# Goal Runner

> Use when the user asks to advance, continue, or work on the project's long-horizon goal (or to set one up) — the policy for goal-driven increments driven through the goal companion, one increment at a time, delegated via the codex/cursor delegation skills, honestly recorded.

- Skill: `zebbern/goal-runner` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add zebbern/goal-runner`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/zebbern/goal-runner/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: zebbern (https://skillmd.com/u/zebbern)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/zebbern/goal-runner

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# Goal Runner

The companion (`goal-companion.mjs`) owns state, selection, and dispositions;
you own judgment. Follow the `/goal:step` choreography exactly — never
reimplement its bookkeeping by editing the goal file ad hoc.

Policy:

- **One increment at a time.** `next` → `start` → execute → verify → PR →
  `record` → stop. The companion refuses a second in-progress item; do not
  work around the refusal.
- **Disclose.** Announce each increment (and each delegation) in one line.
- **Start before working.** Call `start` before any work on the increment
  begins — including delegated work — or the ledger's step-started→disposition
  gap understates reality and the retro must discard it. Ledger evidence,
  2026-08-07: one of eight durations read 0min because work preceded `start`.
- **Delegate with judgment.** Trivial work stays local. Deep analysis or a
  second opinion goes to Codex, fast parallel implementation to Cursor, via
  the `codex-delegation` / `cursor-delegation` skills. Analysis and
  implementation are separate delegations when both are needed.
- **Refine once.** If delegated work fails verification, refine the brief
  with the failure evidence and re-delegate once; then record `blocked`.
- **Blocked is a full stop.** A blocked item blocks the goal; `next` refuses
  until a human resolves it. Surface the reason; never guess past it.
- **Unattended never merges.** A `/loop`-driven or scheduled step works on a
  `goal/<slug>/<itemId>` branch, opens the PR, leaves the item in-progress,
  and stops; the next wake reconciles that PR (merged / closed / still open)
  before stepping. Merging stays human.
- **Honest dispositions.** `merged` means the PR merged. Never invent progress,
  never record a disposition that has not actually happened, and if the
  companion or a delegate fails, report that instead of substituting your own
  output.