Aidlc Skill

AI-DLC

An adaptive software development workflow. The workflow adapts to the work, not the other way around — the agent assesses user intent, existing codebase, complexity, and risk, then executes only the stages that add value.

When to use

Activate this workflow when:

• The user request starts with Using AI-DLC, ...
• The request needs structured planning, requirements analysis, design, or per-unit code generation
• The request spans multiple components, services, or user touchpoints

When activated, this workflow OVERRIDES any other built-in software-development workflow.

Path convention

The resolved rule-details directory for this skill is references/. All file paths below and inside the reference files (e.g. common/process-overview.md, inception/workspace-detection.md) are relative to references/.

Workflow initialization (ONCE per workflow)

1. Check for existing session — If aidlc-docs/aidlc-state.md already exists with completed stages, this is a session resume. Compare the user's current request against the project described in the state file — if it is a different project, ask the user whether to archive the old state and start fresh or resume the existing project. If resuming, skip Steps 2-4, load references/common/session-continuity.md, and follow its resume protocol. Do NOT display welcome again or overwrite existing files.
2. Display welcome — Load and show references/common/welcome-message.md. Do this exactly once; do not reload it in later turns.
3. Create state file — Create aidlc-docs/aidlc-state.md using the scaffold in references/common/state-template.md.
4. Create audit file — Create aidlc-docs/audit.md using the scaffold in references/common/audit-template.md. Treat this file as append-only from now on (see Audit logging contract below).
5. Load common rules — MANDATORY. Load these four files and keep them in context for the whole workflow:
   • references/common/process-overview.md
   • references/common/session-continuity.md
   • references/common/content-validation.md
   • references/common/question-format-guide.md
6. Scan extensions — Read Extensions loading below. Load ONLY *.opt-in.md files at this point; do NOT load full rule files yet.
7. Proceed to Workspace Detection (first Inception stage).

Stage Execution Protocol (applies to every stage)

Every stage in every phase follows this exact contract. Do NOT invent emergent variations.

1. Log user input in aidlc-docs/audit.md with complete raw input (see Audit logging contract).
2. Load the stage's reference file from references/<phase>/<stage>.md — that file contains the stage's full steps, question formats, and completion message.
3. Execute at the depth selected by Workflow Planning (minimal / standard / comprehensive — see references/common/depth-levels.md). For stages that run before Workflow Planning (Workspace Detection, Requirements Analysis), determine depth adaptively based on request complexity.
4. Validate every artifact before writing it using references/common/content-validation.md.
5. Present the standardized completion message defined in the stage's reference file. For Construction stages this is always a 2-option message (Request Changes / Continue to Next Stage) — never a 3+ option menu.
6. Wait for explicit user approval — do NOT proceed until the user confirms.
7. Log user response in aidlc-docs/audit.md with complete raw input.
8. Mark the plan checkbox [x] in the same turn the work completed (Plan-Level Checkbox Enforcement below).

Inception phase — WHAT to build and WHY

Determine the problem shape and the execution plan. Workspace Detection, Requirements Analysis, and Workflow Planning always run; the rest are conditional and decided during Workflow Planning.

Stage-file triggers — read the "Execute IF / Skip IF" block at the top of each stage file for the exact decision rules. Default bias: include a stage when in doubt.

Construction phase — HOW to build it

For each unit produced by Units Generation, run the Per-Unit Loop to completion before starting the next unit. Build and Test runs once, after all units are done.

Per-Unit Loop

Code Generation is a two-part stage within one loop: Part 1 produces a plan with checkboxes and waits for approval; Part 2 executes the approved plan.

Simple-path rule: If Units Generation was skipped, treat the entire project as a single implicit unit. All per-unit conditional stages (Functional Design, NFR Requirements, NFR Design, Infrastructure Design) are also skipped — their prerequisite (units defined) is not met. Code Generation uses requirements.md directly — do not attempt to load non-existent unit design artifacts.

After all units

Operations phase — placeholder

Currently a placeholder. Build and test artifacts are produced in the Construction phase. See references/operations/operations.md for the forward-looking surface.

Extensions (MANDATORY, context-optimized loading)

Extensions live in references/extensions/<category>/<name>/. Load them lazily to preserve context:

1. At workflow start, recursively list references/extensions/. Load ONLY *.opt-in.md files — each contains a short opt-in prompt. Do NOT load the matching full rule file yet.
2. During Requirements Analysis, surface each loaded opt-in prompt as a clarifying question. Record each answer as Enabled: yes|no under ## Extension Configuration in aidlc-docs/aidlc-state.md.
3. On first opt-in to an extension, derive the rule filename by stripping .opt-in.md and appending .md (e.g., security-baseline.opt-in.md → security-baseline.md) and load it. When the user opts out, do NOT load the rule file — saves context.
4. An extension without a matching *.opt-in.md is always enforced; load its rule file at workflow start.

Enforcement contract:

• Extension rules are hard constraints, not optional guidance.
• Before enforcing any extension at ANY stage, re-check its Enabled status in aidlc-docs/aidlc-state.md. Skip disabled extensions and log the skip in audit.md.
• Evaluate which enabled rules are applicable to the current stage's artifacts. Rules that do not apply are marked N/A in the stage's compliance summary — this is not a blocking finding.
• Non-compliance with any applicable enabled rule is a blocking finding — do NOT present stage completion until resolved.
• Stage completion messages for stages with enabled extensions MUST include a compliance summary (compliant / non-compliant / N/A per rule, with a brief N/A rationale).
• If enabled extensions produce conflicting requirements, present the conflict to the user and ask which takes precedence before proceeding.

Currently bundled extensions:

Audit logging contract

File: aidlc-docs/audit.md, append-only.

Tool rule: Always read-then-append (or edit-append). NEVER overwrite the whole file — this causes duplication and loses history.

Granularity:

• Log every user input (prompts, questions, responses) exactly as provided. Never summarize.
• Log every approval prompt you present.
• Log every user response to an approval prompt.
• Log every stage skip decision (including extension-disabled skips).

Format:

## [Stage Name or Interaction Type]

**Timestamp**: [ISO 8601, YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ]
**User Input**: "[Complete raw user input — never summarized]"
**AI Response**: "[AI's response or action taken]"
**Context**: [Stage, action, or decision. For per-unit stages include unit name, e.g. "CONSTRUCTION - Code Generation - Unit: user-service"]

---

Plan-Level Checkbox Enforcement

When a stage produces a plan file with - [ ] checkboxes, mark each checkbox [x] in the same turn where the step's work completed. No exceptions. This is enforced because unmarked checkboxes silently break session-resume.

Two-level tracking:

• Plan-level: detailed execution progress inside each stage's plan file
• Stage-level: overall workflow progress in aidlc-docs/aidlc-state.md

Update both immediately, in the same turn the work completes.

Directory structure

Application code goes in the workspace root. Everything AI-DLC produces goes in aidlc-docs/. These two sets never mix.

<WORKSPACE-ROOT>/              # Application code lives here
├── [project-specific]
│
└── aidlc-docs/                # Documentation ONLY — never code
    ├── aidlc-state.md
    ├── audit.md
    ├── inception/
    │   ├── plans/
    │   ├── reverse-engineering/   # brownfield only
    │   ├── requirements/
    │   ├── user-stories/
    │   └── application-design/
    ├── construction/
    │   ├── plans/
    │   ├── {unit-name}/
    │   │   ├── functional-design/
    │   │   ├── nfr-requirements/
    │   │   ├── nfr-design/
    │   │   ├── infrastructure-design/
    │   │   └── code/              # markdown summaries only
    │   └── build-and-test/
    └── operations/

See references/construction/code-generation.md for per-stack project layouts.

Hard rules (summary)

• Never proceed without explicit user approval at a stage's completion message.
• Code lives in the workspace root, never in aidlc-docs/.
• Audit is append-only, captures complete raw user input, uses ISO 8601 timestamps.
• NO EMERGENT BEHAVIOR: Construction stages use exactly the 2-option completion message defined in their reference file. Do not invent 3-option menus.
• Validate every artifact before writing it per references/common/content-validation.md.
• Every plan checkbox is updated in the same turn the step completes.
• Questions use the multiple-choice format with [Answer]: tags from references/common/question-format-guide.md.
• When in doubt, ask the question — overconfidence (skipping questions, making assumptions) leads to poor outcomes.
• Overwrite artifacts freely during normal execution. Archive ({artifact}.backup.{timestamp}) only when the user explicitly requests a stage restart.

Reference file index

Load a file only when you reach the matching trigger described above — the reference file itself says when to load it.

references/common/

• process-overview.md — technical workflow overview (MANDATORY at workflow start)
• welcome-message.md — user-facing welcome (MANDATORY, display once)
• session-continuity.md — session resumption (MANDATORY at workflow start)
• content-validation.md — validation rules (MANDATORY before every file creation)
• question-format-guide.md — A/B/C/D/E + [Answer]: tag format (MANDATORY when asking any question)
• depth-levels.md — minimal / standard / comprehensive depth semantics (load during Workflow Planning)
• error-handling.md — recovery patterns (load on error)
• workflow-changes.md — handling mid-workflow changes (load if the user asks to add/remove/re-run a stage)
• state-template.md — scaffold for aidlc-docs/aidlc-state.md (load at workflow start)
• audit-template.md — scaffold for aidlc-docs/audit.md (load at workflow start)

references/inception/

Load each file when its stage runs. Each file contains the stage's Execute-IF/Skip-IF conditions, step-by-step plan, question format, and standardized completion message.

references/construction/

Load each file when its stage runs in the Per-Unit Loop, or for Build and Test once all units are complete. Each file contains the stage's 2-option completion message.

references/operations/

• operations.md — placeholder for future deployment / monitoring workflows.

references/extensions/

Load *.opt-in.md at workflow start. Load the matching rules file only when the user opts in during Requirements Analysis.