sdd

Detects the current phase of a spec-driven development cycle from filesystem state and routes to the matching phase skill.

1|Updated Jul 26, 2026
One-click install
npx skills add https://github.com/AngeloResplandes/harness-sdd --skill sdd-angeloresplandes
Or copy as Structured Prompt for Agent
Please help me install this Agent Skill.
Skill: sdd
Source: https://github.com/AngeloResplandes/harness-sdd/tree/main/sdd
Command: npx skills add https://github.com/AngeloResplandes/harness-sdd --skill sdd-angeloresplandes

SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION & REQUIREMENTS

💡 This Skill includes references (resource) components.

What problem does it solve? When an AI agent starts coding immediately from a loose request, it silently guesses unstated requirements, produces code nobody can review against a written target, and lets project docs drift from reality. This orchestrator turns a vague idea into a reviewable plan with a human approval gate before any code is written, and always knows which phase a cycle is in by reading the filesystem instead of conversation memory. ## Core Features & Use Cases - Phase detection from files: Inspects cycles/ artifacts (request.md, plan.md, tasks.md, verification.md, validation.md) through an ordered rule table to determine whether the cycle is at Start, Capability, Refine, Gate, Implement, Verify, Validate, Promote, or Done. - Routing to phase skills: Hands off to the seven sibling skills (sdd-start, sdd-capability, sdd-refine, sdd-implement, sdd-verify, sdd-validate, sdd-promote) that each produce their own artifacts. - Broken-state handling: Detects contradictory states (draft plan with checked tasks, missing status: field, stale validation passes) and stops to ask the human instead of guessing. - Use Case: You return to a project after two weeks and ask "onde parei?" — the skill reads the cycle folder, finds plan.md approved with unchecked tasks, and routes directly to implementation. ## Quick Start Ask the assistant to start a new feature cycle by describing what you want to build, or ask "where did I stop?" in a repository containing a cycles directory.

Frequently Asked Questions about sdd

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

FAQPage Schema
How do I enforce a human approval gate before AI writes code?

Use a spec-driven workflow where the plan is written to plan.md and implementation only starts after a human sets status: approved in the file frontmatter. Recording the gate in the file rather than conversation memory means a fresh session can still verify approval happened.

How does the orchestrator know which phase a cycle is in?

It evaluates an ordered table of filesystem conditions: which artifacts exist in the cycle folder, the status fields in plan.md and validation.md, and whether tasks are checked. The first matching rule wins, with error states ranked above the phases they resemble.

What happens when cycle files contradict each other?

The orchestrator stops and asks the human instead of guessing. Cases like a draft plan with checked tasks, a missing status field, or a validation pass with unchecked tasks are treated as damage from hand-editing or interrupted sessions, never auto-resolved.

When should I not use a spec-driven development cycle?

Skip the cycle for one-line typo fixes, dependency bumps, questions about existing code, or exploratory spikes. The skill explicitly says to just do the work in those cases, since ceremony applied to trivia is how good processes get abandoned.

Can I invoke a single phase skill directly without the orchestrator?

Yes. Each phase skill such as sdd-refine or sdd-validate is invocable on its own when you name the phase explicitly, and each repeats the invariants that bind it so it works without passing through the orchestrator.