Trackbed Init

Trackbed Init

One-time planning pipeline that converts a Jira epic or a standalone project into a roadmap (and, for epics or when wanted, tickets). You are reached only through trackbed, never invoked directly by the user. trackbed passes you the anchor (epic | project) and the key (epic key, or project slug). You run the ordered steps below, then stop. You do not execute phases — that is trackbed-orchestrate's job.

Skip yourself entirely if a roadmap already exists (trackbed will have routed straight to orchestration instead).

Anchor — epic vs project

• epic — `` is a Jira epic key. The epic is the source of stories; ticketing is part of the flow.
• project — ` is a slug (e.g. acme-app`) for a small app with no epic. There is no epic to read; phases come from the user. Jira is optional — phases may stay 100% local, or be linked/created if the user wants.

` names the working directory .trackbed//` in both anchors. Wherever a step below says "the epic", read it as "the epic (epic anchor) or the project (project anchor)".

Hard rules (never violate)

• Skills-only. No scripts, no Python, no hooks. You do everything by reading and writing markdown/YAML by convention.
• Firewall. The PRD, the ADRs, and every Jira ticket must be framework-neutral: plain domain language only. No "phase", "roadmap", "GSD", "Trackbed", "orchestrate" vocabulary, and no .planning/ or .trackbed/ paths in any team-facing output. Internal phase↔ticket mapping never leaks into Jira.
• Always ask before any Jira write. Never auto-create or auto-link a ticket. Confirm each one.
• Format locked once. The storage format (gsd or native) is chosen in step 3 and written to the manifest. Never switch it mid-roadmap.
• Re-read, don't trust memory. Read files at the moment you need them.

Prerequisite — the manifest

Before step 1, ensure the per-roadmap manifest exists at .trackbed//manifest.yml. This file exists in both GSD and native mode and both anchors; it is Trackbed's own pointer file and is not team-facing. Create it (or read it if present) and fill it in as you complete each step:

anchor: epic | project    # from trackbed — which kind of roadmap this is
key: DEMO-100           # epic key (epic anchor) or project slug (project anchor)
format: gsd | native      # set in step 3 — locked for the life of the roadmap
shape: populated | greenfield   # set in step 0 (project anchor is always greenfield)
adr_mode: read | read-create | skip   # set in step 2 — default: read
prd_path: docs/PRD-DEMO-100.md   # set in step 1 (may be absent in project anchor)
adr_path: docs/adr/                 # set in step 2 (may be external/untracked; absent if adr_mode=skip)
roadmap_path: .planning/ROADMAP.md  # set in step 3 — see step 3 for per-mode value
created: 2026-06-13

Write anchor, key, and created now; fill the other fields as their steps complete.

Step 0 — Determine the shape

Project anchor: there is no epic to inspect — set shape: greenfield and move on. (Phases come from the user in Step 3.)

Epic anchor — detect, then confirm: pull the epic's child issues via the Atlassian MCP (mcp__atlassian__jira_get_epic_issues, or search issues under the epic). Then propose a shape and confirm with the user — never proceed silently:

• Children exist → propose populated. "This epic already has N stories — build the roadmap from them (link-only), or generate phases from scratch?"
• No children → propose greenfield. "This epic has no stories — generate phases from scratch?"

Record the confirmed value in the manifest as shape. The shape changes how Step 3 (roadmap) and Step 4 (tickets) behave:

• populated (epic anchor only) — existing stories become the phases (Step 3 imports + orders them; Step 4 is link-only by default, create only when discussed).
• greenfield — phases are generated from the PRD + ADRs / from the user (Step 3 produces them; Step 4 is the create/link-ask, which is optional under a project anchor).

Step 1 — PRD: read, create, or skip

Project anchor: a PRD is optional. Ask the user whether they want one; if not, leave prd_path absent and go to Step 2. If yes, draft it from their description (step 3 below).

Epic anchor:

1. Look for an existing PRD for this epic (ask the user where it lives if unclear).
2. If it exists: read it and understand it. Do not rewrite it.
3. If it does not exist: draft a PRD from the epic content (title, description, acceptance criteria pulled via the Atlassian MCP). The PRD is team-facing — keep it framework-neutral, plain domain language, no Trackbed jargon and no .trackbed//.planning/ paths. Get the user's approval before saving.
4. Record the final location in the manifest as prd_path.

Step 2 — ADR: choose the mode, then delegate

First, ask the user how to handle ADRs for this epic/project and record the answer in the manifest as adr_mode (default read):

• read (default) — read existing ADRs to inform ordering; never create.
• read-create — read existing ADRs and propose new ones for genuine gaps (with user approval).
• skip — no read, no create. Use when ADRs are irrelevant or handled elsewhere. Skip the rest of this step and leave adr_path absent.

Unless adr_mode is skip, delegate this step to the trackbed-adr skill — do not scan or author ADRs yourself. Pass it the adr_mode so it knows whether creation is permitted:

• read → trackbed-adr resolves the location, reads existing ADRs, and reports the relevant decisions. It creates nothing.
• read-create → same, plus it may propose a new ADR for a genuine gap (user approves).

When it returns (and adr_mode ≠ skip), record the resolved ADR location in the manifest as adr_path. ADRs are team-facing — the firewall applies.

Step 3 — Roadmap: produce it and lock the format

Build the ordered phases, branching on the shape from Step 0. Either way, each phase needs:

• id — sequential (decimal insertions like 11.2 are allowed later at runtime)
• scope — one-line description of what the phase delivers
• depends — list of phase ids it depends on ([] if none)
• done — explicit done-criteria (e.g. "code + gates")

If shape: populated (roadmap from existing stories)

1. Take the epic's child stories (from Step 0). Import them as phases — 1:1 baseline (one story → one phase), pre-filling each phase's jira: with the existing story key.
2. Derive scope from each story's summary, then add the ordering: assign depends edges and an explicit done per phase. This ordering + dependency layer is the roadmap's main value over a flat story list.
3. Discuss net-new phases/stories with the user. If the existing stories leave gaps (setup, integration, cross-cutting work), propose new phases — and, where a new phase needs its own ticket, a new story — but only after discussing with the user. Do not invent phases or tickets silently.
4. Use the PRD + ADRs (Steps 1–2) to inform ordering and to surface gaps, not to override the existing stories.

If shape: greenfield (phases from scratch)

1. Break the work into ordered phases with the fields above, informed by the PRD (Step 1, if any) and the ADRs (Step 2). For an epic anchor, source the breakdown from the epic + PRD. For a project anchor, source it from the user's description of the app — work with the user to define the phases. Leave jira: empty (ticketed in Step 4, which is optional under a project anchor).

Then, for both shapes — lock the format

1. Ask the format switch now: "Store this roadmap in GSD mode (.planning/) or native Trackbed mode (.trackbed//)?" Record the answer in the manifest format field. This is locked for the life of the roadmap. (For a project anchor, native mode is usually the natural choice — no Jira board required.)
2. Write the roadmap in the chosen format and set roadmap_path in the manifest accordingly:

• GSD mode → write/update GSD's .planning/ROADMAP.md; roadmap_path: .planning/ROADMAP.md. Do not alter GSD's roadmap format. Then create/update .planning/STATE.md from GSD's own state template (Current Position → first phase, Session Continuity initialized) — STATE.md is GSD's state layer; let GSD's tooling keep owning its shape.
• Native mode → write .trackbed//roadmap.yml; roadmap_path: .trackbed//roadmap.yml. Use the native phase shape:

anchor: epic              # or: project
key: DEMO-100           # epic key, or project slug (e.g. acme-app)
phases:
  - id: "11.1"
    scope: "API-key validation — remove legacy auth fallback"
    depends: []
    done: "code + gates"
    jira:                  # left empty here — ticketed in step 4 (optional under a project anchor)
    status: todo           # persisted status ∈ todo | current | blocked | done ("next" is computed, never stored)
    inserted: false        # true for a runtime decimal insertion (mirrors GSD's "(INSERTED)" marker)
    owes: []
    notes: |

Then create .trackbed//state.yml — the cross-phase digest (mirrors GSD's STATE.md fields), re-read first on every orchestration turn:

anchor: epic
key: DEMO-100
current:
  phase: "11.1"            # fast pointer; the authoritative status still lives on the phase
  status: ready-to-plan    # ready-to-plan | planning | in-progress | phase-complete
  last_activity: "2026-06-13 — roadmap created"
blockers: []               # cross-phase concerns, prefixed with originating phase id
session:
  stopped_at: "roadmap created, nothing executed yet"
  resume_hint: "hand off phase 11.1"

Phase ordering (native mode): order and walk phases by dotted-segment id comparison, like version numbers — compare segment by segment as integers, not by numeric value (so 3 → 3.1 → 3.2 → 3.2.1 → 3.3 → 4, arbitrary depth). depends gates eligibility; the dotted-id order sets the walk. GSD mode inherits GSD's own numeric ordering — don't impose this on it.

The roadmap, state.yml, and phase-jira.md are internal scaffolding (.trackbed/ and .planning/ are deleted manually at the very end, just before the final PR — never gitignored), so phase ids, dependencies, and Trackbed vocabulary are fine here — they just never reach Jira.

Step 4 — Tickets: create or link, always ask

Project anchor — Jira is optional. First ask the user whether this project should use Jira at all. If no, skip this entire step: phases stay local with jira: empty, and the roadmap is purely local. The user can opt into ticketing later (it runs the same way then). If yes, proceed as below. Under an epic anchor, this step always runs.

In the populated shape most phases already carry their story key from Step 3, so this step is largely a no-op (skip every phase that already has a real key). It still runs for any net-new phases you discussed in Step 3. In the greenfield shape every phase starts empty, so this is the full create/link pass.

For each phase in the roadmap, inspect its Jira link state (identical three-state model to trackbed-orchestrate and spec §4.3):

| jira: value | Meaning | Action | |---|---|---| | PANV-... (a real key) | Linked — ticket exists on the board | Already done — skip it | | absent / empty | Not yet ticketed | Ask: "create a new ticket or link an existing one?" | | pending | Decided to create, write not yet completed | Finish the create, then overwrite with the real key |

For an empty phase:

• If link → record the existing key the user gives you.
• If create → optionally set jira: pending to mark intent, then write the ticket via the Atlassian MCP only after the user confirms the ticket text, then overwrite pending with the real key. The ticket body must be framework-neutral (firewall): describe the work in domain terms, no phase ids, no roadmap/Trackbed/GSD words, no .trackbed//.planning/ paths.

Write every resulting key back into the phase↔ticket mapping, per mode:

• Native mode → the phase's own jira: field in roadmap.yml. The roadmap is the mapping — no separate file.
• GSD mode → a separate Trackbed-owned file .trackbed//phase-jira.md (a simple phase-id → JIRA-KEY table). Never modify GSD's ROADMAP.md to hold the key. This file is internal scaffolding (deleted at the end with the rest of .trackbed/).

Idempotency: only act on phases whose jira: is empty/absent or pending; never re-touch a phase that already carries a real key. Re-running this step is therefore safe.

Done criteria

Stop when all of these hold:

• the roadmap exists in the locked format, and the state file exists alongside it (.planning/STATE.md in gsd mode, .trackbed//state.yml in native mode),
• tickets are reconciled per anchor: epic anchor → every phase ticketed (linked or created, real keys written back); project anchor → either every phase ticketed (if the user opted into Jira) or all phases intentionally local,
• the manifest is written with anchor, key, shape, format, adr_mode, roadmap_path, and (when applicable) prd_path and adr_path (omitted when not produced / adr_mode: skip).

Return control to trackbed, which hands off to trackbed-orchestrate. You do not drive execution.

Source & license

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

• Author: Orfi
• Source: Orfi/trackbed
• License: MIT

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