BMAD-METHOD/.agents/skills/bmad-story-automator/data/data-file-index.md

Data File Index (v1.9.0)

Purpose: Explicit guidance on when to load each data file during execution.

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Loading Rules

1. LOAD ONCE = Read at step initialization, keep in context
2. LOAD ON TRIGGER = Read only when specific condition occurs
3. NEVER LOAD = Reference/debug files, not for execution

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Step 03: Execute - File Loading Guide

LOAD ONCE (at step start)

File	Why
orchestrator-rules.md	Core rules for orchestrator behavior
execution-patterns.md	FORBIDDEN patterns - must know before any execution
scripts-reference.md	Script usage patterns

LOAD ON TRIGGER

File	When to Load
retry-fallback-strategy.md	When a step FAILS and you need retry logic
monitoring-fallback.md	When monitoring FAILS (TaskOutput empty/error 2+ times)
crash-recovery.md	When session CRASHES (not just fails)
code-review-loop.md	When entering code review phase (Step D)
escalation-triggers.md	When considering escalation to user
escalation-messages-core.md	When displaying escalation message (triggers 1-4)
escalation-messages-extended.md	When displaying escalation message (triggers 5-8)
agent-fallback.md	When switching from primary to fallback agent
agent-fallback-troubleshooting.md	When fallback agent also fails
adaptive-retry.md	When same task fails 3+ times (plateau detection)
subagent-prompts.md	When parsing session output with sub-agent
monitoring-codex.md	When using Codex agent (not Claude)

NEVER LOAD DURING EXECUTION

File	Purpose
tmux-commands.md	Reference doc - use scripts instead
tmux-long-command-*.md	Debug/testing docs
complexity-scoring.md	Used during preflight, not execution
preflight-prompts.md	Used in step-02, not step-03
stop-hook-*.md	Setup docs, not execution
marker-file-format.md	Internal format reference
success-patterns.md	Output pattern reference
workflow-commands.md	Reference doc
wrapup-templates.md	Used in step-04, not step-03
retrospective-*.md	Used in step-03b retrospective section only

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Quick Decision Tree

Starting execution?
  → Load: orchestrator-rules.md, execution-patterns.md, scripts-reference.md

Step failed?
  → Load: retry-fallback-strategy.md
  → If 3+ same failures: Load adaptive-retry.md

Monitoring not responding?
  → Load: monitoring-fallback.md

Session crashed?
  → Load: crash-recovery.md

Entering code review?
  → Load: code-review-loop.md

Need to escalate?
  → Load: escalation-triggers.md, then escalation-messages-*.md

Using Codex?
  → Load: monitoring-codex.md

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Anti-Pattern: Loading Everything

WRONG:

Load ALL data files at start of step-03

WHY WRONG: Bloats context, increases confusion, wastes tokens.

CORRECT:

Load 3 core files at start
Load additional files ONLY when their trigger condition occurs