Polyflow Go

PolyFlow: Go (Entry-Point Orchestrator)

Single entry point for the PolyFlow workflow. The user gives you an idea or task and asks to "polyflow it" — you take responsibility for walking the whole loop end-to-end, picking the right sub-skill at each step, and respecting checkpoints where the user must stay in control.

You are the conductor; the other polyflow-* skills are the orchestra.

Vocabulary

See polyflow meta-skill for the shared vocabulary (deep modules, deletion test, vertical slice, grill, mockup quick-mode).

When to Use

Trigger phrases (or anything semantically equivalent):

• "let's polyflow this"
• "use polyflow"
• "polyflow this idea"
• "run this through polyflow"
• "implement with polyflow"
• "let's [do X] using polyflow"

SKIP when:

• The user is asking a factual question (no skill needed at all)
• The user wants quick mockups only (the brainstorming skill's mockup quick-mode handles this directly — no full loop needed)
• The user explicitly invoked a specific sub-skill by name (polyflow-debug, etc.) — let them control granularly
• The work is a one-line fix or trivial change — full loop is overkill

The Walk

Phase 0 — Restate and Confirm Scope (one sentence)

Confirm you've understood the idea in your own words, in one sentence. Examples:

"Got it — you want to add an archived flag to messages so cancelled ones drop off the dashboard."

Then ask one calibration question if scope isn't obvious:

"Quick scope check: is this a small targeted change or a feature with multiple components?"

If the user signals quick/small → consider whether a full polyflow loop is overkill. Offer a shortcut: "This sounds small — want me to skip brainstorming/planning and just TDD it directly? Or run the full loop anyway?"

Phase 1 — Brainstorm (always, unless user opts out)

Announce: "Step 1: brainstorming via polyflow-brainstorming."

Invoke polyflow-brainstorming:

• Quick context check (skim relevant files; don't exhaustively explore)
• Scope check (decompose if multi-subsystem)
• Clarifying questions one at a time, multiple-choice when possible
• Propose 2–3 approaches with your recommendation as option (a)
• Embedded grill on the chosen approach
• Present the design in sections; get explicit approval

Mockup quick-mode bypass: if the user originally said "show me mockups" rather than "implement," skip the full loop and produce mockups directly (HTML files, Figma frames, ASCII layouts — whatever the project uses). No spec, no plan, no TDD ceremony.

Checkpoint: before continuing, the user must explicitly approve the design. Not a tacit yes — actual confirmation.

Phase 2 — Plan (if non-trivial)

Announce: "Step 2: writing the plan via polyflow-writing-plans."

If scope is small (one file, one behavior change), skip to Phase 3 with a verbal plan ("I'll write a failing test for X, then minimal impl"). Otherwise:

Invoke polyflow-writing-plans:

• File structure first (name files + responsibilities, deletion test on each)
• Embedded grill on the structure
• Bite-sized tasks

Checkpoint: before continuing, the user must approve the plan.

Phase 3 — Execute

Announce: "Step 3: executing the plan via polyflow-executing-plans."

Invoke polyflow-executing-plans:

• Critical review of plan
• Set up TaskCreate items
• Task-by-task; each task uses polyflow-tdd for any production code
• Inline verification (typecheck, lint, test for affected workspaces)
• Stop and ask on blockers

Every code-writing task goes through polyflow-tdd — it's the discipline running inside the execute harness, not a phase that comes after. Per-cycle: RED → GREEN → REFACTOR (refactor with the fresh test as safety net, not deferred to the end). Behavior through public interface, watch each test fail before writing impl, assertion correctness check.

Phase 4 — Iterate (always, on success)

Announce: "Step 4: self-review loop via polyflow-iterate."

Invoke polyflow-iterate:

• Run the project's quality checks (typecheck, lint, test — exact commands per CLAUDE.md)
• Re-read the diff (dead code, naming, deletion test, magic strings, error handling, type safety, security, test coverage, assertion correctness, scope creep, comments)
• Five Failure Modes pass (hallucinated actions, scope creep, cascading errors, context loss, tool misuse)
• For UI changes: chromium screenshot via chromium --headless --screenshot=..., then read the PNG
• Fix what's found, restart loop
• Hard cap of 5 iterations

Phase 5 — STOP

Announce: "Implementation complete. Stopping here per PolyFlow's no-auto-finish rule."

Report:

• What was built (file list, one-line each)
• What behaviors were added/changed
• What verifications passed
• Any deferred items (with reason)
• Anything the user should review before deciding next steps

Do NOT stage files, commit, push, merge, or open a PR. Wait for user direction.

Cross-Cutting: Context Compaction

Watch for drift symptoms throughout (re-asking established questions, contradicting earlier decisions, restating constraints already set). At any clean phase boundary (after design approval, after plan approval, after execution success), if the session feels heavy, proactively offer:

"We just finished [phase X]. Context is getting heavy — want me to invoke polyflow-compact to summarize anchors and prep for /clear before the next phase?"

Don't force it. Let the user decide.

Hard Rules (inherited from polyflow meta + this skill's specifics)

• Never auto-commit, never auto-stage, never auto-finish. Phase 5 is STOP. The user controls integration.
• Never invent values. File paths, env vars, IDs, function names, library APIs — if unsure, STOP and ask. Action-hallucination is the top failure mode.
• Respect checkpoints. After brainstorming and after planning, get explicit user approval before continuing. Not a tacit yes.
• Announce each phase. "Step N: [skill name] for [purpose]." This keeps the user oriented and able to interrupt cleanly.
• Don't mix up paths. If sequential was picked, don't switch to parallel mid-flight. If parallel, don't fall back to sequential silently. Surface the proposed switch and ask.
• Iterate has a hard cap. 5 iterations. If still finding issues at iteration 5, the original plan was wrong — stop and ask.

Hand-offs

This skill IS the entry point. It hands off TO other polyflow skills, not the other way around. The only "hand-off" out of polyflow-go is STOP at Phase 5, returning control to the user.

Special-purpose skills can be invoked mid-flow when relevant:

• New domain term emerged → invoke polyflow-glossary to update CONTEXT.md, then continue
• Design surfaces architecture concerns → invoke polyflow-improve-architecture first, then resume
• Interface shape is the hard part → polyflow-design-interface before plan
• Bug discovered mid-execution → polyflow-debug
• Substantial-feature scope reveals itself → upgrade brainstorming → polyflow-prd → writing-plans

These don't break the flow — they're sub-tools used inside the appropriate phase.

Why This Exists

Without an entry-point orchestrator, the user has to know which polyflow-* skill to invoke at each step. That defeats the cohesion property. With polyflow-go, the user says "polyflow this" once and the right sub-skill fires at the right time, with the right checkpoints preserved.

The skill is conductor, not autopilot. Checkpoints are real (brainstorm approval, plan approval, iterate hand-back). The user always has the option to interrupt, switch paths, or take manual control.