Melt

Autonomous Task Execution (/melt)

Task-agnostic autonomous execution. Iterate until the task is complete and verified.

Progress Output

Emit these step labels as you progress through the workflow. Print each label before starting that phase:

[1/7] Activating autonomous mode
[2/7] Planning approach
[3/7] Implementing changes
[4/7] Running linters
[5/7] Committing and pushing
[6/7] Verifying goal achievement
[7/7] Writing completion checkpoint

Skip steps that don't apply (e.g., skip [2/7] for simple tasks, skip deploy for non-deployable projects). Always emit [1/7] and [7/7].

Activation

Create .claude/autonomous-state.json at start:

mkdir -p .claude && cat > .claude/autonomous-state.json << 'EOF'
{
  "mode": "melt",
  "started_at": "$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)",
  "iteration": 1,
  "coordinator": true
}
EOF
cp .claude/autonomous-state.json ~/.claude/autonomous-state.json

Autonomous Rules

1. NEVER ask for confirmation — No "Should I commit?", "Should I deploy?"
2. Auto-commit and push — Commit and push immediately after changes
3. Auto-deploy — Trigger deployments without asking
4. Verify your work — Test appropriately for the platform
5. Fill out checkpoint honestly — The stop hook validates your booleans

Credentials exception: If missing (API keys, test credentials), ask the user once at start. Then proceed autonomously.

Planning

For ambiguous or multi-stakeholder tasks, use EnterPlanMode / ExitPlanMode. Launch parallel Task() agents for multi-perspective analysis:

• First Principles: "What can be deleted?" (ruthless simplification)
• AGI-Pilled: "What would god-tier AI do?" (maximum capability)
• Task-specific experts: Generated based on the problem domain

For agent prompts, reference ~/.claude/skills/0-heavy/SKILL.md.

Execution

Making Changes

Use Edit tool for targeted changes. Keep changes focused on the task.

Parallel Work

For 3+ independent work items, use TeamCreate:

# Create team and tasks
TeamCreate(team_name="melt-exec", description="[TASK SUMMARY]")
TaskCreate(subject="Implement [item 1]", description="[full context, file paths, requirements]", activeForm="Implementing [item 1]")
TaskCreate(subject="Implement [item 2]", description="[full context, file paths, requirements]", activeForm="Implementing [item 2]")
TaskCreate(subject="Implement [item 3]", description="[full context, file paths, requirements]", activeForm="Implementing [item 3]")

# Set dependencies if needed (e.g., item 3 needs item 1 done first)
TaskUpdate(taskId="3", addBlockedBy=["1"])

# Spawn teammates — use Sonnet for cost efficiency
Task(subagent_type="general-purpose", team_name="melt-exec", name="worker-1", model="sonnet",
  prompt="You are worker-1 on the melt-exec team. Claim available tasks from TaskList, implement them, commit changes, mark complete. Prefer tasks in ID order. Use SendMessage to report blockers.")
Task(subagent_type="general-purpose", team_name="melt-exec", name="worker-2", model="sonnet",
  prompt="You are worker-2 on the melt-exec team. Claim available tasks from TaskList, implement them, commit changes, mark complete. Prefer tasks in ID order. Use SendMessage to report blockers.")
# Launch all in a SINGLE message

# IMPORTANT: Partition file ownership — never assign overlapping files to different workers
# Monitor via TaskList, synthesize when done, shutdown teammates, TeamDelete

For 2 items, use parallel Task() calls — simpler and cheaper.

Linter Verification (MANDATORY — Zero Tolerance)

The toolkit auto-detects the project stack and enforces strict linting:

Structural limits (enforced on changed files):

• Files: max 400 lines (split into modules if exceeded)
• Functions: max 80 lines (extract helpers if exceeded)

# Fix all errors — including pre-existing ones
ruff check --fix . && ruff check .
npm run lint -- --fix || npx eslint . --fix
npx tsc --noEmit

Zero tolerance: ALL linter errors must be fixed, including pre-existing ones not related to your changes. The stop-validator runs linters independently and blocks completion until the project is clean. Keep fixing until zero errors remain.

Commit and Deploy

git add <specific files> && git commit -m "feat: [description]"
git push
gh workflow run deploy.yml -f environment=staging && gh run watch --exit-status

Goal Verification (MANDATORY — Prove It Works)

Before claiming completion, define and execute tests that PROVE your changes achieved the goal. "It compiles" is not verification. "It works" is.

Step 1: Define Tests BEFORE or DURING Implementation

Ask: "If a skeptical reviewer could only run commands, what 2-3 tests would prove this works?"

Test types: command_output, file_content, api_response, page_content, database_query, page_element, log_absence, count_check. See config/references/validation-tests-contract.md for full schema.

Step 2: Execute Tests and Record Results

Run each test. Record what actually happened. Do NOT fabricate results.

Step 3: Platform-Specific Verification

Anti-Gaming Rules

• Do NOT weaken expected values to make tests pass
• Do NOT remove failing tests
• Do NOT fabricate "actual" results — run the test and record what happens
• The stop-validator runs linters INDEPENDENTLY — it does not trust linters_pass

Completion Checkpoint

Before stopping, create .claude/completion-checkpoint.json:

{
  "self_report": {
    "is_job_complete": true,
    "code_changes_made": true,
    "linters_pass": true,
    "category": "bugfix"
  },
  "reflection": {
    "what_was_done": "Implemented feature X, deployed to staging, verified in browser",
    "what_remains": "none",
    "key_insight": "Reusable lesson for future sessions (>50 chars)",
    "search_terms": ["keyword1", "keyword2"]
  },
  "verification": {
    "tests_executed_at_version": "abc1234",
    "tests": [
      {
        "id": "feature_works",
        "type": "command_output",
        "expected": "EXIT_CODE=0, output contains 'success'",
        "actual": "EXIT_CODE=0, output: 'test passed: success'",
        "passed": true
      },
      {
        "id": "no_regressions",
        "type": "command_output",
        "expected": "EXIT_CODE=0",
        "actual": "EXIT_CODE=0, all 42 tests passed",
        "passed": true
      }
    ]
  }
}

The stop-validator enforces: verification.tests must have at least 1 test with actual results when code_changes_made is true. Linters are checked independently by the harness.

Exit Conditions

Cleanup on completion:

rm -f ~/.claude/autonomous-state.json .claude/autonomous-state.json

Triggers

• /melt (primary), /build (legacy)
• "go do", "just do it", "execute this", "make it happen"

Skill Fluidity

You may use techniques from any skill for sub-problems without switching modes. Discover a bug? Debug it inline. Hit tech debt? Apply /burndown patterns. Need deep analysis? Invoke /heavy. Your autonomous state and checkpoint remain governed by /melt.