Accelint QRSPI Apply
Implement OpenSpec changes with intelligent parallelization. This skill orchestrates parallel sub-agent execution based on dependency analysis in the OpenSpec task file, validates implementation, and manages the complete apply workflow.
What This Skill Does
Automates: The implementation phase of spec-driven development with parallel execution Scope: Task implementation → Validation → Archive readiness Output: Fully implemented change ready for archival
Does NOT: Create plans, modify specs, or automatically archive (suggests archival when ready)
Prerequisites
- OpenSpec CLI installed and initialized
- OpenSpec change created via
accelint-qrspiskill (includes "Parallelization Strategy" in tasks.md) - Sub-agent support (for parallel execution)
- The expanded OpenSpec workflows (
explore,new,continue) enabled
Important: This skill is specifically designed for QRSPI-planned changes. Standard OpenSpec changes without parallelization strategies should use the regular openspec-apply-change skill directly.
Workflow Overview
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Stage Action Output │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Preflight Select and validate change Ready to proceed │
│ Start Time Record started_at timestamp Telemetry marker │
│ Parse Extract parallelization Dependency graph │
│ Dependencies Identify blocking tasks Execution plan │
│ Load Context Read config.yaml context Project context │
│ Execute Run slices (parallel/serial) Implemented code │
│ Update Docs Sync living documents Updated docs │
│ Complete Time Record completed_at timestamp Telemetry marker │
│ Verify Run opsx:verify Verification rpt │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Implementation Steps
Preflight and Change Selection
- If a change name is provided in the skill arguments, use it
- Otherwise, try to infer from conversation context (recent mentions of change names)
- If ambiguous or missing:
Parse the JSON and use AskUserQuestion to let the user select the changeopenspec list --json - Announce: "Applying change:
<name>" and how to override (e.g., re-invoke with different name) - Check that tasks.md exists:
Ifopenspec status --change "<name>" --jsonstate: "blocked"(missing tasks), exit with: "Tasks artifact is missing. Runopenspec-continue-changeto generate tasks before applying."
Record Implementation Start
Goal: Mark when implementation begins for telemetry tracking.
Read the design.md file from
openspec/changes/<change-name>/design.mdto check ifstarted_attimestamp exists in frontmatterIf
started_atis NOT present in the frontmatter (first time applying this change):- Add the
started_attimestamp to the frontmatter using ISO 8601 format with Z suffix - CRITICAL: Generate the timestamp deterministically using this command:
python3 -c "from datetime import datetime, timezone; print(datetime.now(timezone.utc).isoformat(timespec='seconds').replace('+00:00', 'Z'))" - Insert
started_atimmediately after thecreated_atfield to keep all timestamps grouped together - Preserve all other frontmatter fields (change, created_at, specs_touched, decisions) in their original order
- Inform user: "Recording implementation start time..."
- Add the
If
started_atIS present (resuming after context clear or pause):- Do not modify the timestamp — preserve the original start time
- Inform user: "Resuming implementation (started at [timestamp])..."
Example frontmatter after adding started_at:
---
change: <change-name>
created_at: "2026-08-17T15:00:00.000Z"
started_at: "2026-08-17T16:30:00.000Z"
specs_touched: [<capability-a>, <capability-b>]
decisions:
- id: D1
choice: <decision>
rationale: <why>
alternatives: [<option>]
---
Output: Timestamp written to design.md frontmatter (if this is first application), or confirmation of resumption
Parse Tasks and Parallelization Strategy
Goal: Extract task structure and identify parallel vs sequential execution opportunities. Detect if work has already started and resume from the correct level.
Read the tasks.md file from
openspec/changes/<change-name>/tasks.mdValidate checklist format (CRITICAL for progress tracking):
- Check that tasks use markdown checklist format:
- [ ] taskor- [x] task - If tasks use numbered lists (1. 2. 3.) or plain bullets (- without [ ]):
❌ Invalid tasks.md format This skill requires tasks in markdown checklist format (`- [ ] task`) for progress tracking and resumption detection. Found format: [numbered lists / plain bullets / other] Please regenerate tasks.md using the accelint-qrspi-propose skill or convert manually to checklist format before applying. - Exit if format is invalid — do not proceed with invalid task format
- Check for partial completion (resumption detection):
- Count completed tasks (marked
- [x]) vs total tasks - Parse which slices have all their tasks marked complete
- If any slices are complete, announce: "Detected partial completion. Resuming from Slice N."
- Adjust the execution plan to skip completed slices
Look for the "Parallelization Strategy" section (usually at the end of the file)
Parse the strategy to build a dependency graph:
Example strategy:
## Parallelization Strategy
- **Slice 1** must complete first (establishes infrastructure)
- **Slice 2** and **Slice 3** can run in parallel after Slice 1
- **Slice 2** (implementation cleanup) is independent of **Slice 3** (docs/verification)
- Final integration: merge both slices, run full pre-commit checklist
Parsed dependency graph:
Level 0 (must run first):
- Slice 1
Level 1 (can run in parallel after Level 0):
- Slice 2
- Slice 3
Level 2 (after all previous):
- Final integration
- If no "Parallelization Strategy" section exists:
- Assume all tasks must run sequentially (safe default)
- Inform user: "No parallelization strategy found. Running tasks sequentially."
- Build an execution plan showing:
- Which slices run in which order
- Which slices can run in parallel (and which are already complete)
- Total estimated parallelization speedup
- Starting point (Level 0 or resuming from Level N)
Output: Dependency graph, execution plan, and resumption point if applicable
Load Project Context
Goal: Load project context from openspec/config.yaml to inject into sub-agent prompts. This compensates for OpenSpec CLI's limitation where the apply skill doesn't automatically load project context (unlike artifact creation skills).
Background: OpenSpec's openspec instructions apply skill does NOT inject the context field from config.yaml (confirmed via code inspection and testing). This means sub-agents implementing tasks don't receive Stack Facts, coding patterns, testing conventions, or anti-patterns that should guide implementation. We work around this limitation by manually loading and injecting the context.
- Check if
openspec/config.yamlexists:
test -f openspec/config.yaml && echo "exists" || echo "missing"
- If the file exists, read it:
cat openspec/config.yaml
- Parse and extract the
contextsection (YAML block undercontext: |):
- The context starts after the line
context: | - The context continues until the next top-level YAML key (e.g.,
rules:,schema:) - Lines in the context block are indented (usually 2 spaces)
- Preserve all whitespace and newlines in the context block
- You MUST inform the user that you found and loaded the config.
Store the extracted context for injection into sub-agent prompts in the next steps
If no
contextfield exists or the file is missing:
- Set context to empty string
- Proceed without context injection (sub-agents will rely on OpenSpec's default behavior)
- You MUST inform the user that you could NOT find and load the config.
Example config.yaml structure:
schema: spec-driven
context: |
# STACK FACTS
## Project Identity
auditkit-cli: TypeScript-based code quality audit CLI
## Dependencies
- @fission-ai/openspec: ^1.2.0
- vitest: ^2.1.8
# CODING PATTERNS
- Use Result<T,E> for fallible operations (never throw)
- Data-last parameter ordering for currying
- No `any` types — use `unknown` with type guards
# TESTING CONVENTIONS
- AAA pattern (Arrange/Act/Assert)
- One assertion per test
- Use descriptive test names
rules:
proposal: [...]
design: [...]
Output: Extracted project context string (may be empty if not present)
Execute Tasks (Sequential + Parallel)
Goal: Implement tasks following the dependency graph, spawning parallel sub-agents where possible using the Agent tool.
Sequential execution (when tasks have dependencies):
For each level in the dependency graph (starting from level 0):
- If the level has only one slice:
Use the Agent tool to spawn a single sub-agent with this prompt (inject project context loaded in step 16):
<project_context> <!-- Background constraints for your implementation. Do NOT copy into code. --> {INJECTED_CONFIG_CONTEXT} </project_context> Invoke the openspec-apply-change skill. <change-name> CRITICAL: You MUST use the openspec-apply-change skill to implement tasks. DO NOT implement tasks directly yourself. The openspec-apply-change workflow will load context and guide implementation. IMPORTANT: This is Slice N of a parallelized QRSPI implementation. Context: This slice must complete before other slices can proceed. Other slices will start after you finish. Instructions: - Work ONLY on tasks in Slice N: [list slice N tasks/sections] - Do NOT implement tasks from other slices (Slices X, Y, Z will be handled separately) - Apply the code patterns, conventions, and constraints from <project_context> - Follow the normal OpenSpec apply workflow: * OpenSpec will load context files (proposal, design, specs, tasks) * Implement the tasks assigned to Slice N * Mark tasks complete as you go: `- [ ]` → `- [x]` * Test your changes if tests are specified in the tasks - Report completion with summary of changes made - The <project_context> provides Stack Facts, coding patterns, testing conventions, and anti-patterns to avoid. These are constraints for YOU, not content to include in files. Focus exclusively on Slice N. Leave other slice tasks unchecked.Note: If no project context was loaded earlier, omit the
<project_context>block entirely
- Wait for completion before proceeding to the next level
Parallel execution (when multiple slices are independent):
For each level with multiple independent slices:
- Use the Agent tool to spawn all sub-agents in parallel in a single turn (one per slice, inject project context from earlier steps):
<project_context>
<!-- Background constraints for your implementation. Do NOT copy into code. -->
{INJECTED_CONFIG_CONTEXT}
</project_context>
Invoke the openspec-apply-change skill.
<change-name>
CRITICAL: You MUST use the openspec-apply-change skill to implement tasks.
DO NOT implement tasks directly yourself. The openspec-apply-change workflow will
load context and guide implementation.
IMPORTANT: This is Slice N of a parallelized QRSPI implementation.
Context: This slice is independent and runs in parallel with Slices X, Y.
Other agents are working on those slices simultaneously.
Instructions:
- Work ONLY on tasks in Slice N: [list slice N tasks/sections]
- Do NOT implement tasks from other slices - they are being handled in parallel
- Apply the code patterns, conventions, and constraints from <project_context>
- Follow the normal OpenSpec apply workflow:
* OpenSpec will load context files (proposal, design, specs, tasks)
* Implement the tasks assigned to Slice N
* Mark tasks complete as you go: `- [ ]` → `- [x]`
* Test your changes if tests are specified in the tasks
- Report completion with summary of changes made
- The <project_context> provides Stack Facts, coding patterns, testing conventions,
and anti-patterns to avoid. These are constraints for YOU, not content to include in files.
Focus exclusively on Slice N. Leave other slice tasks unchecked.
Your work is independent and should not block or depend on other slices.
Note: If no project context was loaded earlier, omit the <project_context> block entirely
Track completion as each sub-agent finishes
Context management decision point - When all slices in the level are done, pause and offer context management:
✅ Level N complete
Completed slices:
- Slice X: <summary>
- Slice Y: <summary>
Next: Level N+1 has M slice(s) to run [list slices]
Options:
(a) Continue to next level
(b) Clear context and resume — I'll pick up from Level N+1
(c) Pause here — you can resume later with this skill
- If user chooses (b), instruct them:
Run `/clear` to reset context, then re-invoke this skill.
I'll detect that Level N is complete and resume from Level N+1.
- If user chooses (c), exit and remind them how to resume:
Paused at Level N+1. To resume, re-invoke this skill.
Progress is tracked in tasks.md checkboxes.
Slice targeting approach: OpenSpec's openspec-apply-change skill does not have native "slice targeting" (no --slice N flag). This skill achieves parallelization by:
Using the full OpenSpec CLI workflow: Each sub-agent invokes
openspec-apply-change <change-name>, which:- Runs
openspec instructions apply --change "<name>" --jsonto get context - Loads all context files (proposal, design, specs, tasks)
- Provides dynamic instructions based on current state
- Handles task progress tracking and status checks
- Runs
Slice isolation via instructions: The orchestrating skill:
- Parses the parallelization strategy to identify independent slices
- Spawns sub-agents with explicit instructions to work ONLY on their assigned slice
- Relies on QRSPI's vertical slicing to ensure slices are truly independent
- Each sub-agent marks only its slice's tasks as complete
Why this works: QRSPI's vertical slicing methodology ensures each slice is:
- A complete end-to-end feature increment
- Independent with minimal file overlap
- Testable in isolation
- Safe to implement in parallel
The slice boundaries are clearly marked in tasks.md (e.g., "## Slice 1: Remove CLI Surface", "## Slice 2: Remove Implementation"), making it straightforward for sub-agents to identify their scope.
Update Living Documents
Goal: Update project documentation to reflect the implemented changes before running verification.
Why this matters: OpenSpec changes represent significant architectural decisions and feature additions. Living documents (ARCHITECTURE.md, AGENTS.md, openspec/config.yaml) provide context for agents working in the codebase, while README.md serves human users. Keeping them synchronized prevents documentation drift and ensures future agents and developers have accurate, up-to-date context about the system's current state.
IMPORTANT: Run this step BEFORE verification so the verification step can check documentation completeness.
Check if the change is in a repository or package root by looking for
.git/orpackage.jsonDetermine the repo/package root (may be current directory or a parent)
Process ALL living documents in this order (do not stop after the first one):
- OpenSpec config (
openspec/config.yaml) - ARCHITECTURE.md (if exists)
- AGENTS.md (if exists)
- README.md (if exists)
For each document in the list above, follow these steps:
Step 3a: Check if update is needed first
- Read the change artifacts to understand what was implemented:
openspec/changes/<change-name>/proposal.mdopenspec/changes/<change-name>/design.md
- Assess whether this change introduces content that would affect the document
- If the change is trivial (typos, comments) or doesn't touch the document's scope, skip to the next document
Step 3b: Update the document if needed
For OpenSpec config (<repo-root>/openspec/config.yaml):
Check if
accelint-onboard-openspecskill is installedIf skill is available:
- Read
openspec/changes/<change-name>/design.mdfrontmatter to extract thedecisionsfield - For each decision, rephrase as a plain factual statement (not an instruction)
- Invoke the skill with findings:
Invoke the accelint-onboard-openspec skill. We have just completed the change spec openspec/changes/<change-name>. findings: - [Decision 1 rephrased as fact, e.g., "config.yaml's Anti-Patterns section says to avoid polling, but this change chose polling for stated reasons"] - [Decision 2 rephrased as fact] ...The skill will merge these findings with its own codebase scan before presenting to the human.
- Read
If skill is NOT available, read the change artifacts:
openspec/changes/<change-name>/proposal.mdopenspec/changes/<change-name>/design.md
Then read
openspec/config.yamland update manually focusing on project DNA (WHAT the project is):- Tech Stack section: Add new dependencies, frameworks, or libraries introduced by this change with versions
- Domain Concepts section: Add new entities or domain terms if this change introduces them
- Code Patterns section: Update if this change establishes new patterns (exports, error handling, validation approaches)
- Architecture Patterns section: Add new design patterns if introduced (factory, repository, observer, etc.)
- Patterns to Avoid section: Add any anti-patterns this change deprecates or makes explicit
- Per-artifact rules (
rules:section): Update if this change affects proposal/design/tasks/spec requirements - DO NOT add agent behavior (commit conventions, workflow steps, tool preferences belong in AGENTS.md)
For ARCHITECTURE.md (<repo-root>/ARCHITECTURE.md) — IF it exists:
Check if
accelint-architecture-docskill is installedIf skill is available:
- Read
openspec/changes/<change-name>/design.mdfrontmatter to extract thedecisionsfield - For each decision, rephrase as a plain factual statement (not an instruction)
- Invoke the skill with findings:
Invoke the accelint-architecture-doc skill. We have just completed the change spec openspec/changes/<change-name>. findings: - [Decision 1 rephrased as fact] - [Decision 2 rephrased as fact] ...The skill will merge these findings with its own codebase scan before presenting to the human.
- Read
If skill is NOT available, read the change artifacts:
openspec/changes/<change-name>/proposal.mdopenspec/changes/<change-name>/design.md
Then read
ARCHITECTURE.mdand update manually focusing on system structure (HOW components relate):- Section 1 (Project Structure): Update directory tree if new top-level directories or significant reorganization occurred
- Section 2 (High-Level System Diagram): Update ASCII diagram if component relationships changed or new services were added
- Section 3 (Core Components): Add new components, services, or packages introduced by this change with their architectural roles
- Section 4 (Data Stores): Add new databases, caches, or data stores if introduced
- Section 5 (External Integrations): Add new third-party services or APIs this change integrates with
- Section 6 (Deployment & Infrastructure): Update if deployment model changed or new infrastructure was added
- Section 8 (Technology Stack): Update if this change introduced new runtime dependencies or frameworks
- DO NOT add coding patterns, testing conventions, or agent behavior (those belong in config.yaml or AGENTS.md)
For AGENTS.md (<repo-root>/AGENTS.md) — IF it exists:
Check if
accelint-onboard-agentsskill is installedIf skill is available:
- Read
openspec/changes/<change-name>/design.mdfrontmatter to extract thedecisionsfield - For each decision, rephrase as a plain factual statement (not an instruction)
- Invoke the skill with findings:
Invoke the accelint-onboard-agents skill. We have just completed the change spec openspec/changes/<change-name>. findings: - [Decision 1 rephrased as fact] - [Decision 2 rephrased as fact] ...The skill will merge these findings with its own codebase scan before presenting to the human.
- Read
If skill is NOT available, read the change artifacts:
openspec/changes/<change-name>/proposal.mdopenspec/changes/<change-name>/design.md
Then read
AGENTS.mdand update manually focusing on agent behavior (HOW agents should act):- Workflow Procedures section: Update if this change introduces new workflow steps (e.g., new pre-commit checks, new PR requirements)
- Decision Heuristics section: Add new decision rules if this change creates situations requiring agent judgment
- Tool Preferences section: Update if new tools were introduced or tool usage changed (e.g., new test runner, new linter)
- Guardrails section: Add new "never do" or "always ask first" rules if this change creates new risk areas
- Pre-Commit Checklist: Add new validation commands if required before commit
- Commit Messages section: Update if commit convention changed
- DO NOT add tech stack facts, domain concepts, or coding patterns (those belong in config.yaml)
For README.md (<repo-root>/README.md) — IF it exists:
Check if
accelint-readme-writerskill is installedIf skill is available:
- Read
openspec/changes/<change-name>/design.mdfrontmatter to extract thedecisionsfield - For each decision, rephrase as a plain factual statement (not an instruction)
- Invoke the skill with findings:
Invoke the accelint-readme-writer skill. We have just completed the change spec openspec/changes/<change-name>. findings: - [Decision 1 rephrased as fact] - [Decision 2 rephrased as fact] ...The skill will merge these findings with its own codebase scan before presenting to the human.
- Read
If skill is NOT available, read the change artifacts:
openspec/changes/<change-name>/proposal.mdopenspec/changes/<change-name>/design.md
Then read
README.mdand update manually focusing on user-facing documentation:- Installation section: Update commands if new dependencies or setup steps were added
- Features section: Add bullet points for new user-facing features introduced by this change
- Quick Start section: Update if the basic usage pattern changed
- Usage / API Reference section: Update code examples if public API signatures changed or new exports were added
- Configuration section: Add new configuration options if introduced
- Examples section: Add new usage examples for new functionality
- DO NOT document internal implementation details, architectural decisions, or non-exported functions
Skill availability detection: To check if an Accelint skill is installed, use one of:
- Check if skill appears in the available skills list in the system reminder
- Attempt to invoke the skill and catch errors if it doesn't exist
- Use Glob to search
.claude/skills/or~/.claude/skills/for the skill name
When to skip updates for a specific document:
- Change is trivial (typo fixes, comment updates) and doesn't affect that document's scope
- Document doesn't exist
- Change content doesn't introduce anything requiring updates to that document
Important: Process all 4 documents sequentially, one after another, without stopping. Do not pause between documents or wait for user input unless there's an error. After finishing all 4 documents, immediately proceed to the next step (Record Completion Timestamp).
After checking all 4 documents, run
git statusto show which docs were modifiedPresent summary (then immediately continue to recording completion timestamp):
If no updates were needed:
📝 Living documents checked — no updates needed for this change Checked documents: - openspec/config.yaml [no changes needed] - ARCHITECTURE.md [no changes needed] - AGENTS.md [no changes needed] - README.md [no changes needed] Proceeding to verification...If updates were made:
📝 Living documents updated Updated documents: - openspec/config.yaml [via accelint-onboard-openspec / manually / skipped] - ARCHITECTURE.md [via accelint-architecture-doc / manually / skipped] - AGENTS.md [via accelint-onboard-agents / manually / skipped] - README.md [via accelint-readme-writer / manually / skipped] These changes ensure documentation stays synchronized with implementation. Recording completion timestamp...
Output: Summary of updated documents and methods used (skill vs manual), or confirmation that no updates were needed
Record Implementation Completion
Goal: Mark when implementation completes (before verification) for telemetry tracking.
IMPORTANT: This step runs immediately after living document updates and before verification. Do not wait for user input.
Read the design.md file from
openspec/changes/<change-name>/design.mdAdd the
completed_attimestamp to the frontmatter using ISO 8601 format with Z suffix:
- CRITICAL: Generate the timestamp deterministically using this command:
python3 -c "from datetime import datetime, timezone; print(datetime.now(timezone.utc).isoformat(timespec='seconds').replace('+00:00', 'Z'))" - Insert
completed_atimmediately after thestarted_atfield to keep all timestamps grouped together - Preserve all other frontmatter fields (change, created_at, started_at, specs_touched, decisions) in their original order
- This marks the moment implementation finished, right before verification begins
- Inform user: "Implementation complete. Running verification..."
Example frontmatter after adding completed_at:
---
change: <change-name>
created_at: "2026-08-17T15:00:00.000Z"
started_at: "2026-08-17T16:30:00.000Z"
completed_at: "2026-08-17T17:45:00.000Z"
specs_touched: [<capability-a>, <capability-b>]
decisions:
- id: D1
choice: <decision>
rationale: <why>
alternatives: [<option>]
---
IMPORTANT: After recording the completion timestamp, immediately proceed to verification (step 36). Do NOT pause or wait for user input. The completion timestamp marks the end of implementation work, and verification follows automatically.
Output: Timestamp written to design.md frontmatter, then MANDATORY automatic transition to verification without waiting for user input
Verify Implementation
Goal: Verify that the implementation matches the change artifacts (specs, tasks, design).
CRITICAL: This is the FINAL step. Verification is MANDATORY and produces a comprehensive report as the final output. Do NOT add additional reporting after this step.
- Call the verify skill:
Invoke the openspec-verify-change skill.
<change-name>
- The verify command will:
- Check task completion (all checkboxes marked)
- Verify spec coverage (requirements implemented)
- Validate design adherence (decisions followed)
- Check that living documents were updated appropriately
- Generate a comprehensive verification report with CRITICAL/WARNING/SUGGESTION issues
- Include next steps (archive if passed, fix issues if failed)
Present the verification report to the user
The verification report IS the completion report. It includes:
- Overall status (passed/failed)
- Issue breakdown by severity
- List of changed files
- Next steps based on status
- Archive guidance if ready
- Exit the skill after presenting the verification report. The report already tells the user what to do next.
Output: Comprehensive verification report with status, issues, changed files, and next steps
Key Principles
Context Management and Resumption
The skill supports pause/clear/resume workflow at dependency level boundaries:
- Pause points: After each dependency level completes, the skill offers to continue or let the user clear context (Step 22)
- Resumption detection: When re-invoked, the skill reads tasks.md checkboxes to detect completed slices and resumes from the next incomplete level (Step 8)
- Progress tracking: Task completion is tracked in tasks.md via checkboxes, making progress durable across context clears
- Rationale: Sub-agents can accumulate significant context. Between dependency levels, the orchestrating agent can clear context while preserving work progress via task checkboxes.
Why this matters: Long implementations with many slices can bloat context. By offering pause points between levels, users maintain the flexibility to clear context (like in serial openspec-apply-change) while still benefiting from parallelization within each level.
Intelligent Parallelization
The skill automatically detects parallelization opportunities from the "Parallelization Strategy" section in tasks.md. When slices are independent, it spawns multiple sub-agents to work in parallel, significantly reducing implementation time.
Safe Defaults
If no parallelization strategy is found, the skill runs tasks sequentially. This ensures correctness even for changes that weren't planned with parallelization in mind.
Verification Before Archive
The skill always runs openspec-verify-change as the final step. This catches incomplete tasks, broken references, or schema violations before the user archives. The verification report serves as the completion summary.
Human-in-the-Loop
The skill reports results and asks for guidance when:
- Validation fails
- Tasks are unclear or blocked
- Any error occurs during implementation
Context Management
Each sub-agent receives:
- The full context files (proposal, design, specs, tasks)
- Clear instructions to implement ONLY their assigned slice
- Awareness that other slices may be running in parallel
This prevents sub-agents from stepping on each other's work while allowing them to see the full picture.
Handling Edge Cases
Circular dependencies: If the parallelization strategy contains circular dependencies (Slice A blocks B, B blocks A), detect this and report an error. Ask the user to fix the tasks.md file.
Missing slices: If a slice is referenced in the parallelization strategy but doesn't exist in the task list, report an error and ask the user to fix tasks.md.
Partial completion: If some tasks were already marked complete (from a previous session), resume from where it left off. Announce: "N/M tasks already complete. Resuming from Slice X."
Sub-agent failure: If a sub-agent fails or times out:
- Report which slice failed and why
- Ask user if they want to retry that slice or handle it manually
- Do not proceed to dependent slices until the blocking slice succeeds
No sub-agent support: If the environment doesn't support sub-agents (e.g., Claude.ai):
- Fall back to sequential execution (implement all tasks yourself)
- Inform user: "Sub-agents not available. Running tasks sequentially."
NEVER Do This
NEVER stop between living document updates and verification waiting for user confirmation — Once living document updates (Steps 28-32) complete successfully, immediately proceed to recording the completion timestamp (Steps 33-35), then to verification (Step 36). These steps are a continuous workflow. The only legitimate stopping points are: (1) an error that requires user input to resolve, (2) preflight failing (Steps 1-5), or (3) the user-controlled context management decision points between dependency levels (Step 25). Do not treat completion of living document updates or timestamp recording as signals to stop and wait — they are signals to continue to the next step.
NEVER implement tasks directly — Always delegate to openspec-apply-change skill via sub-agents. The opsx:apply workflow loads context files (proposal, design, specs, tasks) and provides dynamic instructions based on OpenSpec's state management. If you implement tasks directly, you bypass OpenSpec's progress tracking and context loading.
NEVER skip verification — Verification using openspec-verify-change (Step 36) is mandatory as the final step. Verification catches incomplete tasks, unimplemented requirements, and design divergences. The verification report serves as the completion summary. Skipping verification risks archiving incomplete or incorrect implementations.
NEVER proceed with invalid task format — This skill depends on markdown checklist format (- [ ] task) for progress tracking and resumption detection. If tasks.md uses numbered lists or plain bullets, exit early with an error. Do not attempt to work around the format issue — the user must fix tasks.md first.
NEVER skip dependency levels — If Slice A blocks Slice B, Slice B cannot start until Slice A completes successfully. Do not spawn dependent slices before their blockers finish, even if it would speed up implementation. The dependency graph in the Parallelization Strategy must be respected.
NEVER skip living document updates — Living document updates (Steps 28-32) keep ARCHITECTURE.md, AGENTS.md, README.md, and config.yaml synchronized with implementation. These steps run BEFORE the completion timestamp and verification so the verification step can check documentation completeness. Do not skip to timestamp recording or verification without updating living documents first.
Configuration Requirements
This skill assumes:
- OpenSpec is installed and initialized
- The change exists and has a tasks.md file
- Sub-agent support is available (for parallel execution)
- Git is initialized (for checking file changes)
If any are missing, report the issue and guide the user to set them up.
Example Usage
Scenario 1: Change with parallelization strategy
User: Apply the remove-security-ruleset change
Skill: Applying change: remove-security-ruleset
Parsing parallelization strategy...
Execution plan:
- Level 0 (sequential): Slice 1 (Remove CLI surface)
- Level 1 (parallel): Slice 2 (Remove implementation), Slice 3 (Docs/verification)
Starting Level 0: Slice 1
[spawns sub-agent]
✓ Slice 1 complete (4 tasks, ~8 minutes)
Starting Level 1: Slices 2 and 3 in parallel
[spawns 2 sub-agents simultaneously]
✓ Slice 2 complete (4 tasks, ~6 minutes)
✓ Slice 3 complete (4 tasks, ~7 minutes)
Updating living documents...
📝 Living documents updated
- README.md [via accelint-readme-writer]
- ARCHITECTURE.md [via accelint-architecture-doc]
Running verification...
✅ Verification passed
**Verification Report**
**Change:** remove-security-ruleset
**Tasks:** 12/12 complete
**Files changed:** 67
All requirements implemented. No critical issues found.
### Next Steps
1. Review the changes: `git diff`
2. Run tests: `pnpm test`
3. Archive this change: Invoke the `accelint-qrspi-archive` skill with `remove-security-ruleset`
Ready to archive!
Scenario 2: Verification failure
User: Apply the auth-refactor change
Skill: Applying change: auth-refactor
[implementation proceeds...]
Updating living documents...
📝 Living documents updated
- ARCHITECTURE.md [via accelint-architecture-doc]
Running verification...
❌ Verification failed
**Verification Report**
**Change:** auth-refactor
**Critical Issues:**
- Task 3.2 in tasks.md is incomplete (checkbox not marked)
- Spec file specs/auth-service.md references non-existent file: src/old-auth.ts
**Next Steps:**
1. Fix critical issues
2. Re-run verification: Invoke the `openspec-verify-change` skill with `auth-refactor`
3. Or re-invoke this skill to retry
Not ready to archive until critical issues are resolved.
Scenario 3: No parallelization (safe fallback)
User: Apply the update-readme change
Skill: Applying change: update-readme
No parallelization strategy found. Running tasks sequentially.
Working on task 1/3: Update installation section
✓ Complete
Working on task 2/3: Add examples section
✓ Complete
Working on task 3/3: Update changelog
✓ Complete
Updating living documents...
📝 Living documents updated
- README.md [via accelint-readme-writer]
Running verification...
✅ Verification passed
**Verification Report**
**Change:** update-readme
All tasks complete. Ready to archive!
File Changes Summary
After verification completes, generate a structured diff summary for the user. This summary provides a scannable overview of all code-level changes without descriptions.
CRITICAL: This summary is MANDATORY after the verification report. Do not skip it.
Run
git diffto capture all changes made during this implementationParse the archived change spec from
openspec/archive/<change-name>/to understand the change's scopeGenerate a structured token-level change list following this exact format:
Template:
File Changes Made In This Change:
<token_type> <file_name>:<line_number> <symbol_name> <[change_type]>
Rules:
- Token Types: function, constant, type, test, class, interface, enum, etc.
- Change Types: [added], [modified], [deleted]
- Line Numbers: Use "Ln " prefix (e.g., "Ln 234")
- Source Directory Only: Only list items from the source directory (e.g.,
src/,lib/). Exclude config files, build artifacts, and generated files. - Test Granularity: For test changes, list only the
describeblock token. Do NOT list individualitortestcases — they add noise without value. - No Collapsing: DO NOT summarize or collapse multiple changes into one line. Each token gets its own line.
- Sorting: Sort by change type (added, then modified, then deleted)
- Justification: Perfectly align columns with minimum 3 spaces between columns
- No Additional Content: ONLY provide the template above — no headers, no summary paragraphs, no explanations
Example output:
File Changes Made In This Change:
test index.test.ts:Ln 234 ensureGrammar [added]
test index.test.ts:Ln 291 ensureGrammars [added]
constant language-constants.ts EXTENSION_TO_LANGUAGE [added]
constant language-constants.ts LANGUAGE_EXTENSIONS [added]
function index.ts:Ln 89 ensureGrammar [added]
function index.ts:Ln 112 ensureGrammars
…(truncated)