The bmad-module skill copied a module's files and distributed skills to IDEs,
but skipped four post-copy steps the full `bmad install --custom-source` path
performs, leaving modules incompletely installed:
- Merge each module's module-help.csv into _bmad/_config/bmad-help.csv (the
catalog bmad-help reads) — new lib/help-catalog.mjs
- Generate [modules.<code>] / [agents.<code>] blocks in config.toml /
config.user.toml from module.yaml (defaults + --set overrides), via a
targeted merge that preserves [core] and sibling modules — new lib/config-gen.mjs
- Create the working directories a module declares under `directories:`
(with move-on-path-change and wds_folders) — new lib/module-dirs.mjs
- Run `npm install --omit=dev` in place when a module ships package.json
(opt out via bmad.install.skipNpm) — new lib/npm-deps.mjs
All four run as a shared finishModuleInstall step wired into install, update,
and remove; every step is non-fatal so a module already committed to _bmad/
isn't lost to a post-copy hiccup. Adds a repeatable --set <code>.<key>=<value>
flag mirroring the installer.
Also fixes two latent issues in the manifest-driven copy that the new steps
depend on:
- moduleDefinition / moduleHelpCsv are now flattened to the module root even
when they live inside a declared skill dir (the setup-skill assets pattern);
previously claimedSrc dedup skipped them and the rewritten plugin.json
pointed at a non-existent ./module.yaml.
- package.json / package-lock.json are now copied so npm deps can install.
Tests: extends the integration suite with config/agent-roster, --set,
directory-creation, help-catalog, removal-cleanup, and npm assertions
(73/73 pass); adds a minimal-npm fixture and rewrites the comprehensive
fixture's module-help.csv to the canonical schema.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
The bmad-module skill staged community modules under _bmad/<code>/ but never
pushed their skills out to the coding assistants the user selected at
`bmad install` time, so a freshly installed module was invisible to Claude
Code / Cursor / Copilot / etc. until a full reinstall; remove left skills
orphaned in the IDE dirs.
install/update/remove now distribute (or prune) skills to every IDE listed in
_bmad/_config/manifest.yaml and clean the redundant skill dirs from _bmad/,
matching how official modules end up.
Single engine, three callers — no fork:
- New tools/installer/core/ide-sync.js (syncIdes) wraps the real
IdeManager.setupBatch + platform-codes engine. The full installer
(_setupIdes/_cleanupSkillDirs), the new `bmad ide-sync` command, and the
skill all route through it, so new IDEs and engine changes propagate
everywhere automatically.
Local, dependency-free delivery — no npx/network at runtime:
- build-ide-sync.mjs esbuild-bundles the engine into vendor/ide-sync.mjs
(+ platform-codes.yaml), aliasing ../prompts and ../project-root to small
shims so @clack and the installer graph are dropped. The bundle ships inside
the skill tree (like yaml.mjs); the skill execs it locally. It's
generated-from-source and gated by vendor:check, refreshed on every install.
update/remove pass --prune with the module's canonicalIds so skills dropped
between versions (or on uninstall) are removed from IDE dirs + command
pointers. Graceful degradation: if the bundle is unreachable, the verb still
succeeds and points the user at `bmad ide-sync`.
Tests: new test/test-ide-sync.js drift-guard (engine == bundle, incl. prune),
integration.test.sh IDE-distribution section (offline), bundle self-check in
the build. All gates green (vendor:check, lint, format, test:install 349/349).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Formatting-only; no content changes. Brings both docs in line with the
repo's prettier config (a leftover from the .js→.mjs migration).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
The suite resolved its reference modules from `<repo>/examples`, which
existed only in the sibling bmad-marketplace checkout — so after the
skill moved into BMAD-METHOD core every install/list/remove assertion
failed with "local source not a directory".
Vendor the two reference modules (acme-md-lint, acme-devlog) under
tests/fixtures/examples/ and point EXAMPLES there; drop the now-unused
REPO_DIR. Also correct the comprehensive-install assertion: hooks are
flattened to the canonical root slot (hooks.json), matching .mcp.json
and rewriteManifestPaths — not a hooks/ subdir.
Suite now passes 41/41.
Note: these fixtures are copies of the bmad-marketplace examples and
must be re-synced if those reference modules change.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
The copy planner treated every skills/agents/commands entry as a
directory and ran it through addDirRecursive, which lists files *under*
the path. For a subagent declared as a file (e.g.
`"agents": ["./agents/foo.md"]` — a standard Claude-Code shape) that
listed nothing, so the agent was silently dropped from the install even
though rewriteManifestPaths already remapped it to `./agents/foo.md`.
Stat each entry and branch: directories recurse as before, files are
queued directly (honoring the ignore matcher). Verified by the
comprehensive fixture's changelog-archivist.md agent.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
The bmad-module skill installed but was absent from the core help
registry, so it never surfaced in the bmad-help menu (every other core
skill has a row). Add it as menu-code MM ("Manage Modules").
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Replace the flat copy-list staging with a manifest-driven copy plan:
- buildCopyPlan maps declared skills/agents/commands and string-typed
Claude-Code surfaces into canonical install slots, copies conventional
top-level metadata, and drops anything not covered (no more leaking of
tools/, website/, .github/, etc.).
- rewriteManifestPaths emits a plugin.json whose paths point at the
canonical post-install locations, keeping the on-disk manifest
self-consistent inside _bmad/<code>/.
- stageCopyPlan stages the plan plus synthesized files (rewritten
plugin.json) into the tmp dir for the atomic swap.
install.mjs and update.mjs switch to the new plan/skillDestDirs flow and
drop the now-unused copy-list helpers.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (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(bmad-spec): add Spec kernel distiller skill
New 2-plan-workflows skill that distills any intent input (brain dump,
PRD, transcript, brief) into a spec.md carrying the five-field kernel:
Problem, Capabilities, Constraints, Non-goals, Success signal. Headless
callers receive JSON; interactive runs close conversationally with the
spec path and gap-coverage invitations.
Includes:
- SKILL.md with activation contract and conventions
- customize.toml exposing template path, output path, run-folder pattern
- assets/spec-template.md (five-field skeleton)
- assets/headless-schemas.md (JSON IO contracts)
* remove brain-dump fallback config from bmad-spec customize.toml
* refactor(bmad-spec): companions+sources model, routing tilt, flat output path
- Collapse `related:` into `companions:`; companion paths may point inside the spec folder (spec-authored) or outside it (adopted from an upstream skill), distinguished implicitly by path
- `sources:` reserved for fully-absorbed inputs; downstream does NOT read these
- Soften mutation contract: bmad-spec owns SPEC.md and spec-authored companions; adopted companions belong to their originating skill
- Add "when to spawn a companion" tilt: multi-item catalogs, tables, diagrams (always), editorial voice rules; sub-bullets in a kernel field signal it has outgrown the kernel
- Fix Spec Law rule 7 and Pass 2: load-bearing content lands in SPEC.md or a companion, not the decision log (the log records wrapper-drops only)
- Flatten output path to `{planning_artifacts}/specs/spec-{slug}-{date}/`, mirroring `prds/` and `ux-designs/`; drop `spec_folder_name` (no longer used)
- Extract Load-bearing definition into its own section above Spec Law
* chore(core): retire bmad-distillator, promote bmad-spec to core
- Delete bmad-distillator/ and all registry + doc references (superseded by bmad-spec; no skill or workflow in any BMad module invoked it)
- Add bmad-distillator to removals.txt so installer cleans it from existing IDE skill directories on update
- Move bmad-spec from bmm-skills/2-plan-workflows/ to core-skills/ (universal scope: game design, research hypotheses, editorial briefs, policy, business plans, not just software)
- Register bmad-spec in core module-help.csv and bmad-pro-skills marketplace plugin
- Drop bmad-distillator section from core-tools.md (en, vi-vn, cs, fr, zh-cn) and vi-vn dev guide; renumber subsequent sections
* refactor(bmad-spec): add lean-prose discipline + generalize help text
- Add Spec Law rule 8: lean prose. Every sentence carries load-bearing content; cut decoration, hedges, backstory, throat-clearing. Applies to SPEC.md, companions, and decision log.
- Update Self-Validate Pass 1 to enforce rules 1-6 and 8 (rule 7 stays in Pass 2)
- Prime the operation up-front: write lean from the first pass, every sentence must earn its place
- Note in Companions section that companions follow the same lean discipline
- Generalize core module-help.csv entry: domain-agnostic framing (software, game design, research, editorial, policy, business, anything intent-bearing); call out succinct, no-fluff and "locks the WHAT before the HOW" as the value props
* fix(bmad-spec): address PR review findings (CodeRabbit + Augment)
- headless-schemas.md: rewrite spec_path examples to point at the spec folder (not a file), rename source_artifact to sources[] array, add companions[] array, update verdict from "six rules" to "eight rules", disambiguate reason requirement (only when status=blocked)
- SKILL.md activation: fix config path from {project-root}/_bmad/config.yaml to {project-root}/_bmad/core/config.yaml (matches other BMM skills)
- customize.toml + SKILL.md Workspace: drop {date} from default run_folder_pattern (spec-{slug}); same slug = same folder = trivial in-place update, no glob-and-pick-most-recent needed. Override available for users who want dated history.
- spec-template.md: rename "## Success signals" (plural) to "## Success signal" (singular) to match SKILL.md kernel naming
- SKILL.md Frontmatter conventions: fix adopted-companion example path from _bmad-output/ux-designs/foo-ux/DESIGN.md to ../../ux-designs/ux-foo-bar-2026-05-23/DESIGN.md (matches actual flat-output convention)
- SKILL.md Spec Law: fix double-period typo in rule 2 ((stack, conventions)..)
- SKILL.md Overview: fix awkward "bloat with expansive line item details the kernel" phrasing; drop software-flavored downstream consumer list since bmad-spec is now a core skill serving any domain
* fix(bmad-spec): drop {planning_artifacts} dependency; output to {output_folder}/specs
bmad-spec is a core skill but its default path used {planning_artifacts}, a bmm-module variable. Core-only installs (no bmm) would fail at activation when the resolver tried to expand the path.
Land specs directly under {output_folder}/specs/spec-{slug}/ instead. Works in any install regardless of installed modules, and aligns with the long-term BMad direction of grouping artifacts as siblings under {output_folder}/<type>/ rather than nested under planning vs implementation parents.
In bmm installs, adopted-companion paths from spec to UX/PRD pick up one extra .. (e.g., ../planning-artifacts/ux-designs/<run>/DESIGN.md) since the spec folder is now one level up from planning-artifacts. Examples in SKILL.md and headless-schemas.md updated. module-help.csv output-location updated and stale -{date} fragment removed.
* docs(bmad-spec): add reference docs, trim headless schema, tighten defaults
- Add full bmad-spec entry to docs/reference/core-tools.md and table-row
stubs to cs/fr/vi-vn/zh-cn (full translation pending).
- Strip headless-schemas.md to a minimal {status, files} success response
and {status, error_code, reason} blocked response. Drop spec_path,
capabilities, verdict, decision_log_path — all derivable from the files
themselves.
- Narrow customize.toml persistent_facts default from recursive glob to
single {project-root}/project-context.md; document override path.
- Drop unused {doc_workspace} convention line from SKILL.md.
- Clarify Self-Validate verdict handling for interactive vs headless.
- Document missing_slug error code in SKILL.md + headless schema.
The skill is copied into _bmad/core/skills/bmad-module/ by the installer,
which strips node_modules, ships no package.json under the skill, and never
runs npm install there. Bare `import 'yaml'`/`import 'semver'` therefore
crashed at module load (ERR_MODULE_NOT_FOUND, exit 1) before any structured
exit code could fire. Every other installed script is zero-third-party-dep.
- Vendor the real yaml@2.8.4 as a deterministic esbuild single-file bundle
(scripts/lib/vendor/yaml.mjs), imported by relative path. Guarantees
byte-identical manifest.yaml round-trips with BMAD core's writer, which uses
the same library + options (tools/installer/core/manifest.js).
- Drop semver for a node:-only semver-lite.mjs (valid/validRange),
parity-tested against the real semver across 469 cases (400 fuzzed).
- Fix a third bare yaml import that the original report missed (frontmatter.mjs).
- Make bmad-module.mjs a zero-import launcher that maps any load failure to a
new documented EXIT.TOOLING (5) with reinstall guidance instead of leaking a
raw ESM stack trace; the verb dispatcher moves to cli.mjs.
- Enforce vendor freshness so a yaml/esbuild bump can't ship a stale bundle:
build-vendor.mjs --check is wired into npm test (pre-commit), npm run quality,
and the quality.yaml CI validate job. Adds vendor:build / vendor:check scripts.
- Ignore the generated vendor/ dir in eslint + prettier; document the rationale
in SKILL.md, README.md, and vendor/README.md.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
* refactor(bmad-ux): replace bmad-create-ux-design with lean spine-based bmad-ux
* refactor(bmad-ux): adopt DESIGN.md spec, split into two-file spine, align prd/brief
DESIGN.md (visual identity per the Google Labs spec) and EXPERIENCE.md
(behavior, flow, IA) replace the single design.md spine. EXPERIENCE.md
cross-references DESIGN.md tokens via the spec's {path.to.token} syntax.
Example suite restructure
- 3 DESIGN.md examples: editorial (Stitch source / Linen & Logic), calm
native mobile (Quill), shadcn-on-Tailwind web SaaS (Drift)
- 2 paired EXPERIENCE.md examples (Quill, Drift); Linen & Logic unpaired
to model the Stitch handoff scenario
- Replaces the prior 2-example combined spine set
Discovery additions (outcome-driven, one line each)
- Source scan: glob {planning_artifacts}/ for candidates, parent never reads
- Form-factor: resolve before IA closes; journeys often derive it
- Surface closure: every stated need has a surface, every surface a journey
- Named-protagonist journeys (Mary, not "the user")
- Design handoff working mode (extensible producer registry, default: Stitch)
PRD and brief alignment with same insights
- bmad-prd: dropped standalone Primary Persona section from template;
renamed "Personas + Journeys" entry to "Journey-led"; named-protagonist
rule on UJs; form-factor probe; validation checklist updated
- bmad-product-brief: form-factor surfaced in Discovery topics
Quality scan fixes
- Added ## Overview heading; renamed ## Activation to ## On Activation
- Replaced ../ paths in example assets with {planning_artifacts}/
- Sources section compressed (abstract delta-only rule)
- Working mode aligned to "Fast path" / "Coaching path" BMad-wide convention
New
- references/design-md-spec.md: working summary of the spec for the LLM
- customize.toml: design_md_examples, experience_md_examples,
design_handoffs registries
- .prettierignore: ignore .analysis/ quality-scan artifacts repo-wide
* refactor(bmad-ux): activation parity with prd/brief, opt-in reviewer gate, no headline grade
- Restructure On Activation as numbered six-step list mirroring bmad-prd
and bmad-product-brief, restoring the explicit key-resolution list that
earlier crammed-paragraph form had dropped (planning_artifacts and
friends were silently unresolved at Create).
- Make Reviewer Gate opt-in and lens-selectable. At Finalize, ask before
spending tokens on parallel reviewer subagents; at Validate intent,
skip that question but still confirm lens picks. Stops the auto-run
WCAG audit on hobby-stakes work.
- Drop the overall validation grade. Per-category verdicts and severity
counts already say what is true; a single headline grade conflated
design rigor with release readiness and led "POOR" pills landing on
reports whose own bodies described the work as strong. Removed from
references/validate.md (ladder rule + markdown twin), HTML template
(grade pill div + CSS vars + classes).
- Trim creative-tools.md: drop the Custom entries section. Runtime
prompt files should only carry what the LLM needs to act in this
moment; how-to-extend-via-TOML is setup-time human documentation
already covered by customize.toml comments.
* fix(bmad-ux): align validation report template with 8-category rubric
Template placeholders referenced 'Decision-readiness' and 'seven dimensions'
from the prior rubric. Replace with TEMPLATE_CATEGORY_NAME and inline the
eight canonical categories from references/validate.md so the synthesis pass
names them verbatim.
* fix(validate-skills): remove stale WF-01/WF-02 rules
WF-01/WF-02 were originally scoped to workflow.md files (now mostly gone)
but had been generalized to flag name/description in any non-SKILL.md
markdown. That over-captured legitimate spec files — e.g. DESIGN.md
examples in bmad-ux/assets/ that carry name/description per the Google
Labs DESIGN.md spec.
Step files are already covered by STEP-06. Rule count: 14 → 12.
* fix(bmad-ux): address PR review followups
- validation-report-template.html: severity badge class is badge-sev-*,
not sev-* (the comment misled the synthesis pass).
- Sweep dangling bmad-create-ux-design references: module-help.csv,
bmad-agent-ux-designer/customize.toml, bmad-prd/SKILL.md handoff list,
workflow-map.md (en + 4 translations), getting-started.md (en + 4
translations). Workflow-map output column updated to DESIGN.md +
EXPERIENCE.md.
- references/validate.md: Markdown capitalized as a proper noun.
* feat(installer): bundle module registry, retire marketplace, refresh display names
Prepares v6.7.0 for release:
- Moves bundled module list from tools/installer/modules/registry-fallback.yaml
to bmad-modules.yaml at repo root; renames to reflect single-source-of-truth role.
- Retires the remote marketplace registry fetch in ExternalModuleManager; the
installer now reads the bundled YAML only.
- Adds WDS (Whiteport Design Studio) entry alongside BMM, BMB, BMA, CIS, GDS, TEA.
- Refreshes display names and descriptions on every bundled module; TEA
repositioned after BMM in the picker.
- Adds plugin_name override field on registry entries so modules whose
marketplace.json declares a plugin under a different name than the installer
code (e.g. WDS uses bmad-wds) match without falling back to the single-plugin
heuristic.
- Removes the community modules picker from the interactive installer; previously
installed community modules are preserved on update and can still be installed
via --custom-source.
- Renames the custom-source confirm prompt for clarity.
CHANGELOG.md updated with the full v6.7.0 entry.
* feat(installer): fully retire community catalog plumbing
Removes the last marketplace network connections from the installer.
The v6.7.0 first pass retired the official-registry fetch but left
CommunityModuleManager + RegistryClient in place, which still
fetched community-index.yaml and categories.yaml on every install
to support the channel-gate and update flows.
This commit:
- Deletes tools/installer/modules/community-manager.js and
registry-client.js entirely.
- Strips CommunityModuleManager calls from ui.js (channel gate +
update channels), core/manifest.js (getModuleVersionInfo),
core/installer.js (resolution + installed-modules listing), and
modules/official-modules.js (findModuleSource fallback +
pre-install plugin resolution + post-install manifest entry).
- Simplifies installFromResolution: community branch removed; all
non-external installs are now treated as custom-source.
- Removes corresponding test suites (CommunityModuleManager unit
tests and the entire RegistryClient suite).
- Updates CHANGELOG with the migration note.
After this commit, grep confirms zero references to the bmad-plugins-
marketplace registry from the installer. The only remaining 'marketplace'
references are about per-repo .claude-plugin/marketplace.json files,
which the installer reads from cloned custom-source repos.
* feat(bmad-prd): voice rules, probing reference, and operational hardening
- Session Posture section (voice prohibitions, record-as-you-go, anti-caving, register-matching)
- New references/probing.md: seven probing categories, six critical assumptions, PRD/solution-design boundary
- Intent detection signals (create/update/validate) on activation step 6
- Update intent: inline conflict-detection procedure against decision-log.md
- Activation step 1 falls back to customize.toml instead of halting on resolver failure
- Restructure Discovery into five sub-sections (Posture, Brain dump, Four-dimension read, Right-skill check, Working mode)
- Regroup PRD Discipline into three clusters (Artifact shape, Substance, Honesty about scope)
- Define phase-blockers in Finalize step 4
- Em-dash strip in prose; preserve [v2 — out of MVP] callout convention
- Move bmad-party-mode / bmad-advanced-elicitation mention into the greeting step
* feat(bmad-prd): funnel discipline, UJ depth, and UX reframing
Template discipline for downstream AI extraction:
- §3 Glossary: exact-use enforcement (FRs, UJs, SMs use Glossary terms verbatim)
- §4 Features: FRs now use "#### FR-N: Name" heading with Realizes UJ-X cross-reference, testable consequences, and optional per-FR Out of Scope
- §7 Success Metrics: SM-N / SM-CN numbering with Validates FR-X cross-reference
User journeys:
- §2.4 UJ format expanded from one-liner to named-persona mini-flow (persona, 3-5 steps, edge cases, optional capability surfacing); hobby can collapse to one-liners
- Strip "job of UX" / "not this PRD" gatekeeping from template; depth is the team's call
- Strengthen UX-as-input / UX-as-output patterns for bidirectional PRD <-> UX flow
- SKILL.md Discovery Posture: push for two to three named-persona UJs in non-trivial scope
Validation checklist:
- Q-3 Traceability tightened to require Realizes UJ-X on FRs and Validates FR-X on SMs
- Q-7 (new): FR testability — every FR has at least one testable consequence
- S-1 Glossary integrity: now covers FR descriptions, consequences, UJ flows, SM definitions
- S-2: SM added to ID continuity scope
- S-5 (new): UJ persona linkage — every UJ names a persona by exact §2 label
- STK-2 (new): UJ density gate — non-hobby scope needs at least two UJs
* docs(bmad-prd): anonymize validation-findings JSON example
Replace project-specific values (Plantsona prd_name, frozen timestamp, §16 location, premium-conversion finding) with generic placeholder content. Swap the example finding to demonstrate Q-7 FR testability so it doubles as a primer on the new checklist item.
* feat(bmad-prd): reviewer pass redesign and consolidate facilitation
- finalize_reviewers TOML field replaces inline review lenses; entries
follow the skill:/file:/plain-text prefix convention, resolved on-demand
so reviewer data has zero context cost on runs that skip the pass.
- Subagent contract: reviewers write to {doc_workspace}/review-{slug}.md
and return summary-only (verdict, top findings, file path); parent
never holds full review text.
- Section-by-section walk-through UX at Finalize and Validate; user
decides per finding whether to autofix, discuss, defer, or ignore.
- Finalize entry names the sequence in one sentence so users understand
the polish-last order.
- Template philosophy moved from prd-template.md to SKILL.md PRD
Discipline; template is now pure shape menu (preamble and Notes for
facilitator stripped).
- facilitation-guide.md content folded into SKILL.md Discovery posture
(story-shape UJ walk, four MVP types, state-inference-don't-quiz);
guide file deleted.
* feat(bmad-prd): tighten SKILL.md, extract Reviewer Gate and Validate playbook
- SKILL.md: trim activation/posture/discovery bloat; sharpen Right-skill
check; extract Reviewer Gate to its own section (dedup with Finalize
step 3 and Validate intent).
- references/validate.md: rename from validation-render.md and expand to
the full Validate intent playbook (orient, run gate, structural
validator pipeline, render, close).
- references/probing.md: drop stale facilitation-guide.md reference.
- assets/prd-template.md: redesign §2.4 User Journeys with named-scene
default shape, worked example, and scope dial.
* fix(bmad-prd): make Brain dump a hard first-move rule
Discovery was being skipped: the LLM treated the user's opening
message as the full picture and jumped to multiple-choice intake.
Strengthen the ordering so Brain dump always comes first for Create
and Update, before any questions or working-mode choices.
- Add explicit Discovery ordering at the section top.
- Rewrite Brain dump as a non-negotiable first move with an anti-
pattern callout naming the exact failure mode.
- Add timing prefix to Working mode reinforcing the order.
* refactor(bmad-prd): aggressive trim and quality fixes from analysis
SKILL.md cut 49% (143 -> 84 lines); references/validate.md 35%;
references/headless.md 22%. Package-wide ~21% reduction.
Customization sweep:
- {finalize_reviewers} -> {workflow.finalize_reviewers} (was a silent
override no-op)
- Add canonical ## Conventions block
- Rename decision-log.md -> .decision-log.md across SKILL, refs, schemas
- customize.toml: validation_checklist -> validation_checklist_template,
output_dir -> prd_output_path, output_folder_name -> run_folder_pattern;
lifecycle comments on external_sources / external_handoffs
New behavior:
- Activation step 4: explicit by-name greeting using {user_name},
{communication_language} persisted for every turn (not just greeting)
- Right-skill scan on first message before brain dump
- Neutral defaults when config.yaml is missing; never block on it
- Headless: Detection section + per-intent Inputs section + 'partial'
status semantics + Update conflict-override rationale
- Brownfield Update bootstraps .decision-log.md via subagent when absent
- Reviewer Gate findings-overwhelm fix: tiered surfacing
(verdict -> critical/high -> medium/low rolled into tail)
- Discovery edge cases: conditional MVP question, persona/UJ push
contextually triggered, working modes renamed as outcomes
(Fast path / Coaching path)
- Subagent discipline: Finalize step 2 return-format contract,
step 5 structure->prose ordering, explicit no-subagent fallback
Tests:
- scripts/tests/test_render_validation_html.py (17 passing, covers
grade thresholds, category mapping, stats, score-bar rendering)
* refactor(bmad-prd): replace mechanical checklist+renderer with quality rubric and LLM-synthesized report
The structural checklist + Python renderer produced mechanical pass/warn/fail
reports that didn't speak to actual PRD quality, and additional reviewers
(adversarial) wrote separate review-*.md files that never made it into the
HTML. Replaces that pipeline with:
- A judgment rubric across seven PRD-quality dimensions (decision-readiness,
substance over theater, strategic coherence, done-ness clarity, scope
honesty, downstream usability, shape fit) that adapts to stakes and PRD
shape. Rubric walker writes review-rubric.md with per-dimension verdicts.
- HTML skeleton with TEMPLATE_* placeholders the synthesis pass fills
directly — no substitution engine, no Python.
- Synthesis pipeline in references/validate.md: parent reads every
review-*.md, fills the skeleton, writes validation-report.html plus
markdown twin, opens via webbrowser. Folds every reviewer's findings
into one report; grade derives from rubric verdicts and severity counts.
- Drops scripts/render-validation-html.py and scripts/tests/ entirely.
- finalize_reviewers defaults to empty (adversarial removed from defaults —
too brutal and frequently wrong against PRDs; teams can append in
override TOML).
- Headless mode now writes both HTML and markdown; skips browser-open.
* refactor(bmad-prd): faster working-mode entry, elicitation discipline, drop probing.md
Discovery rewrite: Brain dump -> Stakes calibration -> Working mode -> mode-scoped
work. Users in a hurry reach the Fast/Coaching choice in two or three turns instead
of ten. Brain dump explicitly invites existing inputs (briefs, research,
transcripts, prior PRD draft, design docs) alongside verbal context.
Elicitation discipline made explicit: Discovery pulls the user's vision out, never
inserts the LLM's. UJs and phasing must be user-articulated, not strawman-proposed
for rubber-stamp.
Coaching path now offers entry-point choice: Vision+Features (capability-first),
Personas+Journeys (user-first), or let-me-suggest. Capability-thinkers walk
features directly.
Template framing in PRD Discipline: Essential Spine is the expected default,
Adapt-In Menu is conditional, and the LLM is authorized to invent sections when
concerns don't match any cluster. Concern scan beat in Discovery surfaces real
domain concerns without forcing a fixed shape.
Web grounding: light targeted use at load-bearing moments authorized; deep
research is suggested to the user via dedicated research skills, accepting
gracefully if declined.
references/probing.md deleted; its load-bearing content was either LLM-default
PM instincts or already covered by SKILL.md.
Misroute list now includes bmad-workflow-builder for agent/custom-agent signals.
* fix(bmad-prd): align opener with Fast path naming, normalize misroute list
* refactor(bmad-prd, bmad-product-brief): bring skills to parity, default-on web research
Cross-skill consistency fixes:
- Brief renames {workflow.output_dir} -> {workflow.brief_output_path} and
{workflow.output_folder_name} -> {workflow.run_folder_pattern} to match PRD's
naming pattern.
- Decision-log filename unified on .decision-log.md (dotfile convention) across
both skills.
- Brief picks up PRD's fallback on customization-resolve failure (read TOML
directly instead of halt).
- Brief picks up PRD's persistent_facts default that auto-loads
project-context.md.
- Brief greeting now enforces {communication_language} for the entire run, not
just the greeting.
PRD additions, propagated from brief:
- File-roles paragraph in Conventions (boundary rules for .decision-log.md vs
addendum.md; capture during conversation, not at finalize; audit/override
never goes in addendum).
- Greeting now tells the user they can invoke bmad-party-mode or
bmad-advanced-elicitation at any point.
- Create intent now writes prd.md with status: draft and creates the
.decision-log.md skeleton at workspace init.
- Resume-check on activation: scans prd_output_path for prior in-progress runs
(status not final) and offers to resume.
- Finalize Close sets status: final + updated date so resume-check can
distinguish finalized from in-progress.
- Stakes-calibrated length guidance in PRD Discipline.
Web research, default-on for any scope:
- Reframed external_sources lines in both skills to distinguish org-configured
registry (internal tools) from generic web research; both fire on the same
triggers.
- New Research subagents (default) beat in PRD Discovery: spawn web-research
subagents to ground the picture; AI especially where training data ages by
the week. Subagent searches; parent receives a digest. Deep work routes to
bmad-market-research / bmad-domain-research / bmad-technical-research.
- Brief Discovery picks up the same posture in lighter form.
* fix(bmad-prd, bmad-product-brief): drop phantom v2 callout, add Fast/Coaching to brief
- Drop `[v2 — out of MVP]` from PRD validation rubric Dimension 5. It was
flagged for absence but never instructed for use anywhere — the template uses
`[NOTE FOR PM]` for v2/v3 deferrals, which is the de-facto convention.
- Add Fast path / Coaching path working-mode choice to brief Discovery so the
"I'm pitching tomorrow" user has an express option. Note that the opener's
pressure-calibration philosophy primarily shapes Coaching path; Fast path
swaps pushback for [ASSUMPTION] tags the user can correct in review.
* refactor(bmad-prd): tighten Research subagents beat
* feat(bmm): add bmad-prd skill and extend product-brief with external integrations
Consolidates the legacy create-prd/edit-prd/validate-prd trio into a single
lean facilitator with create/update/validate intent modes, following the
bmad-product-brief pattern. Both skills gain external_sources and
external_handoffs customize.toml fields for routing through corporate MCP
tools (Confluence, Jira, etc.) with graceful degradation, plus a File roles
constraint clarifying decision-log (audit trail) vs addendum (preserved
depth for downstream docs).
* refactor(bmad-prd): tighten SKILL.md and operationalize source-extractor pattern
- Compress Overview to remove coaching prose duplicated in Discovery
- Operationalize "Extract, don't ingest" with explicit subagent return contract; reference from Update, Validate, and Finalize input reconciliation instead of inline "read N documents"
- Fix Overview H1 -> H2 (was breaking pre-pass tooling)
- Move full headless JSON schemas to assets/headless-schemas.md; keep minimal example inline
- Compress File roles bullet; tighten Finalize step 1
SKILL.md: 124 -> 105 lines, ~4729 -> ~4467 tokens
* feat(bmad-prd): open-items gate, drop distillate, persona discipline, decision-log metadata
- Add Finalize "Open-items review" step (new step 4): counts OQs / [ASSUMPTION] / [NOTE FOR PM], walks them with user, flags high density as red flag against agreed stakes
- Validate now treats open-items density as a first-class finding category
- Resume / continuity surfaces open items deterministically as the first orientation step
- Drop the PRD's own distillate output and the bmad-distillator finalize step. Downstream workflows (UX, architecture, story creation) source-extract from prd.md directly via the canonical source-extractor pattern. Headless schemas, customize.toml comments, and template updated accordingly.
- Drop "status: draft" from PRD frontmatter and template; version/state transitions logged to decision-log.md instead. Finalize step 7 records the version transition entry.
- Add PRD Discipline bullet: personas must be research-grounded or marked [ILLUSTRATIVE]; must drive decisions; 2-4 personas max. Discipline pass enforces.
- Expand File roles bullet: competitive-analysis detail beyond a one-line landscape and operational/cost mechanics (rate-limiting, compression) belong in addendum
* feat(bmad-prd): outcome-driven trim, swappable validation checklist, HTML report
SKILL.md trim (4.7K -> ~3.2K tokens, 124 -> 93 lines):
- Cut anchor enumerations (HIPAA/PCI/NIST list, API/Mobile/Web list, hobby->regulated list, "fast/easy/scalable/intuitive", input enumerations, etc.) the LLM already knows
- Cut derivable reasoning (synonyms-cause-drift explanation, hobby-vs-enterprise examples, etc.)
- Cut good/bad examples that anchor LLM attention (password/SendGrid example, persona quote, "let me also add this nearby thing")
- Drop SMART-ceremony language from Measurable bullet (keep judgment-not-ritual; SMART principles fine)
Progressive disclosure to references/:
- Headless mode rules + JSON minimal example moved to references/headless.md (loaded only when invoked headless)
- On Activation step 6 gates mode detection: headless -> read references/headless.md and follow
Swappable validation checklist:
- New assets/prd-validation-checklist.md (15 items: Quality / Discipline / Structural / Stakes-gated, each one line)
- New customize.toml field validation_checklist (override per org)
- Used by Validate intent AND Finalize Step 3 -- same subagent, same checklist, two moments
- Replaces bmad-validate-prd's 13-step micro-file architecture; kept the valuable check dimensions (density, measurability, traceability, implementation leakage, etc.) and dropped the ceremony
HTML validation report:
- New scripts/render-validation-html.py (PEP 723, stdlib only, ~175 lines) renders structured findings JSON into a styled HTML report with pass/warn/fail grade, inline SVG score bar, category grouping
- New assets/validation-report-template.html (inline CSS, native <details>, no JS, no external deps) -- swappable via customize.toml validation_report_template
- New references/validation-render.md documents the subagent output contract and renderer invocation; loaded only when validate flow runs
- Auto-opens browser on interactive runs; headless skips the open
Mode flow consistency:
- Create and Update both now explicitly "proceed to ## Finalize"
- Validate / analyze is standalone -- explicit "does NOT enter ## Finalize"; renderer auto-opens the HTML
- analyze is a synonym for validate; intent detection routes both
- Update mode no longer has its own light-close validation step (Finalize Step 3 covers it)
* refactor(product-brief,bmad-prd): remove distillation from brief and PRD workflows
Drop bmad-distillator integration from bmad-product-brief (finalize step,
update mode, headless JSON, constraints) and clean up customize.toml comments.
Distillation is the wrong layer — story self-containment via epic solution
design docs is the right answer for downstream context.
Also commit pending bmad-prd changes: working mode selector (Express vs
Facilitative), open-items triage into phase-blocking/resolvable/deferred
buckets, persistence wording fix, and facilitation-guide reference.
* refactor(bmad-prd): aggressive SKILL.md compression, remove LLM-obvious content
* feat(bmad-prd,bmad-product-brief): surface party-mode and advanced-elicitation at opening
* refactor(bmm): retire bmad-create-prd/edit/validate, point docs and PM agent at bmad-prd
Removes the three separate PRD skills (create, edit, validate) in favor of the
unified bmad-prd skill. Updates module-help.csv, PM agent menu, workflow map,
getting-started tutorial, commands reference, customize/help SKILL.md examples,
and the website workflow-map diagram. Adds Recipe 6 (Advanced Integration
Patterns) to expand-bmad-for-your-org.md covering external_sources,
external_handoffs, doc_standards, and swappable templates.
* test(bmad-product-brief): drop distillate from evals
Distillate was removed from the product-brief workflow in 1a88f001
but the eval suite still checked for distillate.md artifacts, the
bmad-distillator subagent invocation, and the polish→distillate phase
ordering. Strip all distillate references from A1/A5/B1/B2/B3/B5/B6,
remove B4 (phase-ordering eval centered on distillate) and B8 (pure
distillate eval), update _design_notes, and delete the orphan
distillate.md fixture from the forkbird-brief input set. IDs preserved
(gaps at B4, B8) so existing references stay stable.
* fix(bmad-prd): validation report only on explicit analysis request
Reconciles a contradiction across SKILL.md, validation-render.md,
headless.md, and headless-schemas.md about when validation-report.{html,md}
gets written. Rule: a report file is only written when the user has
specifically asked for analysis — Validate intent, or a mid-session
"produce a report" request. The Finalize discipline pass during
Create/Update keeps findings in-conversation: autofix obvious issues,
ask on ambiguous ones, never write a file.
- SKILL.md: Finalize step 3 no longer renders a report; Validate intent
wording softened from "HTML report" to "validation report".
- references/validation-render.md: drops the severity-based conditional
for markdown emission. Script now always writes both HTML and MD
side-by-side when invoked; trigger gating happens upstream.
- assets/headless-schemas.md: drops the "may be omitted in interactive
mode" caveat; validation_report is required for Validate intent.
- scripts/render-validation-html.py: adds render_markdown_report()
emitting a severity-grouped markdown companion at output_path.with_suffix('.md').
Returns markdown path in the stdout JSON summary alongside HTML path.
* fix(bmm-skills): address remaining PR review nits
- headless-schemas.md: Update schema gains `external_handoffs` to match
SKILL.md which routes Update through Finalize (handoffs execute there).
- bmad-product-brief/SKILL.md: "Use the bmad-help skill" → "Invoke
bmad-help" to align with REF-03 and the bmad-prd phrasing.
- bmad-product-brief/SKILL.md: hyphenate "high-quality draft".
* feat(bmm): add deprecation shims for retired PRD skills
Re-adds bmad-create-prd, bmad-edit-prd, bmad-validate-prd as thin
compatibility shims so existing invocations by name and
_bmad/custom/bmad-{create,edit,validate}-prd.toml override files keep
working post-consolidation. Each shim contains only SKILL.md and
customize.toml — no steps, data, or templates.
On activation, each shim:
1. Resolves customization via resolve_customization.py, picking up any
legacy override files for the four legacy fields (activation_steps_*,
persistent_facts, on_complete).
2. Emits a one-time deprecation notice in {communication_language},
pointing at bmad-prd and the migration path for override files.
3. Invokes bmad-prd with the appropriate intent (create / update /
validate), passes through the resolved legacy customization with
instruction to use these values instead of re-resolving from
bmad-prd's own customize.toml, and forwards the original user input
verbatim.
bmad-prd continues to read its own customize.toml + bmad-prd.toml
overrides for the new-only fields (prd_template, validation_checklist,
doc_standards, output_dir, output_folder_name, external_sources,
external_handoffs, validation_report_template). Users wanting those
fields must migrate to invoking bmad-prd directly.
* polish(bmm): refine PRD deprecation shim wording
Three small revisions applied uniformly to all three shims
(bmad-create-prd, bmad-edit-prd, bmad-validate-prd):
- Tighten the frontmatter description to a single sentence naming the
intent and signaling v7 removal.
- Drop the redundant "On failure, surface the diagnostic and halt."
trailer from the resolve-customization step; resolve_customization.py
surfaces errors itself.
- Extend the user-facing deprecation notice to clarify that legacy
override fields still resolve under bmad-prd, so migration is for
unlocking new fields rather than restoring lost functionality.
* fix(bmad-prd): normalize status casing and add friendly file errors
- compute_stats: lower-case `status` before bucketing so findings with
any casing (e.g. "Pass") feed the stat buckets and the score bar
fills correctly. Matches the .lower() pattern already used in
render_finding and render_finding_md.
- main: wrap findings/template read_text calls; emit a one-line error
to stderr and return 1 on FileNotFoundError or JSONDecodeError
instead of dumping a raw traceback. Script is LLM-invoked, so a
clean diagnostic is the contract.
Addresses augmentcode review comments 3235100013 and 3235100018.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
* docs(expand): refresh "five recipes" copy to reflect Recipe 6
Recipe 6 (Advanced Integration Patterns) was added but three earlier
mentions still said "five": the frontmatter description, the intro
sentence at line 8, and the "Combining Recipes" paragraph. Update all
three to "six" and extend the Combining-Recipes example to call out
Recipe 6 (external_sources / external_handoffs) alongside the others.
Addresses coderabbitai review comment 3235107194 and the two
outside-diff observations on lines 3 and 8.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
* fix(bmad-prd): utf-8 encoding on render script, correct workflow-map outputs
- render-validation-html.py reads findings/template and writes HTML/MD with
explicit utf-8 encoding so non-ASCII content (smart quotes, em-dashes,
non-English text under {document_output_language}) does not break on
platforms whose default encoding is not utf-8.
- workflow-map.md 'Produces' column for bmad-prd now distinguishes
Create/Update outputs from the Validate intent's validation-report
artifacts.
---------
Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
* refactor(bmm): streamline bmad-product-brief into lean facilitator
Rewrites bmad-product-brief as an outcome-driven, intent-routed
facilitator with a configurable reviewer panel.
- Replace scripted prompt files with a concise SKILL.md
- Add brief-shape detection and intent routing
- Make the reviewer panel config-driven via customize.toml
- Harden the required-reviewer gate
- Add helper scripts and tests for panel resolution
- Replace embedded resources with a single brief-template asset
- Register skill metadata in module.yaml
* refactor(bmm): tighten bmad-product-brief discovery and polish flow
- Discovery now invites a brain dump and source material upfront,
followed by "anything else?" before drilling
- Create and Update modes explicitly invoke Discovery before drafting
- Calibrate "make them sweat" to ease as the brief firms up
- Update mode regenerates distillate.md when changes apply
- Replace polish_skills with polish_passes: polymorphic entries
(skill:/file:/plain-text), parallel subagents, applied automatically
so the user sees a polished draft, not a polish review
- Default persistent_facts to empty with opt-in examples instead of an
unbounded project-context.md glob
- Remove research-librarian, field-researcher, and skeptic agents no
longer needed with this rework
* refactor(bmm): make persistence and resume explicit in bmad-product-brief
- Replace "Hold a working memory" with "Persistence is real-time": the
workspace exists on disk and the user knows the path the moment Create
intent is confirmed; decision-log.md is canonical memory so walk-away
leaves nothing in the conversation
- Add "Continuity across sessions": prior in-progress drafts for this
project surface a resume offer
* test(bmm): scaffold evals for bmad-product-brief
Adds an eval suite for bmad-product-brief following the Anthropic skill-creator
schema, plus a new "Extract, don't ingest" constraint on the skill itself.
Skill change:
- New constraint: source artifacts (user-provided or run-discovered) enter the
parent conversation as relevance-filtered extracts via subagents, not loaded
wholesale. Keeps the parent context lean against transcripts, brainstorms,
research reports, code, web results, and prior briefs.
Evals (evals/bmm-skills/bmad-product-brief/):
- evals.json: 8 artifact/behavioral evals covering Create one-shot,
source-memo ingest, Update with contradiction surfacing, Validate inline,
Headless mode, brainstorm filtering, research-report filtering, persona
filtering. All scenarios use fictional entities (InsuLens, Branfield CC,
Forkbird Kitchen, Mossridge Library, Sproutkeeper, Hatchet & Loop Studio,
Brightway, Pantry Bridge).
- triggers.json: 15 description-firing checks (7 should-fire, 8 should-not-fire)
to catch under-triggering and adjacent-skill poaching.
- files/: realistic fixtures including a brainstorm with the relevant idea
buried at the end, a 3000-word market research report with the relevant
section in the middle, and customer interviews with the target persona in
position 3 of 4 — each shaped to test that filtering happens against the
user's stated focus regardless of where the relevant material sits.
Eval directory placement: top-level evals/ outside src/, matching the convention
in anthropics/skills (zero of 17 production skills include an evals/ subdir;
their skill-creator places dev workspaces as siblings to skill folders). Keeps
evals out of any installer or marketplace.json distribution path.
* refactor(bmm): rename brief workflow knobs and resolve PR review
- polish_passes -> doc_standards (TOML key + SKILL.md reference). Name
generalizes for every doc-producing skill: encodes standards applied at
finalize, not options.
- {run_folder} -> {doc_workspace}. Bound in Create to
{workflow.output_dir}/{workflow.output_folder_name}/; reused by Update,
Validate, Headless, and Finalize as the active brief's folder.
- On Activation Step 4 now resolves {date} explicitly (used by
output_folder_name default).
- Headless Mode: ambiguous-intent fallback is a `blocked` JSON status with
a `reason` field, no prompting. Resolves the activation/headless
contradiction flagged in review.
* test(bmm): overhaul product-brief evals into A/B/C pattern split
Refactor evals from 8 numbered single-shot tests into 16 typed evals:
- Pattern A (A1-A8): artifact-correctness tests with headless prompts and
precise, falsifiable expectations (no invented facts, right-sized output,
file boundary enforcement)
- Pattern B (B1-B8): process-discipline tests verifying decision-log fidelity,
polish phase ordering, contradiction detection, and distillate generation
- Pattern C (C1): config-compliance test for custom output paths and
document_output_language
Also tighten SKILL.md: add dependencies frontmatter, clarify headless override
autonomy in Update (proceed when intent is clear; block when ambiguous), and
make distillate skip explicit when bmad-distillator is not installed.
Two PR review fixes:
- Strip the surrounding markdown code fence from case-file-template.md
so initializing a case file doesn't nest the whole artifact inside a
code block. The template is now the structure directly, with usage
notes in an HTML comment that doesn't render. Matches the BMM idiom
used by bmad-create-story/template.md.
- Drop the stale `*-archaeology.md` reference from bmad-create-prd
step-01 discovery. The single-procedure restructure removed
archaeology as a distinct mode, so case files only carry the
`*-investigation.md` suffix. Tighten the glob accordingly.
Forensic case investigation under Amelia's menu (IN). Evidence-graded
findings (Confirmed / Deduced / Hypothesized), hypothesis discipline,
structured case-file artifact. Single procedure that calibrates between
defect-chasing and area-exploration based on the input.
Wires bmad-create-prd discovery to pick up case files as PRD input.
Public explainer doc, workflow-map Phase 4 row, EN + FR.
* refactor(catalog): rename after/before columns to preceded-by/followed-by
The bare prepositions `after` and `before` had no subject anchor, leaving
the dependency direction ambiguous: "X has Y in its `after` column" reads
plausibly as either "Y comes after X" or "X comes after Y". An LLM
catalog consumer just got the direction wrong because of this.
`preceded-by` / `followed-by` are passive-voice participles whose grammar
locks the subject (the skill in this row) and forces a single reading:
"X is preceded by Y" can only mean Y comes first.
Rename applied to:
- module-help.csv headers (bmm-skills, core-skills)
- bmad-help SKILL.md schema doc + descriptions
- installer.js mergeModuleHelpCatalogs header string
- plugin-resolver.js _buildSynthesizedHelpCsv header string
- bmad-manifest.json keys (bmad-product-brief, bmad-prfaq)
- distillate-format-reference.md example manifest
The separate `required` column continues to carry hard-gate semantics;
the renamed columns are pure soft sequencing hints, as already documented
in bmad-help.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
* style(installer): wrap long header strings per prettier
* feat(installer): warn on non-canonical module-help.csv headers
mergeModuleHelpCatalogs now compares each per-module file's header
against the canonical schema and emits a one-shot prompts.log.warn per
module on drift, naming both the expected and actual header. Data
continues to load positionally so external modules built against the
old after/before schema still install cleanly — the warning is the
maintainer signal to rename their columns.
Centralize the canonical header in modules/module-help-schema.js so the
merger and the synthesizer (PluginResolver._buildSynthesizedHelpCsv)
read the same source of truth; future column renames are one edit.
Verified by installing all four bmad-org external modules
(bmb, cis, gds, tea) — every one ships the legacy after/before header
today and now fires an advisory warning while still merging cleanly
into _bmad/_config/bmad-help.csv with the canonical column names.
---------
Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
* fix(installer): preserve module-help.csv schema in merged bmad-help.csv (#2278)
The installer's mergeModuleHelpCatalogs was rewriting the merged catalog
under a different schema (module,phase,name,code,sequence,workflow-file,...)
than the documented source schema in every module's module-help.csv
(module,skill,display-name,menu-code,description,action,args,phase,...).
Worse, the parsing assumed the wrong source column order, so column data
was scrambled in the merged output. SKILL.md docs the source schema, so
the bmad-help skill was navigating a catalog whose actual columns no
longer matched its mental model.
Drop the transformation and the agent enrichment columns (which had no
consumers anywhere in the codebase). Emit rows verbatim in the source
schema, padding short rows and filling empty module fields. Sort by
module then phase, stable within phase to preserve authored order.
Closes#2278
* fix(catalog): normalize module-help.csv rows to documented 13-column schema
Many rows in core-skills/module-help.csv and bmm-skills/module-help.csv
were missing one column between description and phase, leaving them at
12 fields instead of 13. CSV consumers that read by header position
were silently mapping data into the wrong columns (description into
action, phase into args, required into before, etc).
Inserted an empty cell at column index 5 across all 31 affected rows
to restore alignment with the documented header
(module,skill,display-name,menu-code,description,action,args,phase,
after,before,required,output-location,outputs).
* fix(config): promote project_name to core, fixes#2279
project_name was a bmm-specific prompt despite being a universal
project-level concept used by every module — including core skills like
bmad-brainstorming, which loads from _bmad/core/config.yaml and was
silently broken because project_name lived under bmm. Users without bmm
installed could not run brainstorming at all.
Move:
- src/core-skills/module.yaml: declare project_name with prompt
"What is your project called?" and default {directory_name}, matching
what bmm previously had.
- src/bmm-skills/module.yaml: remove the bmm definition; add project_name
to the "Variables from Core Config inserted" header comment so
contributors can see what's inherited.
Migration for existing installs:
- tools/installer/modules/official-modules.js: after loadExistingConfig
reads each per-module config.yaml, hoist any keys that are now declared
in core but appear under non-core modules. Without this, the partition
logic in writeCentralConfig (which strips core keys from non-core
buckets) would silently drop the user's prior project_name on the next
quick-update. Generic — handles project_name today and any future
module→core promotions.
- The hoist preserves precedence: an existing core value beats a stale
module-side copy.
--yes seed:
- tools/installer/ui.js: add project_name to the hardcoded core seed
(using path.basename(directory) to match the {directory_name} default)
so non-interactive fresh installs populate it. Without this the seed
silently omits project_name and core skills fall back to literals.
Tests:
- test/test-installation-components.js Suite 43 (9 assertions) covers
the schema move, the loadExistingConfig hoist, and the precedence rule.
- Suite 35 fixture updated: project_name moved from bmm bucket to core,
with a stale bmm copy left in place to verify it gets stripped.
Verified manually:
- Fresh install -y: project_name lands in [core] of config.toml.
- Existing install with project_name in bmm/config.yaml: quick-update
hoists it to [core] and strips it from [modules.bmm].
* fix(installer): harden config-load against malformed config.yaml
Per augment review on #2348: loadExistingConfig stored any truthy
yaml.parse result (including scalars like '42'), which would later crash
_hoistCoreKeysFromLegacyModuleConfigs at \`key in cfg\` with
"Cannot use 'in' operator to search for ... in 42".
- loadExistingConfig: only keep parses that are plain objects (not
scalars or arrays). A corrupt config.yaml is now treated the same as
a parse error — skipped, not crashed-on.
- _hoistCoreKeysFromLegacyModuleConfigs: belt-and-suspenders type guards
on _existingConfig.core (in case it's populated by some other path)
and on each module cfg in the loop.
- Test Suite 43 adds 2 assertions covering a scalar core/config.yaml:
loadExistingConfig must not crash, and bmm.project_name must still
hoist into a clean core bucket.
step-07-validation template shipped with all 16 completeness checkboxes
pre-checked and Overall Status hard-coded to READY FOR IMPLEMENTATION,
defeating the gate. Reset checkboxes to unchecked, replace status with a
templated choice tied to the checklist and gap analysis, and instruct the
agent to only mark items the validation actually confirms.
Closes#2292
When a story modifies existing files, create-story must read those
files before generating dev notes. Without this, dev agents improvise
design decisions without knowing the current state of the code, leading
to regressions caught only at review time.
Adds a step at the end of Step 3 (Architecture analysis) that reads
every file marked UPDATE in the architecture directory structure and
documents its current state, what the story changes, and what must
be preserved.
Fixes#2273
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>
All 16 bare workflow customize.toml files now have the same thorough comment
block as the well-documented ones, with skill-specific on_complete descriptions
that name the exact terminal step and exit condition.
on_complete is now executed at the true end of each workflow's terminal step
rather than lazily referenced in SKILL.md:
- Linear workflows: ## On Complete block appended to the final step file
(create-prd step-12, create-ux-design step-14, create-architecture step-08,
generate-project-context step-03, check-implementation-readiness step-06,
epics-and-stories step-04, all three research step-06 files, prfaq verdict,
document-project both sub-workflow instruction files)
- Multi-path workflows: on_complete inline on each true exit path only
(edit-prd fires on [S] Summary and [X] Exit, not on [V] Validate or [E] Edit;
validate-prd fires on [X] Exit only, not on [R], [E], or [F])
- Inline XML workflows: <action> tag at the close of the final step
(correct-course step-6, create-story step-6, retrospective step-12,
qa-generate-e2e-tests appended to SKILL.md)
* feat(core-skills): add bmad-customize for authoring _bmad/custom overrides
A conversational guide skill that helps users author or update TOML overrides
in _bmad/custom/ for customizable BMad agents and workflows. Covers per-skill
agent and workflow surfaces; central config is out of scope for v1.
- SKILL.md: six-step flow (intent, discover, route, compose, team-vs-user,
show-confirm-write-verify) with baked-in agent-vs-workflow routing heuristic
and a template-swap subroutine
- scripts/list_customizable_skills.py: stdlib-only scanner that enumerates
customizable skills across standard IDE install paths, reports surface type
and override status, PEP 723, 10 unit tests
- Reuses _bmad/scripts/resolve_customization.py for post-write verification
- Registered in core-skills/module-help.csv with menu code BC
* refactor(bmad-customize): apply QA pass (top 3 recommendations)
Applies the three highest-payoff themes from the quality analysis:
- Labeling + completion contracts: rename ## Purpose to ## Overview,
add domain framing (what customization means in BMad, typical user
arrival shapes), add an explicit Completion block with testable
conditions for "skill run is done"
- Hostile-environment robustness: add On-Activation preflight that
classifies no-BMad / BMad-without-resolver / full-install states,
instruct Step 2 to surface scanner errors[] and scanned_roots on
empty results, add resolver-missing fallback to Step 6.4, add a
re-enter-Step-4 recovery loop when verify shows the override didn't
take effect
- Returning-user and iteration experience: add "Audit / iterate"
intent class in Step 1, lead discovery with already-overridden
skills for that intent, read existing overrides in Step 3 before
composing, frame Step 4 as additive-on-top rather than fresh
authoring, give Cross-cutting intent an explicit Step 3 branch
that walks agent-vs-workflow with the user
Resolves 12 of 18 observations from the quality report. Lint clean
(scan-path-standards and scan-scripts both 0 findings). Unit tests
still 10/10.
* refactor(bmad-customize): derive skills root from install location
Previously the scanner hardcoded a list of IDE skill directories
(.claude/skills, .cursor/skills, .cline/skills, .continue/skills) and
scanned them relative to the project root. That was wrong: skills can
be installed either project-local or user-global, the IDE determines
the convention, and the set of valid locations is open-ended.
The scanner now derives its primary skills root from __file__ — the
running skill's own install directory is the authoritative location
for finding siblings. --skills-root overrides the default; --extra-root
(repeatable) adds additional locations for the rare mixed-install case.
Changes:
- list_customizable_skills.py: remove SKILL_ROOTS constant, add
default_skills_root() derived from __file__, rename scan_project
to scan_skills(skills_roots, project_root), add --skills-root and
--extra-root flags, de-dupe skills when the same name appears in
multiple roots (first wins)
- SKILL.md: update Step 2 to describe the scanner's derive-from-install
behavior and when to use --extra-root; drop the hardcoded IDE path
list from Notes
- tests: refactor setUp to place skills under a generic skills root
(not .claude/skills), add 3 new tests for multiple-roots merge,
duplicate-name precedence, and missing-root error reporting
* docs(customization): point users at bmad-customize as the guided path
Surface the new bmad-customize skill across the three customization
docs so users know they don't need to hand-author TOML to benefit
from the surface:
- customize-bmad.md: prominent tip at the top introducing the skill
as the guided authoring helper; updated the "Need to see what's
customizable?" troubleshooting tip to recommend the skill first
- expand-bmad-for-your-org.md: tip under prereqs noting every recipe
can be applied via the skill, with the recipes remaining the
reference for what to override
- named-agents.md: short paragraph in the customization section and a
link entry under the references list
Hand-authoring still works the same way; the skill is additive.
Central-config overrides are flagged as the current exception.
* docs(bmad-customize): steer users at bmad-builder instead of 'forking'
* fix(bmad-customize): reword description to pass file-ref validator
* refactor(bmad-customize): tighten description and expand module-help entry
- SKILL.md description: drop the catch-all 'or asks how to change the
behavior of a specific BMad skill' trigger clause that would fire in
casual discussion; keep the four explicit phrase triggers.
- module-help.csv: rewrite the description so bmad-help has real
routing material — names the concrete capabilities (persistent
facts, template swaps, activation hooks, menus), the scope routing,
and the value prop (no TOML hand-authoring). Matches the 'Use
when...' pattern other Core entries use.
* fix(module-help): quote bmad-customize description field that contains commas
* fix(bmad-customize): address PR #2289 review findings
- SKILL.md preflight: load root config from _bmad/config.toml and
config.user.toml (not .yaml) — the installer emits TOML; the YAML
references would have made the skill silently miss real user config
- SKILL.md resolver fallback (Step 6.4): read all three merge layers
when present (base / team / user) and describe the merge in
base → team → user order; the prior wording could describe the wrong
effective merge when the user wrote .user.toml on top of an existing
team .toml
- SKILL.md: replace bare 'docs/how-to/customize-bmad.md' references
(3 locations) with the public docs URL so users installing the skill
aren't pointed at a path they don't have locally
- list_customizable_skills.py: catch UnicodeDecodeError in
read_frontmatter_description so a non-UTF-8 SKILL.md can't abort
the whole scan
- list_customizable_skills.py: clarify exit-code contract in the
module docstring — errors[] is non-fatal by design, exit 2 is
reserved for invocation errors
- customize-bmad.md: tighten the tip to scope bmad-customize to the
per-skill surface; central-config is out of scope v1
- expand-bmad-for-your-org.md: same scoping — Recipes 1-4 can be
applied by the skill; Recipe 5 (central config) stays hand-authored
* fix(bmad-customize): markdownlint MD034 and validate-file-refs
- Wrap the three docs.bmad-method.org references as
[text](url) markdown links instead of bare URLs (MD034)
- Drop the {project-root}/ prefix on line 41's config.toml
references. validate-file-refs strips the template prefix and
tries to resolve 'config.toml' as 'src/config.toml'; sibling
skills (party-mode, retrospective, advanced-elicitation) all
reference '_bmad/config.toml' bare and pass CI — match that
pattern. The '(root level under {project-root}, installer-owned)'
parenthetical preserves the disambiguation.
* refactor(bmad-customize): cut token-wasting prose from SKILL.md
Down from 175 lines to 110. Removed:
- 'What customization means in BMad' architecture backgrounder — the
LLM reads the live customize.toml in Step 3; doesn't need the lore
- 'Desired Outcomes' section — retrospective narration of what the
6 steps already instruct
- 'Role' section — fluff; the flow itself defines the role
- 'Notes' section — sparse-override rule already in Step 4, IDE-path
note is commentary, docs link duplicates the out-of-scope section
- 'The scanner derives its skills directory from...' and 'returns JSON
with...' — commentary the LLM doesn't need; it runs the script and
sees the output
- 'that file IS the schema' and similar editorial asides throughout
- Explanatory clauses like 'silently drifts on every release' and
'trust the user's domain knowledge'
Kept everything that's load-bearing: preflight conditionals, intent
classification, routing heuristic, merge semantics, template-swap
subroutine, team-vs-user defaults, verify fallback and recovery loop,
completion conditions, out-of-scope list.
* feat(skills): add TOML workflow customization to 17 bmm-skills
Flattens each skill's workflow.md into SKILL.md and adds a customize.toml
surface with a 6-step activation block (resolve_customization, prepend,
persistent_facts, config, greet, append). Core-skills and developer
execution skills (dev-story, code-review, sprint-planning, sprint-status,
quick-dev, checkpoint-preview) are intentionally excluded.
Customized: document-project, prfaq, domain/market/technical-research,
create-prd, create-ux-design, edit-prd, validate-prd,
check-implementation-readiness, create-architecture,
create-epics-and-stories, generate-project-context, correct-course,
create-story, qa-generate-e2e-tests, retrospective.
* fix(skills): address PR review findings on workflow customization
- bmad-create-story: drop stale {project_context} variable reference
from step 2 note; content is already loaded via persistent_facts
- research skills (market/domain/technical): derive research_topic_slug
before writing output filename to prevent path injection and invalid
filesystem characters
- bmad-correct-course: reconcile step 1 verify list and HALT with the
"Missing documents" rule — Architecture and UI/UX are optional, HALT
only fires when PRD or Epics are missing
- fix grammar in Micro-file Design bullets across 5 migrated skills
(self contained → self-contained, adhere too 1 file → adhere to one
file at a time)
- docs/how-to/customize-bmad.md: document workflow activation order
and frame the baseline fields as a stable initial pass with targeted
per-workflow customization points coming later
* feat(agents): set team to software-development on BMM agents
All six BMM agents (analyst, tech-writer, PM, UX designer, architect,
dev) now explicitly declare `team: software-development` in the
module.yaml roster instead of falling back to the module-code default
of `bmm`.
This matches the BMad-wide team convention where agents across modules
that collaborate on software delivery share one named team. Tea's Murat
joins the same team via a parallel PR in bmad-method-test-architecture-
enterprise so party-mode, help catalog, and retrospective skills can
route the full software-delivery roster as a single unit.
* test: update team assertions for explicit software-development
* 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.
Core and BMM modules live in this repo (src/core-skills, src/bmm-skills)
but the installer UI sourced them from the remote registry. When the
registry was unreachable (VPN, proxy, firewall), the fallback YAML only
had the 4 external modules, so core and bmm disappeared from the install
list entirely.
Now _selectOfficialModules and getDefaultModules always read built-in
modules from the local source via OfficialModules.listAvailable(), then
append external modules from the registry. Network failures only affect
external modules.
Closes#2239
* feat(quick-dev): sync sprint-status.yaml on epic-story implementation
When quick-dev infers the intent is an epic story, resolve the full
sprint-status key during step-01's previous-story-continuity sub-step,
then sync sprint-status.yaml at the two workflow boundaries code-review
already owns the trailing half of:
- step-03 start: flip the story to in-progress and lift the parent
epic out of backlog if needed.
- step-05 end: flip the story to review. Code-review keeps ownership
of review -> done.
Resolution uses exact numeric-segment equality on the {epic}-{story}
prefix (never string-prefix match), so 1-1 no longer collides with
1-10. Both sync blocks are idempotent so step-04 loopbacks do not
clobber human edits or bump last_updated without cause. Skips silently
when sprint-status.yaml is missing or the intent is not an epic story.
* feat(quick-dev): add sprint-status sync to one-shot route
Epic stories do get implemented via one-shot in practice. Add the same
in-progress / review sync pair that step-03 and step-05 already have,
with identical idempotency guards and skip-on-missing behavior.
* refactor(quick-dev): extract sprint-status sync into shared file
Replace inline sync blocks in step-03, step-05, and step-oneshot with
one-line callouts to sync-sprint-status.md. The shared file owns all
edge-case handling (idempotency, epic lift, missing file/key) and is
parameterized by {target_status}. Any future route picks it up with a
single Follow line.
* fix(quick-dev): resolve story_key on early-exit resume paths
Extract story-key resolution into a shared subsection referenced by
all early-exit paths and INSTRUCTIONS, ensuring sprint-status sync
works for resumed epic stories.
* refactor(quick-dev): tighten story-key resolution prompt
Remove mechanical details the LLM can infer; keep only the
collision-prevention constraint.
Prevent review subagents from being downgraded to cheaper models.
Rare findings from the Acceptance Auditor tend to be high-severity,
and research shows smaller models have worse recall on rare-event
detection.
Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
The Batch-apply option (added in 9c3e2804) was instructed to "skip
any finding that requires judgment" — but step-03-triage already
guarantees patch findings are unambiguous (the decision-needed
bucket exists precisely to absorb ambiguous ones). The option had
no distinct work to do that option 1 did not already cover, and
its label suggested a meaningful difference that did not exist.
- Delete option 0 and the >3 findings conditional
- Rename "Fix them automatically" -> "Apply every patch", with
explicit scope (patches only; defer/decision-needed untouched)
- Rename "Walk through each" -> "Walk through each patch" for the
same scope clarity
- Unify <Z> placeholder with the existing <P> patch count
- Strip stale (or "0" for batch) notes from HALT lines
pbean
Brian Madison
Jacob du Toit
SevenSteven
Jérôme Revillard
Alex Verkhovsky
Dov Benyomin Sohacheski
Rayan Salhab
AJ Côté
Pablo Ontiveros