dnshelper/.github/agents/speckit.tasks.agent.md

description, handoffs

description	handoffs
Generate an actionable, dependency-ordered tasks.md for the feature based on available design artifacts.	label agent prompt send Analyze For Consistency speckit.analyze Run a project analysis for consistency true label agent prompt send Implement Project speckit.implement Start the implementation in phases true

User Input

$ARGUMENTS

You MUST consider the user input before proceeding (if not empty).

Outline

1. Setup: Run .specify/scripts/powershell/check-prerequisites.ps1 -Json from repo root and parse FEATURE_DIR and AVAILABLE_DOCS list. All paths must be absolute. For single quotes in args like "I'm Groot", use escape syntax: e.g 'I'''m Groot' (or double-quote if possible: "I'm Groot").

2. Load design documents: Read from FEATURE_DIR:

   • Required: plan.md (tech stack, libraries, structure), spec.md (user stories with priorities)
   • Optional: data-model.md (entities), contracts/ (API endpoints), research.md (decisions), quickstart.md (test scenarios)
   • Note: Not all projects have all documents. Generate tasks based on what's available.

3. Execute task generation workflow:

   • Load plan.md and extract tech stack, libraries, project structure
   • Load spec.md and extract user stories with their priorities (P1, P2, P3, etc.)
   • If data-model.md exists: Extract entities and map to user stories
   • If contracts/ exists: Map endpoints to user stories
   • If research.md exists: Extract decisions for setup tasks
   • Generate tasks organized by user story (see Task Generation Rules below)
   • Generate dependency graph showing user story completion order
   • Create parallel execution examples per user story
   • Validate task completeness (each user story has all needed tasks, independently testable)

4. Generate tasks.md: Use .specify/templates/tasks-template.md as structure, fill with:

   • Correct feature name from plan.md
   • Phase 1: Setup tasks (project initialization)
   • Phase 2: Foundational tasks (blocking prerequisites for all user stories)
   • Phase 3+: One phase per user story (in priority order from spec.md)
   • Each phase includes: story goal, independent test criteria, tests (if requested), implementation tasks
   • Final Phase: Polish & cross-cutting concerns
   • All tasks must follow the strict checklist format (see Task Generation Rules below)
   • Clear file paths for each task
   • Dependencies section showing story completion order
   • Parallel execution examples per story
   • Implementation strategy section (MVP first, incremental delivery)

5. Report: Output path to generated tasks.md and summary:

   • Total task count
   • Task count per user story
   • Parallel opportunities identified
   • Independent test criteria for each story
   • Suggested MVP scope (typically just User Story 1)
   • Format validation: Confirm ALL tasks follow the checklist format (checkbox, ID, labels, file paths)

Context for task generation: $ARGUMENTS

The tasks.md should be immediately executable - each task must be specific enough that an LLM can complete it without additional context.

Implementation Context Requirements

CRITICAL: The tasks.md will be executed by a DIFFERENT model than the one generating it. The generating model (you) has deep reasoning capability and can infer implementation details from sparse descriptions. The implementing model does NOT — it needs explicit, self-contained context embedded directly in each task. Every task must be a standalone implementation brief, not a summary that requires the reader to independently analyze the codebase.

Per-Task Context Blocks

For every non-trivial task (anything beyond creating an empty file or adding a simple field), include an indented Context block immediately below the task checkbox line. This block MUST contain:

1. Existing code references: Quote the exact current function signatures, struct definitions, or interface methods that the task modifies or depends on. Use fenced code blocks with the language identifier.

2. Target file state: Describe what already exists in the target file that the implementer needs to know about (imports, adjacent functions, package conventions).

3. Expected implementation pattern: Show a concrete code skeleton or pseudocode of what the implementation should look like. Reference similar patterns already in the codebase by quoting them. For example: "Follow the same pattern as computeDatasetAnalytics() in engine.go lines 245-310, which iterates entries and accumulates stats."

4. Key decisions and gotchas: Non-obvious constraints, edge cases, or design decisions from the spec/research that affect this task. Example: "Must use int64 not int for file sizes to handle >2GB files on 32-bit systems" or "The profile may have RecursiveAnalysis disabled — check opts.Profile.RecursiveAnalysis before accumulating subdirectory maps."

5. Acceptance signal: A concrete, verifiable statement of what "done" looks like. Example: "go test ./internal/engine/... -run TestRegistryResolve passes with all 6 subcases green."

Example Task WITH Context (REQUIRED format for all non-trivial tasks)

- [ ] T009 [US1] Create template analysis module in `internal/engine/module_template.go`

  **Context**:
  - **Implements**: `AnalysisModule` interface from `internal/engine/module.go`:
    ```go
    type AnalysisModule interface {
        Name() string
        Description() string
        ProcessEntry(entry *types.ManifestEntry)
        Finalize(ctx *FinalizationContext) (*ModuleResult, error)
    }
    ```
  - **Depends on**: `ContainerMatcher` from `internal/discovery/matcher.go` — call `matcher.Match(entry.Path)` to identify containers. The matcher is initialized from `profile.ContainerPatterns` (see `engine.go:initContainerMatcher()`).
  - **Accumulation pattern**: Follow the same accumulator pattern as `DatasetAnalyticsAccumulator` in `pipeline.go` — use maps keyed by container path to accumulate file counts, total sizes, and date ranges incrementally during `ProcessEntry()`.
  - **Key struct fields to accumulate**:
    ```go
    type templateModule struct {
        matcher      *discovery.ContainerMatcher
        profile      *config.Profile
        accumulators map[string]*containerAccumulator  // keyed by container path
        seen         map[string]bool                    // for nesting exclusion
        subdirs      map[string]map[string]bool         // container -> subdirs (only if recursive enabled)
        filesByPath  map[string]map[string]int          // container -> subdir -> file count
        sizeByPath   map[string]map[string]int64        // container -> subdir -> total size
    }
    ```
  - **Gotcha**: Nesting exclusion — if `/projects/foo` is a container, `/projects/foo/bar` should NOT also be identified as a separate container even if it matches. Use the `seen` set: before adding a new container, check if any prefix of its path is already in `seen`.
  - **Acceptance**: Module registers successfully, `ProcessEntry()` populates accumulators for test entries, `Name()` returns `"template"`.

Example Task WITHOUT Context (WRONG — never do this)

- [ ] T009 [US1] Create template analysis module in `internal/engine/module_template.go` — implement AnalysisModule interface, accumulate container stats during ProcessEntry(), handle nesting exclusion

The second example forces the implementing model to independently figure out what AnalysisModule looks like, how ContainerMatcher works, what fields to accumulate, and how nesting exclusion works. This results in incorrect or incomplete implementations.

Per-Phase Context Summary

At the start of each phase (after the Goal line), include a Phase Context block listing:

• Files modified in this phase: Full paths with a one-line description of each file's current purpose
• Key types/interfaces used: Quoted signatures of types that tasks in this phase depend on
• Codebase conventions to follow: Naming patterns, error handling style, import grouping, or test patterns observed in the project (reference specific files as examples)

Context Sourcing Strategy — Plan Artifacts First

The design documents produced by /speckit.plan (contracts, data-model, research, quickstart) already contain most of the information that Context blocks need: interface signatures, struct definitions, design decisions, gotchas, error messages, and acceptance scenarios. Use these artifacts as your primary source for Context blocks instead of re-reading source files.

For tasks that CREATE new files (new modules, new types, new test files):

• Pull interface signatures, struct definitions, and method contracts from contracts/ and data-model.md — these already contain the exact code the implementer needs
• Pull design decisions, accumulation patterns, and gotchas from research.md — cite the specific research item (e.g., "See R3: Container Identification During Streaming")
• Pull acceptance scenarios from quickstart.md — map CLI examples to verifiable acceptance signals
• Do NOT read source files unless the plan artifacts reference an existing pattern that needs to be matched (e.g., "follows the existing plugin.Registry pattern") — in that case, read only the referenced file to quote the specific pattern

For tasks that MODIFY existing files (adding fields, rewiring functions, updating existing logic):

• Still use plan artifacts for the target design (what the code should become)
• Read the specific function/struct being modified from the source file to quote its current state — the implementer needs to see both "what exists now" and "what it should become"
• Do NOT read the entire file — read only the function/struct being changed plus its immediate dependencies

For test tasks:

• Read one existing test file in the same package to capture test conventions (table-driven patterns, setup/teardown helpers, assertion style). Quote a representative test function as a pattern to follow.
• Pull test scenarios from contracts and quickstart — these define expected inputs/outputs

Always:

• Read copilot-instructions.md or equivalent project guidelines (once, at the start of task generation) for language version constraints, banned patterns, build requirements, and protected code paths
• If the project has a design system or style guide referenced in the plan, read it (once)

Do NOT:

• Read full source files for every task — the plan artifacts already distill the relevant information
• Re-derive information that exists in contracts or research — reference those documents directly
• Generate tasks with placeholder signatures — every code reference must come from either plan artifacts or a targeted source file read

Task Generation Rules

CRITICAL: Tasks MUST be organized by user story to enable independent implementation and testing.

Tests are OPTIONAL: Only generate test tasks if explicitly requested in the feature specification or if user requests TDD approach.

Checklist Format (REQUIRED)

Every task MUST strictly follow this format:

- [ ] [TaskID] [P?] [Story?] Description with file path

Format Components:

1. Checkbox: ALWAYS start with - [ ] (markdown checkbox)
2. Task ID: Sequential number (T001, T002, T003...) in execution order
3. [P] marker: Include ONLY if task is parallelizable (different files, no dependencies on incomplete tasks)
4. [Story] label: REQUIRED for user story phase tasks only
   • Format: [US1], [US2], [US3], etc. (maps to user stories from spec.md)
   • Setup phase: NO story label
   • Foundational phase: NO story label
   • User Story phases: MUST have story label
   • Polish phase: NO story label
5. Description: Clear action with exact file path

Examples:

• ✅ CORRECT: - [ ] T001 Create project structure per implementation plan
• ✅ CORRECT: - [ ] T005 [P] Implement authentication middleware in src/middleware/auth.py
• ✅ CORRECT: - [ ] T012 [P] [US1] Create User model in src/models/user.py
• ✅ CORRECT: - [ ] T014 [US1] Implement UserService in src/services/user_service.py
• ❌ WRONG: - [ ] Create User model (missing ID and Story label)
• ❌ WRONG: T001 [US1] Create model (missing checkbox)
• ❌ WRONG: - [ ] [US1] Create User model (missing Task ID)
• ❌ WRONG: - [ ] T001 [US1] Create model (missing file path)

Task Organization

1. From User Stories (spec.md) - PRIMARY ORGANIZATION:

   • Each user story (P1, P2, P3...) gets its own phase
   • Map all related components to their story:
     • Models needed for that story
     • Services needed for that story
     • Endpoints/UI needed for that story
     • If tests requested: Tests specific to that story
   • Mark story dependencies (most stories should be independent)

2. From Contracts:

   • Map each contract/endpoint → to the user story it serves
   • If tests requested: Each contract → contract test task [P] before implementation in that story's phase

3. From Data Model:

   • Map each entity to the user story(ies) that need it
   • If entity serves multiple stories: Put in earliest story or Setup phase
   • Relationships → service layer tasks in appropriate story phase

4. From Setup/Infrastructure:

   • Shared infrastructure → Setup phase (Phase 1)
   • Foundational/blocking tasks → Foundational phase (Phase 2)
   • Story-specific setup → within that story's phase

Phase Structure

• Phase 1: Setup (project initialization)
• Phase 2: Foundational (blocking prerequisites - MUST complete before user stories)
• Phase 3+: User Stories in priority order (P1, P2, P3...)
  • Within each story: Tests (if requested) → Models → Services → Endpoints → Integration
  • Each phase should be a complete, independently testable increment
• Final Phase: Polish & Cross-Cutting Concerns