msg
This file is a router. Every mode's protocol lives in a ref — none is written here.
The Dispatch table below is the single statement of msg's mode surface — do not restate
it elsewhere in this file.
Dispatch
Check the invocation before running any picker. First match wins.
| Invocation |
Also triggers on (natural language) |
Route |
/msg --init (+ --cto / --eng) |
"initialise project", "bootstrap repo", "set up the framework", "start a new project" |
refs/protocol-init.md |
/msg --init-staging |
"add a staging branch", "set up staging", "switch to a staged release flow" |
refs/protocol-init-staging.md |
/msg --update |
"check for msg updates", "reinitialise this project", "resync my init setup", "are there new init components" |
refs/protocol-update.md |
/msg --gui, or the bare word gui |
"open gui for PRDs", "show me the PRD board", "visualize my PRDs", "open kanban" |
refs/protocol-gui.md — render directly, never call AskUserQuestion first |
/msg --doctor |
"check the harness", "what keeps failing", "run the doctor", "triage the incident log" |
refs/protocol-doctor.md — tallies and triages devkit/DOCTOR.md; never fixes |
/msg --aha |
"prune the learnings", "sweep AHA", "trim the aha log", "triage the learnings ledger" |
refs/protocol-aha.md — triages and compacts devkit/AHA.md; only write is the ledger itself, promotions stay recommendations |
/msg --version, or the bare word version |
"which msg is this", "what version of msg do I have", "did the reinstall land", "is msg up to date" |
refs/protocol-version.md |
/msg --help |
— |
refs/protocol-help.md |
/msg (no args) |
— |
refs/protocol-default.md — the category/skill picker over the Skills table below |
--init sub-flags. --init takes the only sub-flags in msg's surface — every other mode is
a bare flag off /msg. They select the Step 2 interview mode: --init --cto (advisory — msg
recommends the technical decisions) and --init --eng (direct — msg asks, the user decides).
Pass the mode through to the protocol. Bare --init carries no mode, and neither does any
natural-language phrasing — all of them land on the protocol's mode gate, which is the right
default: NL phrasing correlates with the less-technical user, who is exactly who cto mode is for.
An unrecognised sub-flag (--init --foo) is never silently ignored — it also falls to the gate.
Closing message. --init, --update, --init-staging, --doctor, and --aha runs end with the closing message
per ../shared/refs/closing-message.md — the last chat
output, after the protocol's own output. The pure-emission modes (default picker, --gui,
--version, --help) are exempt: their "Stop. Do not emit anything else." / render contracts stand unchanged.
Harness incidents. The same five modes log unexpected script failures, tool errors, retries,
and missed writes to devkit/DOCTOR.md per
../shared/refs/doctor-logging.md — logging never changes what
the run does next. --doctor is the reader, never a writer of incident rows.
Skills
| Category |
Skill |
Description |
| Planning |
msg --init |
One-time project bootstrap |
| Planning |
intake |
Capture + grade ideas/bugs into the INTAKE.md backlog (the front door); --update edits a captured row, --delete removes one |
| Planning |
plan-pm |
Autonomous PRD writer — drafts from a graded intake row |
| Planning |
plan-review |
PRD contract certifier — seven consumer-bound checks, product/eng |
| Planning |
plan-em |
Engineering plan generator — certifies each wave, roster is the one gate |
| Build & Ship |
eng |
Plan or build engineering work from exec-table rows |
| Build & Ship |
pre-merge |
The CI gate — sync, mechanical, tests, regression, security/migration, PRD-consistency, opens PR feature→staging |
| Build & Ship |
merge |
The ship gate — --staging (merge on green CI, deploy, human test, sign-off) and --production (double-confirmed staging→main release) |
| Build & Ship |
emulate |
The local run lane — boots a simulator/emulator on the current branch and opens the window; a leaf, never part of the pipeline |
| Delivery |
kermit |
Conventional-commit formatter and changelog manager |
Footnote: This table is the canonical menu — it MUST list every user-facing skill in the msg workflow and any external skill the pipeline depends on (kermit). When a skill is added, removed, or renamed, update this table and the --help routing table (refs/protocol-help.md) in the same change. A skill absent from this table is unreachable through /msg.
End-to-end happy path
/msg --init → /intake → /plan-pm → /plan-review --product → /plan-em → /plan-review --eng
↓
/eng --build
↓
/pre-merge (CI gate: opens PR feature→staging)
↓
/merge --staging (merge on green CI, deploy, human test)
↓
(human) /merge --production (release to main)
1---2name: msg3description: Root menu for msg skills, plus harness modes. `--init` is the one-time project bootstrap — use it when the user says "initialise project", "bootstrap repo", "set up the framework", "start a new project", or asks to set up project structure in an empty repo. Other modes: `--init-staging` (add a staging branch), `--update` (re-scan a bootstrapped repo), `--gui` (local PRD board), `--doctor` (tally and triage the harness-incident ledger), `--aha` (sweep, triage, and compact the devkit/AHA.md learnings ledger), `--version` (print the installed release in one line), `--help` (guided skill picker).4---56# msg78**This file is a router.** Every mode's protocol lives in a ref — none is written here.9The Dispatch table below is the single statement of msg's mode surface — do not restate10it elsewhere in this file.1112## Dispatch1314Check the invocation before running any picker. First match wins.1516| Invocation | Also triggers on (natural language) | Route |17|---|---|---|18| `/msg --init` (+ `--cto` / `--eng`) | "initialise project", "bootstrap repo", "set up the framework", "start a new project" | [`refs/protocol-init.md`](refs/protocol-init.md) |19| `/msg --init-staging` | "add a staging branch", "set up staging", "switch to a staged release flow" | [`refs/protocol-init-staging.md`](refs/protocol-init-staging.md) |20| `/msg --update` | "check for msg updates", "reinitialise this project", "resync my init setup", "are there new init components" | [`refs/protocol-update.md`](refs/protocol-update.md) |21| `/msg --gui`, or the bare word `gui` | "open gui for PRDs", "show me the PRD board", "visualize my PRDs", "open kanban" | [`refs/protocol-gui.md`](refs/protocol-gui.md) — render directly, never call `AskUserQuestion` first |22| `/msg --doctor` | "check the harness", "what keeps failing", "run the doctor", "triage the incident log" | [`refs/protocol-doctor.md`](refs/protocol-doctor.md) — tallies and triages `devkit/DOCTOR.md`; **never fixes** |23| `/msg --aha` | "prune the learnings", "sweep AHA", "trim the aha log", "triage the learnings ledger" | [`refs/protocol-aha.md`](refs/protocol-aha.md) — triages and compacts `devkit/AHA.md`; only write is the ledger itself, promotions stay recommendations |24| `/msg --version`, or the bare word `version` | "which msg is this", "what version of msg do I have", "did the reinstall land", "is msg up to date" | [`refs/protocol-version.md`](refs/protocol-version.md) |25| `/msg --help` | — | [`refs/protocol-help.md`](refs/protocol-help.md) |26| `/msg` (no args) | — | [`refs/protocol-default.md`](refs/protocol-default.md) — the category/skill picker over the Skills table below |2728**`--init` sub-flags.** `--init` takes the only sub-flags in msg's surface — every other mode is29a bare flag off `/msg`. They select the Step 2 interview mode: `--init --cto` (advisory — msg30recommends the technical decisions) and `--init --eng` (direct — msg asks, the user decides).31Pass the mode through to the protocol. **Bare `--init` carries no mode, and neither does any32natural-language phrasing — all of them land on the protocol's mode gate**, which is the right33default: NL phrasing correlates with the less-technical user, who is exactly who cto mode is for.34An **unrecognised sub-flag** (`--init --foo`) is never silently ignored — it also falls to the gate.3536**Closing message.** `--init`, `--update`, `--init-staging`, `--doctor`, and `--aha` runs end with the closing message37per [`../shared/refs/closing-message.md`](../shared/refs/closing-message.md) — the last chat38output, after the protocol's own output. The pure-emission modes (default picker, `--gui`,39`--version`, `--help`) are exempt: their "Stop. Do not emit anything else." / render contracts stand unchanged.4041**Harness incidents.** The same five modes log unexpected script failures, tool errors, retries,42and missed writes to `devkit/DOCTOR.md` per43[`../shared/refs/doctor-logging.md`](../shared/refs/doctor-logging.md) — logging never changes what44the run does next. `--doctor` is the reader, never a writer of incident rows.4546## Skills4748| Category | Skill | Description |49|----------|-------|-------------|50| Planning | msg --init | One-time project bootstrap |51| Planning | intake | Capture + grade ideas/bugs into the INTAKE.md backlog (the front door); `--update` edits a captured row, `--delete` removes one |52| Planning | plan-pm | Autonomous PRD writer — drafts from a graded intake row |53| Planning | plan-review | PRD contract certifier — seven consumer-bound checks, product/eng |54| Planning | plan-em | Engineering plan generator — certifies each wave, roster is the one gate |55| Build & Ship | eng | Plan or build engineering work from exec-table rows |56| Build & Ship | pre-merge | The CI gate — sync, mechanical, tests, regression, security/migration, PRD-consistency, opens PR feature→staging |57| Build & Ship | merge | The ship gate — `--staging` (merge on green CI, deploy, human test, sign-off) and `--production` (double-confirmed staging→main release) |58| Build & Ship | emulate | The local run lane — boots a simulator/emulator on the current branch and opens the window; a leaf, never part of the pipeline |59| Delivery | kermit | Conventional-commit formatter and changelog manager |6061> **Footnote:** This table is the canonical menu — it MUST list every user-facing skill in the msg workflow and any external skill the pipeline depends on (`kermit`). When a skill is added, removed, or renamed, update this table and the `--help` routing table (`refs/protocol-help.md`) in the same change. A skill absent from this table is unreachable through `/msg`.6263## End-to-end happy path6465```66/msg --init → /intake → /plan-pm → /plan-review --product → /plan-em → /plan-review --eng67 ↓68 /eng --build69 ↓70 /pre-merge (CI gate: opens PR feature→staging)71 ↓72 /merge --staging (merge on green CI, deploy, human test)73 ↓74 (human) /merge --production (release to main)75```
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