Desk Flip

Desk Flip

Invoke as $desk-flip.

Autopsy a stuck project, extract salvageable artifacts (lessons, valid specs, non-code assets), and route the user to a fresh start either in a new repo or by resetting the existing repo with $bootstrap-repo --reset-existing.

Always desk-flip. If the user invoked it, the decision to restart is already made. Do not offer incremental migration or attempt to fix the old project in place.

Process

1. Identify the stuck project.

   • Accept an optional project path from the invocation arguments; default to the current working directory.
   • Verify the target is a git repo with existing code, not an empty repo.
   • If the project appears to already use the new workflow (file-backed specs, prototype-first artifacts, healthy structure), warn the user and confirm before proceeding.

2. Survey the project.

   • Read AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md, README.md, package.json or equivalent manifest, and directory structure when present.
   • Read tasks/, specs/, and docs/ directories if they exist.
   • Scan recent git history (last ~50 commits) for commit patterns and timeline.
   • Read any existing tasks/lessons.md or post-mortem docs.

3. Run the autopsy.

   • Lessons extraction: What went wrong? Look for evidence of failure modes: infrastructure before prototype, late testing, chat-driven alignment drift, scope creep, untestable architecture. Cite specific commits, files, or timeline evidence.
   • Spec/design extraction: Identify specs, designs, research docs, interview logs, and product briefs that capture valid domain knowledge or user needs, regardless of whether the implementation matched. Mark each as valid, partially valid, or stale with a one-line rationale.
   • Asset inventory: Find non-code assets worth preserving: icons, images, copy, API contracts, design tokens, brand assets, research documents.

   Do not extract code, dependencies, database schemas, or infrastructure config.

4. Write the autopsy report.

   • Produce desk-flip-report.md in the project root with these sections:

   ## Project Summary
   What the project was and what state it's in now.
   
   ## What Went Wrong
   Specific failure modes with evidence (commits, files, timeline).
   
   ## Salvageable Specs & Designs
   List with file paths, validity status, and one-line descriptions.
   
   ## Salvageable Assets
   Non-code assets with file paths.
   
   ## Lessons for the Fresh Start
   Actionable guidance for the new project to avoid the same mistakes.
   
   ## Recommended Bootstrap Input
   A condensed brief suitable as input to $bootstrap-repo.
   

5. Choose the fresh-start path.

   • If the user explicitly wants a new repository, route to $bootstrap-repo <condensed brief>.
   • If the user wants to keep the existing repository, or the current repo name, remotes, issues, deployment linkage, or local tooling are valuable, route to $bootstrap-repo --reset-existing <condensed brief>.
   • For in-place reset, state that $bootstrap-repo --reset-existing must archive the old implementation under archive/ before writing the fresh bootstrap docs. It must not delete the old code outright.
   • The archive should preserve old implementation and documentation evidence without treating it as reusable foundation code or active source-of-truth docs. The fresh start should continue only from a high-level concept seed derived from the report, plus lessons captured in the report.

6. Present and route.

   • Show the user a terminal summary of the report.
   • Recommend the appropriate $bootstrap-repo command with the recommended bootstrap input from the report.
   • Do not create the new repo or run $bootstrap-repo; the user does this.
   • After bootstrap, route product/app restarts into the research-first alignment workflow using the high-level concept seed as input: $customer-discovery to define who this is for, $competitive-analysis to map the market, $journey-map to map lifecycle and task flow, $positioning to lock the product direction, $user-flow-map to map screen flow, $ux-variations [specific-user-flow] to explore progression branches, $ui-interview [specific-ux-variation] to render and approve/reject a branch mockup, then prototype work, $uat --variant-evaluation, and $consolidate-prototypes before $spec-interview or $roadmap. Use $ui-interview --requirements-only and $ux-variations --layout-mode only when the user explicitly needs a fixed content contract and layout-only alternatives.
   • If the business-discovery or customer-lifecycle packs are not enabled in the fresh repo, recommend npx skillpacks install business-discovery and npx skillpacks install customer-lifecycle before the research sequence.

Output

Desk-flipped: <project name>
- Report: desk-flip-report.md written to <project-path>
- Specs extracted: <count> (<valid>/<partial>/<stale>)
- Assets found: <count>
- Lessons captured: <count>

**Next work:** Reset the existing repo by archiving old implementation files, or create a new repo if the user prefers a separate fresh start
**Recommended next command:** $bootstrap-repo --reset-existing <condensed brief from report>

Constraints

• Read-only during desk-flip: no modifications to existing files, no archival, no branch creation. The only file written by this skill is desk-flip-report.md.
• Do not carry forward code, dependencies, infrastructure, old research, old specs, or old task docs from the old project as active files.
• Do not create the new repo or invoke $bootstrap-repo; the user handles that transition.
• Do not commit or push; the report is informational, not a meaningful mutation to ship.
• Do not delete, archive, or rename anything in the old repo during desk-flip. Only the downstream $bootstrap-repo --reset-existing step may perform archival after the user chooses that route.
• If the project has no specs, docs, or meaningful git history, produce the report anyway but note the thin evidence in each section.

Alignment Page

Follow the shared alignment-page convention via the packaged convention resolver; output path is alignment/desk-flip-{topic}.html.

Default Shipping Contract

• Do not commit or push. The only side effect is desk-flip-report.md written to the project root.
• Default next-step routing: when reporting completion, include the two-line pair **Next work:** <specific task> and **Recommended next command:** $bootstrap-repo --reset-existing <brief> for in-place restarts, or $bootstrap-repo <brief> only when a separate new repo is explicitly the right path.
• Post-bootstrap route: include in the report that the fresh project should proceed from the high-level concept seed to $customer-discovery, then $competitive-analysis, $journey-map, $positioning, $user-flow-map, $ux-variations [specific-user-flow], $ui-interview [specific-ux-variation], and prototype work. Mention npx skillpacks install business-discovery, npx skillpacks install customer-lifecycle, or npx skillpacks install product-design first if those packs are not enabled.