kdoronin atdd
The DAE pipeline's Checkpoint 3 (Spec) entry point. AC discovery (Checkpoint 2,
discover-acs) decided what behaviors must work; this step formalizes them as
a standard-Gherkin spec.md and generates the project-specific test pipeline.
This skill is a thin bridge: the acceptance workflow itself lives in the
atdd plugin (atdd plugin atdd skill). engineer plugin atdd skill wraps it with the DAE checkpoint
contract — the entry gate in, the handoff out — so the acceptance pipeline is a
first-class checkpoint of the engineer pipeline rather than a separate detour.
Requires the atdd plugin. If it is not installed, tell the user to install
the atdd plugin from the Disciplined Agentic Engineering Codex marketplace and stop.
When to use
Checkpoint 3, after discover-acs (Checkpoint 2) has produced an approved
acs.md. Produces spec.md + the feature's .build/ pipeline.
Not for: AC discovery (discover-acs); planning (plan); using the
acceptance workflow outside a DAE feature folder (invoke atdd plugin atdd skill directly).
Workflow
Step 0 — Entry gate
Verify the prior checkpoint is complete: run
${PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/dae_handoff.py <feature-dir> --through 2. On a
non-zero exit, stop and surface the gap to the human.
Verify branch hygiene: run ${PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/dae_branch.py <feature-dir>.
On a non-zero exit, stop and surface the message to the human — switch
branches and re-invoke. The check honors the git.manual: true manifest
opt-out.
After the gate passes, show the pipeline breadcrumb: run
${PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/dae_progress.py <feature-dir> and present its
output to the human — it shows where this checkpoint sits in the DAE pipeline.
The breadcrumb is advisory: a non-zero exit or a missing progress.md never
blocks the skill. Then create one Codex plan item per workflow step below. See
${PLUGIN_ROOT}/references/progress-indicator.md.
Step 1 — Run the acceptance workflow
Invoke the atdd plugin atdd skill skill, scoped to this feature: write the feature's
spec.md in standard Gherkin from acs.md, then generate the test pipeline
(the pipeline-builder agent + the portable dae_gherkin.py parser). Present
spec.md to the human for approval — specs are the human's contract.
Step 2 — Handoff
Emit a summary per ${PLUGIN_ROOT}/references/handoff-summary.md.
checkpoint: 3; the exit_criteria block asserts Checkpoint 3's criteria
(Foundation Design Section 8) — spec.md parses to a valid IR, every AC maps to
≥1 scenario, spec-check passes — each with verified_by and evidence.
recommended_next: "use the engineer plugin's plan skill".
References
- Foundation Design — the Checkpoint Exit Contract (Section 8)
atddpluginatddskill — the acceptance workflow this skill bridges to