skills.rest
watchthelight
watchthelightCOMMUNITY
Explore all skills by this author →
WebsiteGitHub

bmad-loop-resolve

Resolves CRITICAL escalations in paused bmad-loop runs by updating frozen specs interactively.

Updated Sep 3, 2026
Search Tags:#workflow orchestration#interactive review#spec clarification#bmad-loop#escalation resolution#story re-drive#automation recovery
One-click install
npx skills add https://github.com/watchthelight/shatterfish --skill bmad-loop-resolve-watchthelight
Or copy as Structured Prompt for Agent▼
Please help me install this Agent Skill.
Skill: bmad-loop-resolve
Source: https://github.com/watchthelight/shatterfish/tree/main/.claude/skills/bmad-loop-resolve
Command: npx skills add https://github.com/watchthelight/shatterfish --skill bmad-loop-resolve-watchthelight

SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION & REQUIREMENTS

What problem does it solve? When an automated bmad-loop dev/review session hits a contradiction or gap in a frozen spec, the whole run pauses on a CRITICAL escalation. This Skill provides the interactive workflow to disambiguate the spec with a human and unblock the run. ## Core Features & Use Cases - Escalation Triage: Reads the orchestrator-written context.json to understand exactly what ambiguity blocked the dev or review session. - Interactive Spec Resolution: Presents the contradiction with 2-4 concrete resolution options, gets the human's decision, and amends the frozen spec's intent block and acceptance criteria. - Patch Restore Handling: For review-stage intent gaps with a saved patch, supports resuming review on the already-written change instead of re-implementing from scratch. - Sentinel & Ambiguous-File Cases: Handles stories-mode sentinels (unplannable stories) and duplicate story-file matches by resolving upstream ambiguity in SPEC.md or stories.yaml. - Use Case: A review session escalates because the frozen spec never said whether a CLI list command should output JSON or plain text. You invoke this Skill, review the saved patch, decide with the human, amend the spec, and write the resolution marker so the orchestrator re-arms the story. ## Quick Start Invoke /bmad-loop-resolve with the escalated story key, then read the context file at $BMAD_LOOP_RESOLVE_CONTEXT and walk the human through resolving the escalation.

Frequently Asked Questions about bmad-loop-resolve

High-intent search queries and answers about installing and using this skill.

FAQPage Schema
How do I resolve a CRITICAL escalation in a bmad-loop run?▼

Invoke /bmad-loop-resolve with the escalated story key, read the context file at $BMAD_LOOP_RESOLVE_CONTEXT, present the ambiguity with resolution options to the human, amend the frozen spec, and write the resolution.json marker at resolution_path.

What is a frozen spec in a bmad-loop workflow?▼

A frozen spec is the authoritative story specification containing a frozen-after-approval intent block that dev and review sessions treat as the single source of truth. Escalations usually mean this block is silent on or contradicts a case the implementation hit.

When should I use restore_patch in the resolution marker?▼

Use restore_patch only when a review-stage intent gap saved a patch, restore_supported is true in the context, and the human confirms the attempted implementation reading was correct. Omit it when the attempted reading was wrong or resolution commits overlap the patch's files.

Can the resolution session implement the story or change spec status?▼

No. The session must not write feature code, run tests, commit, edit sprint-status.yaml, or set the spec status field. It only edits spec content and writes the resolution marker; the orchestrator deterministically re-arms status on resume.

What happens if the escalation cannot be resolved?▼

If the human defers or the fix is out of scope, exit without writing the resolution marker. The story stays escalated and the run remains paused, which is the safe default since the orchestrator never re-arms a story with no recorded resolution.

How are sentinel stories different from ordinary escalations?▼

Sentinels are stories that could not even be planned, leaving an unresolved or ambiguous sentinel file instead of a frozen spec. Resolution means clarifying the upstream SPEC.md or stories.yaml entry; the orchestrator preserves a copy, deletes the sentinel, and re-plans from scratch.

Related Skills

Explore More Software Engineering Skills→
PastaSusPastaSus

bmad-loop-resolve

Resolves CRITICAL escalations in paused bmad-loop runs by updating frozen specs with human decisions.

Community
Advanced
HexalithHexalith

bmad-loop-resolve

Resolves CRITICAL escalations in paused bmad-loop runs by updating frozen specs interactively.

Official
Advanced
jvm-skillsjvm-skills
135

mutation-testing

Automate PITest mutation testing for JVM Gradle projects.

Official
Advanced
mlopscommunitymlopscommunity
37

merge-conflict-resolution

Resolve syntactic and semantic merge conflicts from parallel agent work.

Official
Advanced