Feature Start

feature-start

Prepare a clean, well-contextualized starting point for implementing one task, then stop for a plan approval gate.

Steps

1. Pick the task. Confirm the GitHub issue # and slug with the user. One task per run.
2. Isolate the workspace — default to a feature branch. Create feat/{issue#}-{slug} directly.

Only reach for an isolated git worktree (delegating to using-git-worktrees if installed) when isolation is genuinely critical — parallel work on multiple features, or disposable experiments — or when the user asks. Either way, FIRST run these guards (the worktree skill does them for you; the branch path must not skip them):

• Clean tree: git status --porcelain is empty — nothing uncommitted to clobber.
• Fresh base: check out the default branch and pull, so the feature branches off latest.
• Green baseline: install deps and run the test suite once; if it's already red, stop and

report — don't start work on a broken baseline. Then create feat/{issue#}-{slug}. One feature per workspace; don't touch other branches.

1. Load context. Read into context:

• docs/context.md (domain, glossary, hard constraints — incl. retro learnings from prior cycles)
• The feature's PRD in docs/prd/
• Any ADR(s) it depends on in docs/adr/
• The frozen contract artifact (OpenAPI/tRPC/schema) the task implements against
• docs/test-strategy.md (Definition of Done + which layer to test at)

1. Plan. Enter plan mode. Produce a granular plan (small steps, exact file paths, the tests

you'll write first). Hand off to executing-plans / test-driven-development for execution.

1. GATE. Present the plan. Ask for approval before writing any code.

Rules

• Implement strictly against the frozen contract. If you discover the contract is wrong, STOP

and raise it — a contract change is a decision (new/updated ADR), not an inline edit.

• If the task is bigger than ~a day of work, propose splitting it before starting.
• Keep the SDLC status header on every user-facing message, just like the conductor — open with

SDLC ▸ Stage 4/8 Implement · task #N · {next: plan approval / …}. You're inside the pipeline even though sdlc isn't the active skill; don't drop the header once implementation starts.

• Don't commit or push unless asked.

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: enocgit
• Source: enocgit/sdlc-kit
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.