The shim called bare `python`, which can resolve to Python 2 or be absent;
render.py needs 3.11+ for tomllib. Spell out python3 and the version
requirement. Also make the exit code authoritative: on a non-zero exit
(including an uncaught crash that writes only to stderr), do not proceed --
report what was printed and stop.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
The bare `python render.py` shim assumes the agent's working directory is
the skill directory, but agents run from the project root, so the script
is not found. Reference it as `{skill-root}/render.py` — BMAD's standard
token for a skill's installed directory, already used by every other
skill's resolve_customization.py invocation — and add the one-line
`{skill-root}` explainer so the model resolves it from an instruction
rather than guessing. Interpreter stays `python`; the python vs python3
choice is a separate cross-platform concern.
Move compile-time variable substitution out of the LLM and into a
deterministic Python step. SKILL.md becomes a two-line stdout-dispatch
shim that runs render.py and follows the instruction it prints. The
renderer reads BMad configuration from the central four-layer TOML
surface introduced in #2285 (_bmad/config.toml plus config.user.toml
and the two _bmad/custom/ overrides), with a fallback to the legacy
per-module _bmad/bmm/config.yaml for pre-#2285 installs.
Compile-time refs ({{.var}}) get substituted at render time. LLM-runtime
refs ({var}) pass through untouched.
Renderer (render.py)
- Python 3 stdlib only (tomllib, already bundled since 3.11). UTF-8 I/O.
Every invocation rebuilds from scratch — no hash, no cache.
- find_project_root walks up from cwd; HALT to stdout if no _bmad/
is found anywhere on the path.
- load_central_config deep-merges the four TOML layers in priority
order (base-team → base-user → custom-team → custom-user) so user
overrides in _bmad/custom/config.user.toml win over installer-
regenerated base values. flatten_central_config lifts scalar keys
from [core] and [modules.bmm] into the renderer's flat namespace;
module keys beat core on collision (matches the installer's own
core-key-stripping behavior).
- When _bmad/config.toml is absent, falls through to the legacy
flat-YAML parser for _bmad/bmm/config.yaml — the renderer keeps
working across the #2285 transition.
- {{.var}} substitution; unresolved refs emit empty string (Go
missingkey=zero semantics).
- Smart defaults for planning_artifacts / implementation_artifacts /
communication_language applied after config load. Derives
sprint_status / deferred_work_file from implementation_artifacts.
{{.main_config}} points at whichever surface was actually read.
- Renders every .md in the skill dir except SKILL.md to
{project-root}/_bmad/render/bmad-quick-dev/.
- On success, stderr summary plus a single stdout line:
"read and follow {workflow_md}". On failure, stdout HALT directive —
per the Anthropic skills spec, script stdout is the defined agent-
communication channel.
Skill entry (SKILL.md)
- Two-line shim: run python render.py, follow stdout. No template
tokens in SKILL.md itself.
Template conversions
- workflow.md, step-01..05, step-oneshot, sync-sprint-status: convert
every compile-time {var} reference to {{.var}}. Runtime refs
preserved.
- spec-template.md untouched (single-curly comment hint stays as
documentation).
Skill-prose cleanups bundled in
- Remove dead step-file frontmatter: empty-string variable declarations
(spec_file, story_key, diff_output, review_mode) in quick-dev step-01
and code-review step-01; empty --- --- blocks in step-03 and step-05;
the specLoopIteration counter init moved from step-04 frontmatter into
the step body where first-entry vs loopback semantics are explicit.
- Unify the language rule across all six quick-dev step files plus
workflow.md.
Tooling
- tools/validate-skills.js: add TPL-01 rule. Files whose name contains
"template" must not contain compile-time {{.var}} substitutions.
Template files seed durable, version-controlled artifacts that
execute on other machines; baking a value at render time would
freeze a machine-local path into every downstream artifact.
- tools/validate-file-refs.js: add render/ to INSTALL_ONLY_PATHS so
the validator recognizes the runtime-generated buffer.
- tools/skill-validator.md: document TPL-01; deterministic rule count
bumped from 14 to 15.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
* fix(skills): strengthen activation guardrails for all workflow skills
Add explicit "Activation is complete" boundary markers that require
confirming activation_steps_prepend and activation_steps_append were
fully executed before beginning the main workflow.
Previously, the guardrail was either missing (bmad-product-brief,
bmad-prd, bmad-investigate) or too weak ("Begin the workflow below").
LLM agents would short-circuit complex activation sequences (INCLUDE →
READ → RUN → CHECK → FILTER → CD) by guessing variables instead of
executing steps in order, causing append steps and on_complete hooks
to be silently skipped.
The new guardrail explicitly names both prepend and append steps,
requiring confirmation before proceeding. This prevents agents from
starting the main workflow in parallel with activation.
23 skills updated: bmad-product-brief, bmad-prd, bmad-prfaq,
bmad-investigate, bmad-create-story, bmad-dev-story,
bmad-quick-dev, bmad-code-review, bmad-correct-course,
bmad-sprint-planning, bmad-sprint-status, bmad-retrospective,
bmad-qa-generate-e2e-tests, bmad-checkpoint-preview,
bmad-check-implementation-readiness, bmad-create-architecture,
bmad-create-epics-and-stories, bmad-generate-project-context,
bmad-create-ux-design, bmad-document-project, bmad-market-research,
bmad-technical-research, bmad-domain-research.
* fix(skills): extend activation gate to agent + new skills, refine placement
- bmad-product-brief / bmad-prd: pull activation_steps_append out of
the numbered list so the sentinel reads as a paragraph break, not
as the next list item.
- bmad-investigate: move the sentinel above Step 7 (routing) — Step 7
is workflow routing, not activation; the gate must fire first.
- bmad-agent-{analyst,tech-writer,pm,ux-designer,architect,dev}: add
the same gate between Step 7 (append) and Step 8 (menu dispatch).
Persona skills had the same short-circuit risk but no sentinel.
- bmad-ux, bmad-spec: new skills introduced on main after this branch
forked; apply the same gate so the pattern stays consistent.
- removals.txt: register bmad-create-ux-design as renamed to bmad-ux.
---------
Co-authored-by: Brian Madison <bmadcode@gmail.com>
* feat: extend customize.toml to all 6 developer-execution workflows (#2303)
Add uniform customization support to dev-story, code-review,
sprint-planning, sprint-status, quick-dev, and checkpoint-preview,
matching the same 4 extension points (activation_steps_prepend,
activation_steps_append, persistent_facts, on_complete) already
available on 17 BMM workflows from PR #2287.
- Create customize.toml for each workflow
- Add 6-step activation block to SKILL.md (merge workflow.md
content in, delete workflow.md per PR #2287 pattern)
- Wire on_complete at terminal steps (inline <action> for XML
workflows, ## On Complete section for step-file workflows)
- Fix pre-existing step number reference in dev-story (Step 6 → 9)
* fix: correct goto step="6" → step="9" in dev-story
The XML goto at line 203 still pointed to step 6 ("Author
comprehensive tests") instead of step 9 ("Story completion and mark
for review"), which is the actual completion gate. This was the
same class of pre-existing bug fixed in the text (M-1) but
missed in the XML action.
---------
Co-authored-by: Brian <bmadcode@gmail.com>
* refactor: consolidate agents into phase-based skill directories
Remove separate agent/workflow/skill directories (src/bmm/agents,
src/bmm/workflows, src/core/skills, src/utility/agent-components) and
reorganize all content into phase-based structures under src/bmm-skills
(1-analysis, 2-plan-workflows, 3-solutioning, 4-implementation) and
src/core-skills. Eliminates the agent/skill distinction by treating
agents as skills within their workflow phase.
* fix: update broken file references to use new bmm-skills paths
* docs: update all references for unified bmad-quick-dev workflow
Remove all references to the old separate bmad-quick-spec and
bmad-quick-dev-new-preview workflows. The new bmad-quick-dev is a
unified workflow that handles intent clarification, planning,
implementation, review, and presentation in a single run.
Updated files across English docs, Chinese translations, source
skill manifests, website diagram, and build tooling.
Alex Verkhovsky
Jérôme Revillard
Brian