* refactor: remove bmad-skill-manifest yaml; introduce four-layer central config.toml
- Agent essence moves from per-skill bmad-skill-manifest.yaml files
into each module.yaml's `agents:` block (code, name, title, icon,
description). Per-agent customize.toml remains the deep-behavior
source of truth.
- Installer emits four TOML files:
_bmad/config.toml team install answers + agent roster
_bmad/config.user.toml user install answers
_bmad/custom/config.toml team overrides stub
_bmad/custom/config.user.toml personal overrides stub
Prompts declare scope: user to route answers to config.user.toml.
- resolve_config.py merges four layers: base-team -> base-user ->
custom-team -> custom-user.
- Three consumer skills (party-mode, advanced-elicitation,
retrospective) switched from agent-manifest.csv to the resolver.
- installer.js mergeModuleHelpCatalogs now takes the in-memory
agent list from ManifestGenerator -- no CSV roundtrip.
- Deleted: 6 bmad-skill-manifest.yaml files, agent-manifest.csv
emission, collectAgents/getAgentsFromDirRecursive,
paths.agentManifest().
* fix(installer): strip core-key pollution from [modules.*]; soften config headers
- writeCentralConfig now always strips core-module keys from every
[modules.<code>] bucket, even when the module's schema is not
available in src/ (external / marketplace modules like cis, bmb).
Core values belong in [core] only; workflows read them directly.
- When the module's own schema IS available (built-in modules),
also drop any key it does not declare as a prompt — same
spread-pollution filter as before, now layered on top.
- Section-aware headers on both _bmad/config.toml and
_bmad/config.user.toml: [core] / [modules.*] values are
editable (installer reads them as defaults on next install);
[agents.*] is regenerated from module.yaml and will be wiped —
overrides for agents go in _bmad/custom/config*.toml instead.
* docs: cover central config.toml + Diataxis prose pass across three files
Document the new four-file central configuration surface (_bmad/config.toml,
config.user.toml, and custom/ overrides) alongside the existing per-skill
customize.toml. Make editing rules, scope partitioning, and when-to-use-which
guidance explicit.
- customize-bmad.md: new "Central Configuration" section with editing rules,
three worked examples (rebrand, fictional agent, module settings override),
and a "when to use which surface" table. Converted five h4 headers to
bold paragraph intros per style guide.
- expand-bmad-for-your-org.md: two-layer mental model extended to three;
new Recipe 5 with three variants (rebrand, custom crew, pinned team
settings); reinforcement table extended.
- named-agents.md: noted the dual customization surface — per-skill shapes
behavior, central config shapes roster identity.
Diataxis prose pass applied across all three files: banned vocabulary
check, em-dash cap, hypophora / metanoia / amplificatio / stakes-inflation
cleanup, rhythm and burstiness fixes. Structural conformance verified;
markdownlint and prettier clean.
* test+docs: add central config unit tests; fix stale recipe count
- test: two new suites (35 + 36) covering writeCentralConfig and
ensureCustomConfigStubs. Verifies scope partitioning (user_name
lands only in config.user.toml), core-key pollution stripping
from [modules.*], unknown-schema fallthrough (external modules
survive without schema), agent roster baked into config.toml
[agents.*] only, stub-preservation on re-install. 44 new
assertions.
- docs: fixed four stale "four recipes" references to say "five"
after Recipe 5 (Customize the Agent Roster) was added. Touches
frontmatter, opening paragraph, Combining Recipes paragraph,
and the named-agents cross-link blurb.
* fix: address PR review feedback on central config
- resolve_config.py argparse: three-layer → four-layer description
- SKILL/workflow/explanation docs: document all four layers including
_bmad/config.user.toml (was missing from merge-stack descriptions)
- customize-bmad.md + installer headers: drop the false "direct edits to
config.toml persist" claim; installer reads from per-module config.yaml,
not central TOML, so direct edits get clobbered. Route users to
_bmad/custom/config.toml for durable overrides
- writeCentralConfig: warn loudly when a module.yaml can't be parsed
(previously silent — user-scoped keys could mis-file into team config)
- writeCentralConfig: preserve [agents.*] blocks for modules that didn't
contribute fresh agents this run (e.g. quickUpdate skipping modules
whose source is unavailable) so the roster doesn't silently shrink
- add extractAgentBlocks helper + Test Suite 37 covering preservation
Addresses comments from augmentcode and coderabbitai on PR #2285.
* feat(skills): TOML-based agent customization with stdlib Python resolver
Re-applies PR #2282's three-layer customization model (skill defaults →
team → user) but swaps YAML for TOML and uv for stdlib tomllib. Users
no longer need uv, pip, or a virtualenv — plain python3 (3.11+) is
sufficient, since tomllib shipped in the standard library.
## Schema changes vs PR #2282
- Flat agent schema: fields live directly under [agent], no nested
metadata/persona sub-tables. Easier to author, less indentation.
- Non-configurable identity: name and title are declared in
customize.toml as source-of-truth metadata (for future skill-manifest
generation) but SKILL.md ignores overrides there — identity is
hardcoded to preserve brand recognition.
- role redefined: now describes what the skill does for the user
within its module phase, not a restatement of the title.
- persistent_facts replaces the activation-time file-context load AND
the old memories concept. Entries can be literal sentences or
file: prefixed paths/globs; avoids collision with the upcoming
runtime memory sidecar.
- activation_steps_prepend / activation_steps_append harmonized across
agents and workflows (replaces agent-specific critical_actions).
- [workflow] namespace mirrors [agent] for workflow customization.
Same four structural rules, same field vocabulary.
## Resolver (src/scripts/resolve_customization.py)
Four purely structural merge rules, zero field-name hardcoding:
- Scalars: override wins
- Tables: deep merge
- Arrays of tables where every item has `code` or `id`: merge by
that key (matching keys replace, new keys append)
- Any other array: append
No removal mechanism — overrides cannot delete base items. Fork the
skill or override by code with a no-op value to suppress defaults.
## Agents ported (6)
All six BMad agents now ship customize.toml + rewritten SKILL.md:
analyst (Mary), tech-writer (Paige), pm (John), ux-designer (Sally),
architect (Winston), dev (Amelia). Each uses the same 8-step
activation template: resolve → execute prepend → adopt persona →
load persistent facts → load config → greet (with {agent.icon}) →
execute append → dispatch or present menu.
Step 8 supports fast-path invocation: "hey Mary, let's brainstorm"
dispatches the matching menu item directly after greeting, skipping
the menu render when intent is clear. Chat, clarifying questions,
and bmad-help remain available when nothing on the menu fits.
## Installer + tooling
- _bmad/scripts/ provisioned on install (copies src/scripts/)
- _bmad/custom/ seeded with .gitignore for *.user.toml on fresh install
- Non-module-dir filter extended to skip _memory, memory, docs,
scripts, and custom when scanning for modules
- Dead _config/agents/ directory no longer created
- metadata.capabilities removed from agent-manifest.csv and schema
- eslint config extended to cover src/scripts/**
- validate-file-refs.js knows about custom/ as install-only
## Deferred for follow-up
- bmad-product-brief workflow port (the pilot that demonstrates
[workflow] + on_complete)
- Translated docs (cs/fr/vi-vn/zh-cn) — regenerate from English
* feat(skills): port bmad-product-brief to TOML workflow customization
Completes the customization surface rollout by giving the product-brief
workflow the same override model as the six BMad agents, under the
[workflow] namespace instead of [agent].
## customize.toml
Mirrors the agent shape under [workflow] with:
- activation_steps_prepend / activation_steps_append (harmonized across
agents and workflows — same field names, same append semantics)
- persistent_facts with the file: convention, seeded with
file:{project-root}/**/project-context.md
- on_complete scalar (renamed from PR #2282's skill_end for clarity —
reads cleaner as "what runs when the workflow completes")
## SKILL.md
7-step workflow activation:
1. Resolve workflow block
2. Execute prepend steps
3. Load persistent facts (file: or literal)
4. Load config
5. Greet if not already
6. Execute append steps
7. Stage 1 — Understand Intent
python3 + stdlib tomllib invocation; no uv required.
## Prompt file changes
- Path normalization: ../agents/ → agents/, ../resources/ → resources/,
bare foo.md → prompts/foo.md. All references now resolve from the
skill root (matches the convention documented in SKILL.md).
- Paths: meta-line added to each of the 4 prompt files that reference
other files, reinforcing "bare paths resolve from skill root" so the
LLM doesn't lose the convention when operating two hops into a
prompt chain.
- finalize.md terminal stage now calls the resolver for
workflow.on_complete — non-empty values run as the final step.
## Validation
- Resolver output verified: 4 workflow fields returned cleanly.
- validate-file-refs.js: 254 files scanned, 139 refs checked, 0 broken.
- test:refs: passing.
* docs(skills): enterprise customization recipes + workflow template variable
Three independent improvements bundled because they share the same
surface (workflow/agent customization) and landed from the same design
discussion:
## Fallback sentence disambiguated (7 SKILL.md files)
The "if the script fails" fallback used to say `{project-root}/_bmad/
custom/{skill-name}.toml` for the team override and then just `{skill-
name}.user.toml` for the user override, leaving the user file's
location implicit. LLMs could reasonably guess skill root or project
root instead. Replaced with an unambiguous numbered list that spells
out the full path for every file in the merge chain.
## Product-brief: stage promotion + brief_template variable
- Promoted `## Stage 1: Understand Intent` from a nested step inside
"On Activation" to a top-level section. The previous "Step 7: Stage
1 — Understand Intent → Proceed to Stage 1 below" was mechanical
numbering pretending to be a step. Activation now ends cleanly at
Step 6; Stage 1 is a peer section.
- Added `brief_template` as a workflow-level scalar customization
defaulting to `resources/brief-template.md`. Stage 4 reads
`{workflow.brief_template}` instead of the hardcoded path, so orgs
can point at their own template under `{project-root}/...` without
forking the skill.
## New doc: docs/how-to/extend-bmad-for-your-org.md
Four worked recipes that together cover most enterprise scenarios:
1. Shape an agent across every workflow it dispatches (dev agent +
Context7 MCP + Linear search — the highest-leverage pattern)
2. Enforce org conventions inside a specific workflow (product-brief
+ compliance-field persistent_facts)
3. Publish completed outputs to external systems (product-brief +
Confluence + Jira via MCP, gated on user confirmation for Jira)
4. Swap in your own output template (product-brief + brief_template
variable swap)
Opens with the two-layer mental model (agent spans workflows,
workflow is local) so readers pick the right granularity before
reading any recipe. Closes with a "Combining Recipes" section
showing all four composed. Cross-linked from customize-bmad.md.
## Validation
- Resolver: workflow.brief_template returns the default cleanly.
- validate-file-refs.js: 254 files scanned, 146 refs checked
(+7 from this commit), 0 broken.
* docs(skills): encourage CLAUDE.md/AGENTS.md reinforcement of critical rules
Added a "Reinforce Global Rules in Your IDE's Session File" section to
extend-bmad-for-your-org.md. BMad customizations only load when a
skill activates, but IDE session files (CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md, cursor
rules, copilot-instructions) load every turn — worth restating the
most critical rules there too so they survive ad-hoc chat outside a
BMad skill.
Includes a one-line example reinforcing the Recipe 1 Context7 rule,
plus a scope table that clarifies what each layer is for:
- IDE session file: universal, every session, keep succinct
- Agent customization: persona-specific, every dispatched workflow
- Workflow customization: one workflow run
Emphasizes brevity — noise in the session file crowds out signal.
* docs(skills): add Named Agents explanation doc
New docs/explanation/named-agents.md walking through the three-legged
stool (skills + named agents + customization) with the "Hey Mary,
let's brainstorm" activation flow as the narrative thread.
Covers:
- Why named agents vs menu-driven or prompt-driven alternatives
- The 8-step activation flow and what each step contributes
- How customization scales the model beyond a single developer
- Cross-links to the how-to docs for implementation details
Sits alongside brainstorming.md, quick-dev.md, party-mode.md in the
explanation folder — feature narratives for users who want to
understand why BMad is designed the way it is, not just how to use it.
* docs(skills): clarify that keyed-merge requires a single identifier key per array
Review feedback (PR #2284) flagged that the merge-rules wording was
ambiguous: "every item has a `code` or `id` field" could reasonably
be read as "each item individually has at least one of the two",
allowing arrays to mix `code` and `id` across items.
The resolver has always required all items share the *same* identifier
key (all `code`, or all `id`). Mixed arrays fall through to append —
intentional, because mixing identifier keys within one array is a
schema smell and any guess about which key should merge creates a
worse trap than the append-fallback.
Clarified in three places:
- Merge-rules table in customize-bmad.md: "every item shares the
**same** identifier field"
- `code`/`id` convention paragraph: "pick **one** convention ... and
stick with it across the whole array"
- Resolver docstring and `_detect_keyed_merge_field` docstring:
explicit note that mixed arrays fall through with rationale
No behavior change.
* docs(skills): address CodeRabbit review — fallback rules, OS claim, headless greeting
Three fixes from PR #2284 review feedback:
## 1. Fallback merge wording (7 SKILL.md files)
Every SKILL.md told the LLM to merge the three customization files
"in priority order (later wins)" when the resolver fails. That reads
as shallow last-write-wins — but the resolver does structural merge
(scalars override, tables deep-merge, code/id-keyed arrays merge by
key, other arrays append). Following the old wording manually would
have silently stripped base `principles`, `persistent_facts`, and
`menu` items whenever a team override was present.
Expanded the fallback sentence to restate the four structural rules
explicitly, matching the resolver's behavior.
Applied to all 6 agents + bmad-product-brief workflow.
## 2. Python 3.11 / OS shipping claim (customize-bmad.md)
The docs claimed "macOS 13+, Ubuntu 22.04+, Debian 12+, Fedora 37+
all ship 3.11 or newer." Inaccurate — Ubuntu 22.04 defaults `python3`
to 3.10.6 (3.11 is a separate package), and macOS doesn't really
ship Python by default anymore.
Replaced with honest guidance: check `python3 --version` and note
that macOS without Homebrew and Ubuntu 22.04 default to 3.10 or
earlier.
## 3. Autonomous mode greeting gate (bmad-product-brief)
Product-brief's activation-mode detection documents autonomous mode
as "produce complete brief without interaction" — but Step 5 greeted
unconditionally, adding conversational output before the headless
artifact. Gated the greeting on `{mode}` != `autonomous`.
## Dismissed (replied on thread)
- `.gitignore` migration from *.user.yaml to *.user.toml: YAML
installer code was in reverted #2282, never released. No users
affected. Same rationale as Augment's earlier thread.
Validated: 254 files, 146 refs, 0 broken. test:refs 7/7,
test:install 242/242.
* docs: rename Extend to Expand throughout customization docs
Three-layer customization (skill defaults → team → user) for BMad agents
and any skill that opts in. Users edit `_bmad/custom/{skill-name}.yaml`
(team, committed) or `{skill-name}.user.yaml` (personal, gitignored);
customizations survive updates.
Resolver is a Python script using PEP 723 inline metadata, invoked via
`uv run` so deps auto-install into a cached isolated env on first call.
This aligns with Anthropic's Agent Skills spec and BMB conventions, and
keeps the dependency declared (scannable by pip-audit/Dependabot) rather
than vendored.
## Design choices
- **Agent identity is hardcoded** in SKILL.md (name, title, Overview prose)
so skills can be invoked reliably by role *or* default name. Brand
recognition is preserved; customization shapes behavior, not identity.
- **Luminary-anchored personas** (e.g. "Channels Martin Fowler's
pragmatism and Werner Vogels's cloud-scale realism") deliver ~55%
token savings per agent while preserving distinctive voice beats.
- **Universal per-field merge rules** with v6.1-compatible agent
semantics: metadata shallow-merge, persona replace, critical_actions
and memories append, menu merge-by-code, all else deep-merge.
- **Workflow customization** shares the same surface — `bmad-product-brief`
pilots `activation_steps_prepend`, `activation_steps_append`, and
`skill_end` hooks that any workflow-style skill can adopt.
## Infrastructure
- `_bmad/scripts/` houses shared Python scripts (resolver + future).
- `_bmad/custom/` is provisioned empty with a seeded `.gitignore` for
`*.user.yaml` on fresh installs.
- Installer filters ensure `scripts/`, `custom/`, and sidecar-generated
`memory/` directories are never treated as modules.
- Dead v6.1 code cleaned up: `_config/agents/` no longer created,
`metadata.capabilities` removed from schema and CSV manifest.
* refactor: remove bmad-init skill and standardize config loading across all skills
Remove the bmad-init core skill entirely — all agents and workflow skills now
load config directly from their module's config.yaml instead of delegating to
bmad-init as an intermediary. This eliminates the Python script dependency and
simplifies the activation path for every skill.
Changes across all skill types:
- Agents (9 skills): Replace "Load config via bmad-init skill" block with
direct config loading from `{project-root}/_bmad/bmm/config.yaml`, resolving
user_name, communication_language, document_output_language,
planning_artifacts, and project_knowledge
- Workflow skills (12 skills): Standardize INITIALIZATION/Configuration Loading
sections to a consistent Activation format matching the agent pattern
- bmad-prfaq: Align activation to standard config pattern, convert scripted
dialogue to outcome-focused instructions (no direct quotes)
- bmad-product-brief: Remove External Skills section referencing bmad-init
- bmad-party-mode: Standardize initialization to Activation format
- bmad-advanced-elicitation: Inline agent_party path instead of config var
- bmad-distillator: Remove unused argument-hint frontmatter
- Delete legacy create-prd/ directory (superseded by bmad-create-prd)
- Delete bmad-init skill entirely: SKILL.md, bmad_init.py, core-module.yaml,
and test suite
* fix: remove remaining bmad-init references from marketplace.json and distillate examples
Clean up missed references: remove bmad-init from marketplace.json skills
list, replace bmad-init examples in distillate-format-reference.md with
bmad-help/bmad-setup to keep examples valid without referencing a removed skill.
* fix: update broken file references in bmad-edit-prd after create-prd deletion
Point prdPurpose refs from deleted create-prd/data/ to bmad-create-prd/data/
and validationWorkflow ref from create-prd/steps-v/ to bmad-validate-prd/steps-v/.
* feat: add bmad-prfaq skill as alternative to product brief
Add Working Backwards PRFAQ challenge skill for stress-testing product
concepts through Amazon's PRFAQ methodology. Includes press release
drafting, customer FAQ, internal FAQ, and verdict stages with subagent
support for artifact scanning and web research.
- New bmad-prfaq skill with 5-stage interactive gauntlet and headless mode
- Subagents for artifact analysis and web research (graceful degradation)
- Research-grounded output directive for current market/competitive data
- Always produces distillate for downstream PRD consumption
- Fix manifest array syntax in both prfaq and product-brief manifests
- Drop number prefixes from reference files
- Update docs: getting-started, workflow-map, agents, skills reference
- Add analysis-phase explainer doc with comparison table and decision guide
- Update workflow-map-diagram.html with prfaq card
- Add -H and -A args to CSV for both skills
- Add unist-util-visit as devDependency (was imported but undeclared)
* fix: harden bmad-prfaq for compaction resilience and context efficiency
Add coaching persona re-anchors to all stage prompts so the behavioral
directive survives context compaction. Add do-not-read guards at resume
detection, headless mode, and input gathering to prevent parent agent
context bloat. Add Stage 1 coaching notes capture. Adapt template and
press release stage for non-commercial concept types. Cap subagent
response token budgets.
* fix: add config.user.yaml to file-ref validator allowlist
Also update PRFAQ config path to use correct _config/bmm/ prefix.
Two bugs combined to produce an empty agent-manifest.csv:
1. collectAgents() only scanned {module}/agents/ directories, but agents
live at various paths (bmm/1-analysis/bmad-agent-analyst/,
cis/skills/bmad-cis-agent-*, etc.). Now walks the full module tree.
2. All 9 BMM agent manifests declared type: skill instead of type: agent.
The manifest generator requires type: agent to include a directory in
agent-manifest.csv. CIS, GDS, TEA, and WDS already had the correct type.
Changes:
- Fix 9 BMM bmad-skill-manifest.yaml files: type: skill → type: agent
- Replace collectAgents/getAgentsFromDir with full-tree recursive scan
- Module field from manifest file always takes precedence over directory
- Remove dead skillManifest load (legacy .md agent support removed)
- Add TODO in bmad-artifacts.js documenting legacy agent pipeline as dead code
- Add 10 regression tests covering BMM, CIS, and GDS directory layouts
* 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.
Brian