to-tickets

Files (1)

• SKILL.md

SKILL.md (first lines)

# To Tickets

Break a plan, spec, or conversation into a set of **tickets** — tracer-bullet vertical slices, each declaring the tickets that **block** it.

Where tickets are published: the repo's AGENTS.md names the artifact home. Default is local markdown under `.scratch/`; a repo configured with a real tracker (GitHub Issues, Jira, …) publishes there instead.

## Process

### 1. Gather context

Work from whatever is already in the conversation context. If the user passes a reference (a spec path, an issue number or URL) as an argument, fetch it and read its full body and comments.

### 2. Explore the codebase (optional)

If you have not already explored the codebase, do so to understand the current state of the code. Ticket titles and descriptions should use the project's domain glossary vocabulary (CONTEXT.md) and respect any ADRs in the area you're touching.

Look for opportunities to prefactor the code to make the implementation easier. "Make the change easy, then make the easy change."

### 3. Draft vertical slices

Break the work into **tracer bullet** tickets.

<vertical-slice-rules>

- Each slice cuts a narrow but COMPLETE path through every layer it touches (data, logic, UI, checks) — vertical, NOT a horizontal slice of one layer
- A completed slice is demoable or verifiable on its own
- Each slice is sized to fit a single fresh context window
- Prefer many thin slices over few thick ones

</vertical-slice-rules>

Slices may be **HITL** (human interaction required — a decision, a design review) or **AFK** (implementable without human interaction). Prefer AFK.

Write every ticket KISS-first: it demands the simplest implementation that works — human readable, no abstraction, pattern, or test scaffold the work doesn't need. If the repo's AGENTS.md carries a code-style line, tickets defer to it.

Give each ticket its **blocking edges** — the tickets that must complete before it can start. A ticket with no blockers can start immediately.

### 4. Quiz the user

Present the proposed breakdown as a numbered list. For each ticket, show:

- **Title**: short descriptive name
- **Type**: HITL / AFK
- **Blocked by**: which other tickets (if any) must complete first
- **What it delivers**: the end-to-end behaviour this ticket makes work

Ask the user:

- Does the granularity feel right? (too coarse / too fine)
- Are the blocking edges correct — does each ticket only depend on tickets that genuinely gate it?
- Should any tickets be merged or split further?

Iterate until the user approves the breakdown.

### 5. Publish the tickets

**Local files** (default) → write one file per ticket under `.scratch/<feature-slug>/issues/<NN>-<slug>.md`, numbered from `01` in dependency order (blockers first). Each file's "Blocked by" lists the numbers/titles it depends on. Use the per-ticket template below — one ticket per file, never a single combined file.

**A real issue tracker (GitHub, Linear, Jira, …)** → publish one issue per ticket in dependency order (blockers first) so each ticket's blocking edges can reference real identifiers. Use the platform's native blocking / sub-issue relationship where it has one; otherwise set each ticket's "Blocked by" to the blocking issues. Apply the repo's ready-for-agent triage label unless instructed otherwise.

Work the **frontier**: any ticket whose blockers are all done. For a purely linear chain that means top to bottom.

Do NOT close or modify any parent issue.

<local-ticket-template>

# <NN> — <Ticket title>

Type: HITL/AFK · Status: ready-for-agent · Blocked by: <numbers/titles, or "none — can start immediately">

**What to build:** the end-to-end behaviour this ticket makes work, from the user's perspective — not a layer-by-layer implementation list.

- [ ] Acceptance criterion 1
- [ ] Acceptance criterion 2

</local-ticket-template>

<issue-template>

## Parent

A reference to the parent issue on the tracker (if the source was an existing issue, otherwise omit this section).

## What to build

The end-to-end behaviour this ticket makes work, from the user's perspective — not layer-by-layer implementation.

## Acceptance criteria

- [ ] Criterion 1
- [ ] Criterion 2

## Blocked by

- A reference to each blocking ticket, or "None — can start immediately".

</issue-template>

In either form, avoid specific file paths or code snippets — they go stale fast. Exception: if a prototype produced a snippet that encodes a decision more precisely than prose can (state machine, reducer, schema, type shape), inline it and note briefly that it came from a prototype. Trim to the decision-rich parts — not a working demo, just the important bits.

From OpalBolt/Personal-AI-Marketplace, MIT.

More from OpalBolt/Personal-AI-Marketplace