Discover

Phase 1: Discover

Declarative phase skill. Invoked by the prd-taskmaster orchestrator when current_phase is DISCOVER. Never called directly by a user.

The one rule: invoke superpowers:brainstorming for discovery, intercept before it chains to writing-plans — we control the exit, not the brainstorm skill.

Entry gate

1. Call mcp__plugin_prd_go__check_gate(phase="DISCOVER", evidence={}). If the call returns {gate_passed: false, violations: [...]}, report the violations and stop. The gate protects against re-entering a completed phase or skipping ahead from SETUP.

   Known issue (Mum dogfood feedback [4]): check_gate is structurally an EXIT gate. On first DISCOVER entry, evidence={} will fail the user_approved=true OR auto_classification=CLEAR with assumptions_documented requirement (which the User Approval Gate / Self-Approval Gate below produces). State machine LEGAL_TRANSITIONS already prevents illegal entry — proceed past this gate on first entry. Semantic fix in flight (see morning brief).

2. Detect execution context. If any of the following signals are present, switch to Autonomous Mode:

   • .claude/ralph-loop.local.md exists in the project root
   • An auto-enter / auto-approve daemon is running against this session
   • The skill was invoked with an explicit --autonomous flag
   • Parent orchestrator is a cron, /pentest-wtf, or /ralph-loop Otherwise proceed in Interactive Mode (default).

Discovery checklist

Copy into your response before running the procedure:

DISCOVERY CHECKLIST:
- [ ] Mode detected (Interactive vs Autonomous)
- [ ] Goal captured from skill args or soul purpose
- [ ] Adaptive questions completed (one at a time)
- [ ] Constraints extracted and listed
- [ ] Scale classified (Solo / Team / Enterprise)
- [ ] Discovery summary captured for GENERATE phase
- [ ] User approved (Interactive) or summary committed (Autonomous)

Interactive Mode (default — user present)

1. Take the user's goal / description from the skill invocation args.
2. Invoke superpowers:brainstorming with the goal as input.
3. Brainstorming runs its adaptive question flow — one domain-agnostic question at a time. Let it drive the Q&A rhythm.
4. INTERCEPT POINT: when brainstorming signals readiness to chain to writing-plans, STOP. Do NOT let it invoke writing-plans. Capture the brainstorm output (design, requirements, decisions) into local state instead. The prd-taskmaster orchestrator owns the handoff — not superpowers:brainstorming.
5. Present the summary to the user for approval via AskUserQuestion (see User Approval Gate below).

Autonomous Mode (no user present)

Do NOT invoke superpowers:brainstorming — it blocks on user input and will stall an unattended session. Instead, self-brainstorm using this template:

1. Read the goal statement from skill args or session-context/CLAUDE-soul-purpose.md.
2. Read session-context/CLAUDE-activeContext.md for project context.
3. Write discovery notes directly to session-context/discovery-{timestamp}.md answering every question the interactive flow would ask:
   • Who is this for?
   • What problem does it solve?
   • What are the success metrics?
   • What are the constraints (tech stack, timeline, team, budget, integrations, regulatory)?
   • What's explicitly out of scope?
   • What's the scale (Solo / Team / Enterprise)?
4. Self-approve: the skill acts as both interrogator and approver. Document assumptions explicitly so the user can audit them on wake-up.
5. Commit the discovery file. The git history becomes the audit trail — if the user later disagrees, they can reset to that commit and re-run.

Autonomous mode is first-class, not degraded. A well-run autonomous discovery produces a spec the user reads on wake-up and says "yes, that's what I meant" without edits. If you find yourself needing to ask more than two questions the user didn't anticipate, the discovery is under-specified — stop and write a handoff note instead of proceeding.

User Approval Gate (Interactive Mode)

After brainstorming completes, present via AskUserQuestion:

Discovery Complete:
  Goal: [one sentence]
  Audience: [who it's for]
  Approach: [proposed solution]
  Key decisions: [list]
  Constraints: [known limitations]
  Scale: [Solo | Team | Enterprise]

Proceed to generate spec? (or refine further)

• If user says "refine" → ask what to change, update the summary, re-present.
• If user approves → capture as the discovery output and proceed to exit gate.

Self-Approval Gate (Autonomous Mode)

Write the discovery summary to session-context/discovery-{timestamp}.md and commit it. No interactive approval is required, but assumptions MUST be explicit in the written summary so the user can audit on wake-up.

Smart Defaults

If brainstorming (or self-brainstorming) produces thin answers, fill gaps with reasonable assumptions instead of forcing extra questions:

• Target audience: small team (< 10 users) unless specified otherwise.
• Timeline: MVP in 4–6 weeks.
• Tech stack: inferred from requirements — do not pick arbitrarily.
• Scale: moderate (hundreds of users, not millions).

Document every assumption in the discovery summary so GENERATE can surface them in the spec.

Constraint Extraction (MANDATORY before advancing)

Before moving to GENERATE, explicitly extract and list all constraints mentioned during discovery. Emit this block:

CONSTRAINTS CAPTURED:
- Tech stack: [e.g., "must use Python", "React frontend", "no new dependencies"]
- Timeline: [e.g., "MVP in 2 weeks", "no deadline"]
- Team: [e.g., "solo developer", "3-person team"]
- Budget: [e.g., "free tier only", "$500/month max"]
- Integration: [e.g., "must work with existing Postgres DB", "connects to Stripe"]
- Regulatory: [e.g., "HIPAA compliant", "GDPR", "none specified"]
- Domain-specific: [e.g., "authorized pentest scope: 10.0.0.0/24 only",
  "learning goal: intermediate level"]

Present this list alongside the discovery summary. These constraints MUST be passed to GENERATE — they inform spec content, task decomposition depth, and acceptance criteria. If a constraint is mentioned in discovery but missing from the spec, that's a bug.

Scope Calibration

Infer project scale from discovery answers and set decomposition guidance:

Pass the scale classification to GENERATE so task count is calibrated, not arbitrary.

Exit gate

After approval (Interactive) or commit (Autonomous), constraints captured, and scale classified:

1. Call mcp__plugin_prd_go__advance_phase(expected_current="DISCOVER", target="GENERATE", evidence={"user_approved": True, "constraints_captured": True, "scale": "<Solo|Team|Enterprise>", "assumptions_documented": True}). The call atomically transitions pipeline.json from DISCOVER to GENERATE. The expected_current field is the compare-and-swap guard; evidence is stored under phase_evidence[GENERATE] for audit.
2. Return control to the orchestrator (prd-taskmaster skill). Do NOT invoke GENERATE directly — the orchestrator re-reads current_phase and routes.

Red flags (stop and report, do not paper over)

• "Brainstorming wants to call writing-plans — I'll let it" → NO. Intercept. The prd-taskmaster pipeline owns the exit, not superpowers:brainstorming.
• "User hasn't answered, I'll pick for them in Interactive Mode" → NO. If stalled, ask one more targeted question or write a handoff note — don't silently self-approve in Interactive Mode.
• "Autonomous mode — I'll invoke superpowers:brainstorming anyway" → NO. It blocks on user input and will stall the session. Self-brainstorm with the template above.
• "Constraints are obvious, I'll skip the CONSTRAINTS CAPTURED block" → NO. GENERATE reads this block — missing constraints become missing spec sections downstream.
• "I can call advance_phase without check_gate" → NO. Gate first, always.

Non-exits

This skill does not use explicit process termination. A hard block reports the reason and returns control to the orchestrator; the orchestrator decides whether to surface to the user.