To Features

to-features

Generate FEATURES.md at the repo root by reading CONTEXT.md and the ADRs under docs/adr/, then enumerating the user-facing features the domain implies. Pairs with /grill-with-docs (upstream, produces CONTEXT.md/ADRs) and /to-prd (downstream, takes one feature → PRD).

When to invoke

• After /grill-with-docs has produced or refined CONTEXT.md.
• Before /to-prd runs on any individual feature.
• If FEATURES.md already exists, treat this as a refinement — propose additions or strikethroughs based on the latest CONTEXT.md and ADRs. Never overwrite shipped (strikethrough) features.

Process

1. Read CONTEXT.md for domain vocabulary, actors, and invariants.
2. Read docs/adr/*.md for architectural commitments that constrain what's buildable.
3. Enumerate user-facing features the domain implies:
   • One feature per line, kebab-case slug + one-line description.
   • Start with the actor: user-can-…, admin-can-…, guest-can-….
   • User-facing, not internal — "User can reset password" not "Add bcrypt hashing."
   • Don't include implementation details — those land in PRDs downstream.
4. Surface the list to the user for review:
   • Anything missing?
   • Should any features be split or merged?
   • Are slugs unambiguous?
5. Write FEATURES.md at the repo root once approved.
6. (Optional, for local-markdown teams) mkdir -p .scratch/<feature-slug>/issues per pending feature to stub the layout downstream stages will fill.

File format

# Features

<!-- One feature per line. Strike through completed features; don't delete. -->

- [ ] user-can-sign-up — A user can create an account with email + password
- [ ] user-can-log-in — A user can sign in to their account
- [x] ~~user-can-reset-password~~ — ~~A user can reset a forgotten password~~ (shipped: #42)
- [ ] user-can-post-photo — A user can upload and share a photo

## Out of scope (rejected)

- ~~user-can-stream-video~~ — Rejected for v1 (see `.out-of-scope/video-streaming.md`)

Discipline: when you finish a feature, strike it through (don't delete)

When a feature ships, mark its line in FEATURES.md with strikethrough + a shipped reference (issue number, PR, or tracker ID). Never delete the line. Strikethrough preserves:

• Institutional memory — what HAS shipped, not just what's pending.
• Traceability — link from FEATURES.md to the issue/PR that completed it.
• Drift resistance — you can't quietly drop a feature; dropping requires explicitly marking it out of scope (and writing the reason to .out-of-scope/).

Transformation on ship:

- [ ] user-can-reset-password — A user can reset a forgotten password
                              ↓
- [x] ~~user-can-reset-password~~ — ~~A user can reset a forgotten password~~ (shipped: #42)

Why this skill exists

mattpocock's chain (/to-prd, /to-issues, /triage) is engineering-side — it assumes features come from product thinking that lives outside the toolchain. swe-workflow needs an explicit bridge between domain understanding (the output of /grill-with-docs) and per-feature specification (the input of /to-prd). That bridge is feature enumeration.

This skill is engineering-adjacent: it reads engineering artifacts (CONTEXT.md, ADRs), but its output (FEATURES.md) is in user-facing language. It's the deliberate seam where product reasoning enters the chain.

When to skip

If your team handles feature enumeration in an external tool — Linear projects, Notion, Productboard, a shared spreadsheet, anything — skip /to-features and use the external source of truth. Pass features directly to /to-prd. This skill exists to fill the seam for teams without an existing product backlog convention, or for solo developers who'd rather keep feature tracking in the repo.