Templates: If you need the template files referenced below (spec-template.md, plan-template.md, etc.), they are available in the BB-Skills repository attemplates/. If installed locally, check~/.bb-skills/templates/or the project'stemplates/directory.
User Input
$ARGUMENTSYou MUST consider the user input before proceeding (if not empty).
Outline
- Setup: Locate the current feature directory and verify available documents. Parse FEATURE_DIR and AVAILABLE_DOCS list. All paths must be absolute. For single quotes in args like "I'm Groot", use escape syntax: e.g 'I'''m Groot' (or double-quote if possible: "I'm Groot").
- Load design documents: Read from FEATURE_DIR:
- Required: plan.md (tech stack, libraries, structure), spec.md (user stories with priorities) - Optional: data-model.md (entities), contracts/ (interface contracts), research.md (decisions), quickstart.md (test scenarios), user-stories.md (BuildBetter evidence-backed stories), buildbetter-context.md (customer evidence and taxonomy context) - Note: Not all projects have all documents. Generate tasks based on what's available.
- Execute task generation workflow:
- Load plan.md and extract tech stack, libraries, project structure - Load spec.md and extract user stories with their priorities (P1, P2, P3, etc.) - If data-model.md exists: Extract entities and map to user stories - If contracts/ exists: Map interface contracts to user stories - If research.md exists: Extract decisions for setup tasks - If user-stories.md exists: Strengthen story-specific task objectives and acceptance tests using evidence references - If buildbetter-context.md exists: Include tasks for customer-impact instrumentation and evidence validation where relevant - Generate tasks organized by user story (see Task Generation Rules below) - Generate dependency graph showing user story completion order - Create parallel execution examples per user story - Validate task completeness (each user story has all needed tasks, independently testable)
- Generate tasks.md: Use the tasks template structure, fill with:
- Correct feature name from plan.md - Phase 1: Setup tasks (project initialization) - Phase 2: Foundational tasks (blocking prerequisites for all user stories) - Phase 3+: One phase per user story (in priority order from spec.md) - Each phase includes: story goal, independent test criteria, tests (if requested), implementation tasks - Final Phase: Polish & cross-cutting concerns - All tasks must follow the strict checklist format (see Task Generation Rules below) - Clear file paths for each task - Dependencies section showing story completion order - Parallel execution examples per story - Implementation strategy section (MVP first, incremental delivery)
- Report: Output path to generated tasks.md and summary:
- Total task count - Task count per user story - Parallel opportunities identified - Independent test criteria for each story - Suggested MVP scope (typically just User Story 1) - Format validation: Confirm ALL tasks follow the checklist format (checkbox, ID, labels, file paths)
Context for task generation: {ARGS}
The tasks.md should be immediately executable - each task must be specific enough that an LLM can complete it without additional context.
Task Generation Rules
CRITICAL: Tasks MUST be organized by user story to enable independent implementation and testing.
Tests are OPTIONAL: Only generate test tasks if explicitly requested in the feature specification or if user requests TDD approach.
Checklist Format (REQUIRED)
Every task MUST strictly follow this format:
- [ ] [TaskID] [P?] [Story?] Description with file pathFormat Components:
- Checkbox: ALWAYS start with
- [](markdown checkbox) - Task ID: Sequential number (T001, T002, T003...) in execution order
- [P] marker: Include ONLY if task is parallelizable (different files, no dependencies on incomplete tasks)
- [Story] label: REQUIRED for user story phase tasks only
- Format: [US1], [US2], [US3], etc. (maps to user stories from spec.md) - Setup phase: NO story label - Foundational phase: NO story label - User Story phases: MUST have story label - Polish phase: NO story label
- Description: Clear action with exact file path
Examples:
- CORRECT:
- [] T001 Create project structure per implementation plan - CORRECT:
- [] T005 [P] Implement authentication middleware in src/middleware/auth.py - CORRECT:
- [] T012 [P] [US1] Create User model in src/models/user.py - CORRECT:
- [] T014 [US1] Implement UserService in src/services/user_service.py - WRONG:
- [] Create User model(missing ID and Story label) - WRONG:
T001 [US1] Create model(missing checkbox) - WRONG:
- [] [US1] Create User model(missing Task ID) - WRONG:
- [] T001 [US1] Create model(missing file path)
Task Organization
- From User Stories (spec.md) - PRIMARY ORGANIZATION:
- Each user story (P1, P2, P3...) gets its own phase - Map all related components to their story: - Models needed for that story - Services needed for that story - Interfaces/UI needed for that story - If tests requested: Tests specific to that story - Mark story dependencies (most stories should be independent)
- From Contracts:
- Map each interface contract -> to the user story it serves - If tests requested: Each interface contract -> contract test task [P] before implementation in that story's phase
- From Data Model:
- Map each entity to the user story(ies) that need it - If entity serves multiple stories: Put in earliest story or Setup phase - Relationships -> service layer tasks in appropriate story phase
- From Setup/Infrastructure:
- Shared infrastructure -> Setup phase (Phase 1) - Foundational/blocking tasks -> Foundational phase (Phase 2) - Story-specific setup -> within that story's phase
Phase Structure
- Phase 1: Setup (project initialization)
- Phase 2: Foundational (blocking prerequisites - MUST complete before user stories)
- Phase 3+: User Stories in priority order (P1, P2, P3...)
- Within each story: Tests (if requested) -> Models -> Services -> Endpoints -> Integration - Each phase should be a complete, independently testable increment
- Final Phase: Polish & Cross-Cutting Concerns