Task Design

Task Design

Core Principle

A well-designed task is an executable contract.

The agent should be able to read the task, understand what to do, know when to stop, and verify success—all without asking clarifying questions.

When to Use

Use this skill when:

• Creating issues/tasks e.g. bd (beads)
• Writing GitHub Issues for autonomous agents
• Specifying work for subagents
• Breaking down features into actionable tasks

The Complete Task Template

# [PREFIX] Task Title

## Summary
One-sentence executive summary of what needs to be done.

---

## Context
Why is this task needed? What problem does it solve?
What happens if we don't do this?

---

## Reference (Optional)
Link to TRD, design doc, or specification that governs this task.
Example: `docs/plans/TRD-feature.md — Section FR-2`

---

## Scope

### In Scope
- File: `path/to/file.ext`
- Component: `ComponentName`

### Out of Scope
- NOT changing X
- NOT touching Y

---

## Requirements

| Req | Description | Level |
|-----|-------------|-------|
| R-1 | Specific, testable requirement | MUST |
| R-2 | Another requirement | MUST |
| R-3 | Nice to have | SHOULD |

---

## Technical Constraints
What the agent MUST NOT do or change.

- Use existing `X` pattern
- Don't add new dependencies
- Follow conventions in `path/to/example`
- Output format must be JSON

---

## Acceptance Criteria (CoS)
Checklist for completion. Agent checks these off.

- [ ] Criterion 1 implemented
- [ ] Criterion 2 verified
- [ ] Tests pass
- [ ] Documentation updated

---

## Testing Requirements
How to validate the work.

- Manual: Load and invoke
- Automated: `npm test` passes
- Verify: Check output structure

---

## Files Likely to Change
Help the agent understand scope.

- `src/feature.ts` — Main implementation
- `tests/feature.test.ts` — Tests
- `README.md` — Documentation update

---

## Definition of Done
Task is complete when:

- [ ] All acceptance criteria checked
- [ ] All tests pass
- [ ] Code committed and pushed
- [ ] Issue closed in backlog

Section-by-Section Guide

Summary

One sentence. No more.

❌ Bad: "We need to add authentication because users want to log in and we should use JWT" ✅ Good: "Add JWT-based authentication endpoint"

Context

Answer: Why does this matter?

This helps the agent make trade-off decisions. If they understand the why, they make better how choices.

Reference

Link to source of truth.

If there's a TRD, design doc, or spec, reference the specific section. The agent will read it before acting.

Example:

**TRD:** `docs/plans/TRD-auth.md` — Section FR-2: User Authentication

Scope

Be explicit about boundaries.

Agents tend to over-deliver or under-deliver. Explicit scope prevents both.

In Scope = What to touch Out of Scope = What NOT to touch (even if related)

Requirements

Verifiable statements with MUST/SHOULD/MAY.

Technical Constraints

Guardrails, not instructions.

These are the "don'ts"—what the agent must avoid.

Examples:

• "Don't add npm dependencies"
• "Use the existing ApiClient class"
• "Follow REST conventions in codebase"

Acceptance Criteria

Checkboxes the agent completes.

Write as if you're the agent checking off boxes. Each criterion should be:

• Binary (done or not done)
• Verifiable (can be checked)
• Specific (no ambiguity)

Testing Requirements

How the agent validates their work.

For code: what tests to run For skills: how to manually verify For docs: how to check correctness

Files Likely to Change

Reduce scope anxiety.

Agents sometimes hesitate because they don't know where to look. This section gives them permission and direction.

Definition of Done

The exit condition.

When all these are true, the agent stops working and reports completion.

Quick Template (Minimal)

For simpler tasks, use this abbreviated format:

## Summary
One-sentence description.

## Scope
- File: `path/to/file.ext`

## Acceptance Criteria
- [ ] Criterion 1
- [ ] Criterion 2

## Validation
How to verify completion.

Using with bd (Beads)

When creating issues with bd create, use the --body flag:

bd create "[FEATURE] Add user auth" --body "## Summary
Add JWT authentication endpoint.

## Context
Users need to log in to access protected routes.

## Scope
- File: \`src/routes/auth.ts\`
- File: \`src/middleware/jwt.ts\`

## Acceptance Criteria
- [ ] POST /auth/login endpoint works
- [ ] Returns JWT on valid credentials
- [ ] Returns 401 on invalid credentials
- [ ] Unit tests pass

## Validation
1. Run: \`npm test\`
2. Manual: POST to /auth/login with test credentials"

Anti-Patterns

Examples

Example 1: Feature Task

## Summary
Add rate limiting middleware to API endpoints.

## Context
The API is vulnerable to abuse. Adding rate limiting protects against DDoS and brute-force attacks.

## Reference
**TRD:** `docs/security-plan.md` — Section 3.2: Rate Limiting

## Scope
- File: `src/middleware/rateLimiter.ts` (new)
- File: `src/app.ts` (add middleware)

## Requirements
| Req | Description | Level |
|-----|-------------|-------|
| R-1 | Limit to 100 requests per minute per IP | MUST |
| R-2 | Return 429 Too Many Requests when exceeded | MUST |
| R-3 | Exclude health check endpoint | SHOULD |

## Technical Constraints
- Use existing Redis connection from `src/lib/redis.ts`
- Don't add new npm dependencies (use built-in or existing)

## Acceptance Criteria
- [ ] Rate limiter middleware created
- [ ] Applied to all routes except /health
- [ ] 429 response when limit exceeded
- [ ] Unit tests cover limit scenarios
- [ ] Integration test for rate limit reset

## Validation
1. `npm test` passes
2. Manual: Hit endpoint 101 times, verify 429 on 101st

## Definition of Done
- [ ] All acceptance criteria checked
- [ ] PR created and merged

Example 2: Skill Creation Task

## Summary
Create repo-scanner skill for assimilation pipeline.

## Context
First phase of assimilation. Scans repo structure without reading all code.

## Reference
**TRD:** `docs/plans/TRD-assimilation.md` — Section FR-1

## Scope
- File: `.github/skills/assimilation/repo-scanner/SKILL.md`
- Mirror: `.claude/skills/assimilation/repo-scanner/SKILL.md`

## Requirements
| Req | Description | Level |
|-----|-------------|-------|
| FR-1.1 | Skip ignore patterns (node_modules, .git, etc.) | MUST |
| FR-1.3 | Detect language from config files | MUST |
| FR-1.4 | Detect framework from config files | MUST |
| FR-1.5 | Produce scan-report.json or fail with error | MUST |

## Technical Constraints
- Follow agentskills.io spec (name + description in frontmatter)
- No code execution, markdown instructions only
- Output to .github/temp/scan-report.json

## Acceptance Criteria
- [ ] SKILL.md follows agentskills.io spec
- [ ] Ignore patterns documented
- [ ] Framework detection table complete
- [ ] Output schema defined
- [ ] Exists in both .github/ and .claude/

## Validation
1. Load skill in Claude Code
2. Ask: "scan this repo"
3. Verify scan-report.json produced
4. Verify ignored dirs not in output

## Definition of Done
- [ ] All acceptance criteria checked
- [ ] Issue closed in bd

Related Skills

• bd — Issue tracking with beads
• agent-runbook — Multi-step workflow documentation
• subagent — Task delegation protocol

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