for a project being found and usable, not routine cleanup) |22| 2 | **Inspect** | list / navigate the corpus → `discover-specs`, `concept-index`, `place-node`, `discover-plans` |23| 3 | **Audit & align** | audit node-shape, drift, structure → `check-spec-structure`, `formation-loop`, `align-spec` *(planned)*; scan plan briefs for machine-local path leaks → `check-plan-safety` |24| 4 | **Housekeeping** | retire completed mission plans → `plan-retirement` |2526When a group's engine list would exceed four at the second level, present only the most-relevant few (≤ 4) or ask the user to name the engine directly; never enumerate into an over-four question and never truncate silently.2728## The routing table — group → engine2930Classification routes a manage request to the **handler** that handles it; every handler already exists and is loaded here — most are `user-invocable: false` engines, except `init`, which stays independently user-invocable.3132| Group | Request | Engine (handler) |33|---|---|---|34| **Setup & discovery** | set up / backfill a project's spec for the first time | **`scaffold-project-spec`** — scaffolds the spec envelope + stub nodes |35| **Setup & discovery** | list / change discovery's extra spec anchors | **`manage-spec-anchors`** — list fixed + custom anchors, CRUD the custom ones, induce a pattern from a path, preview its match (writes only `.agents/sdd/spec-anchors.toml`) |36| **Setup & discovery** | curate the ignore file | **`manage-ignore`** — curate `.agents/sdd/.sddignore` (list / add / remove / induce / preview); writes only the ignore file |37| **Setup & discovery** | scaffold or curate a project's scenario-bridge config | **`manage-scenario-bridge`** — list / scaffold / add sources in `<project-path>/.agents/sdd/scenario-bridge.toml`; writes only that project's scenario-bridge config |38| **Setup & discovery** | set up / configure the mission statusline | **`init`** — user-invocable onboarding skill; offers the opt-in statusline, wires the reader into project `.claude/settings.json` |39| **Inspect** | list the specs + statuses | **`discover-specs`** — frontmatter-only corpus scan |40| **Inspect** | render / refresh the by-concept view | **`concept-index`** — `--check` (read) / `--write` (refresh block) |41| **Inspect** | where does a new concept belong | **`place-node`** — provisional home + duplicate catch |42| **Inspect** | list in-progress (resumable) missions | **`discover-plans`** — plan-brief scan |43| **Audit & align** | audit node-shape (orphans / oversized) | **`check-spec-structure`** — read-only advisory |44| **Audit & align** | scan plan briefs for machine-local path leaks | **`check-plan-safety`** — read-only guard; flags home-abs paths + `$HOME`/`$USER` in `.agents/plans` |45| **Audit & align** | reconcile prose↔suite drift | **`align-spec`** *(planned — spec-only, no engine yet)* — a fix that edits behavior **hands off to `start-mission`** |46| **Audit & align** | corpus-wide audit / split / reconcile | **`formation-loop`** — emits new CRs (→ `start-mission`) |47| **Housekeeping** | retire completed mission plans | **`plan-retirement`** — gated, idempotent deletion of retired briefs |4849Reviewing **pending strategy** is **not** a manage operation — it stays **gateway-owned** (the gateway's episodic pending-count, its option 3). `manage` does not surface or ratify strategy.5051## Load the engine in-session5253When the route resolves, **load the matched engine in the current session** and run it directly — **spawn nothing**. Read-only engines (`discover-specs`, `discover-plans`, `check-spec-structure`, `check-plan-safety`, `place-node`, `concept-index --check`) run in place; **write-capable** operations stay **owned by their engine** — `scaffold-project-spec` scaffolds the skeleton, `plan-retirement` performs its gated deletion, `concept-index --write` refreshes the generated block, `manage-spec-anchors` writes its `spec-anchors.toml` config, `manage-scenario-bridge` writes its project's `scenario-bridge.toml` config. `manage` only routes.5455## Non-mission — the boundary5657`manage` maintains and inspects the corpus; it **never changes what the project specifies**.5859- **Opens no CR, invokes no gate, writes no `status` / `approval`.** Those belong to `start-mission` and the internal gates.60- **Hand off a behavior change.** When an operation surfaces a needed change to the project's specified behavior — a `formation` reconcile, an `align-spec` drift whose fix edits the spec/suite — **hand off to `start-mission`**, which opens a CR and runs the mission loop. Do not edit the spec/suite here.61- **A change request is not a manage operation.** A request to **add or revise** the project's specified behavior is **redirected to `start-mission`**, not handled as a manage operation.62- **Thin classifier.** Classifying loads **no governance** and holds **no production logic** — it only loads the matched engine.
cyberuni