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This project is under active development and subject to breaking changes. See the changelog for release notes.

Development Skills

These four skills manage the development workflow: creating branches, writing standardized commits, finalizing pull requests, and suggesting the next task.

Branch management with automatic strategy detection. Identifies the repository’s branching model (GitFlow or trunk-based) and creates branches following the detected convention.

flowchart TD
  A["Branch needed"] --> B["Check .memory/git-config.md"]
  B -->|"Config exists"| C["Use saved strategy"]
  B -->|"No config"| D["Detect strategy"]
  D --> E{"develop branch\nexists?"}
  E -->|"Yes"| F{"release/* or\nhotfix/* exist?"}
  E -->|"No"| G["Trunk-based"]
  F -->|"Yes"| H["GitFlow"]
  F -->|"No"| I["GitHub Flow"]
  
  C --> J["Check remote sync"]
  G --> J
  H --> J
  I --> J
  
  J --> K["Create branch"]
  K --> L["feature/ID-short-description"]

Strategy detection rules:

SignalStrategy
develop branch exists + release/* or hotfix/*GitFlow
develop branch exists, no release/hotfixGitHub Flow
No develop branchTrunk-based

Naming convention: feature/ID-short-description where ID comes from the work item (GitHub issue number or Azure DevOps ID).

Pre-creation checks: Remote synchronization, uncommitted changes detection, existing branch verification.

Activation triggers: Implementation start, branch creation requests, checkout operations.


Standardized commits using the Conventional Commits specification. Analyzes the actual diff to determine type, scope, and message. Supports logical file grouping and work item references.

flowchart TD
  A["Commit requested"] --> B["Analyze diff"]
  B --> C{"Staged files?"}
  C -->|"Yes"| D["Use staged diff"]
  C -->|"No"| E["Use working tree diff"]
  D --> F["Group by logical area"]
  E --> F
  F --> G["Pre-commit checks"]
  G --> H[".gitignore exists?"]
  G --> I["No secrets?"]
  H --> J["Generate message"]
  I --> J
  J --> K["type(scope): description"]
  K --> L["Add work item ref"]
  L --> M["Commit"]

Commit format:

type(scope): description
[optional body]
[optional footer with work item refs]

Commit types mapped to SDD artifacts:

TypeSDD Context
featNew feature implementation
fixBug fix
docsSpec, ADR, plan, envisioning changes
refactorCode restructuring without behavior change
testTest additions or corrections
choreBuild, config, dependency updates

Work item references:

PlatformFormat
GitHub IssuesCloses #123 or Refs #123 in footer
Azure DevOpsAB#123 in footer

Security protocol: The skill checks for secrets, credentials, and sensitive data before committing. If detected, the commit is blocked with a warning.

Activation triggers: Commit requests, end of implementation, change staging.


Implementation finalization workflow. Handles git state verification, commit creation, PR opening, automated reviews, and optional CI checks.

flowchart TD
  A["Implementation\ncomplete"] --> B["Check git state"]
  B --> C["Create commit"]
  C --> D["Push branch"]
  D --> E["Open PR"]
  E --> F{"Impact level?"}
  F -->|"High"| G["Trigger full\ndevsquad.review"]
  F -->|"Medium/Low +\nsecurity trigger"| H["Trigger\ndevsquad.security"]
  F -->|"Medium/Low,\nno trigger"| I["Standard PR"]
  G --> J["Check CI status"]
  H --> J
  I --> J
  J --> K["Offer Copilot\nreview (optional)"]
  K --> L["Record tech debt\n(if any)"]

Review routing by impact:

ImpactSecurity TriggerReview Action
HighAnyFull devsquad.review (includes security)
Medium/LowYesdevsquad.security only
Medium/LowNoStandard PR, no automated review

Technical debt tracking: If the implementation introduced shortcuts or deferred work, the skill records tech debt items linked to the PR.

Post-creation steps: CI status check, optional Copilot review request, branch update if behind target.

Activation triggers: Implementation completion, PR requests, finalization workflow.


Suggests the next task after completing an implementation. Considers dependencies, priority, sprint context, and open PRs.

flowchart TD
  A["Task completed"] --> B["Find available tasks"]
  B --> C["Filter: dependencies met,\nnot assigned, not blocked"]
  C --> D["Sort by priority\nand dependencies"]
  D --> E["Check open PRs"]
  E -->|"PRs need attention"| F["Suggest: review\nopen PR first"]
  E -->|"No pending PRs"| G["Present top 3\ntask suggestions"]
  G --> H["Check for pending\nchanges on branch"]
  H -->|"Changes exist"| I["Suggest: commit\nor stash first"]
  H -->|"Clean"| J["Return to\ndefault branch"]
  J --> K["Start selected task"]

Selection criteria (in priority order):

  1. Dependencies satisfied (all predecessor tasks done)
  2. Priority alignment (P1 before P2 before P3)
  3. Sprint commitment (committed items before stretch)
  4. Logical continuity (related tasks in same area)

Branch transition: Before starting a new task, the skill checks for uncommitted changes and guides the developer back to the default branch.

Activation triggers: Task completion, “what’s next” questions, sprint progress queries.