Execute
Implementation methodology. Loads alongside the domain skill (e.g., "noodle") — this teaches process, the domain skill teaches the codebase. Operate fully autonomously. Never ask the user. Don't stop until the work is fully complete.
Track all work with Tasks (TaskCreate, TaskUpdate, TaskList). One task per decomposed change; mark in_progress when starting, completed when done.
1. Scope
Establish what needs doing:
- Plan phase: Read the assigned phase from
brain/plans/. Read the overview for scope boundaries. Invoke Skill(backlog) for project-specific context. Load domain skills listed in "Applicable skills." - Backlog item: Read the todo from
brain/todos.md. If a linked plan exists, read it. Otherwise, scope from the description. - Ad-hoc request: The user prompt is the scope. Identify affected files and packages before starting.
Output: a clear, bounded description of what changes and what doesn't.
2. Decompose
Break scope into discrete changes. Each change:
- One function/type + its tests, OR one bug fix
- Independently compilable
- One conventional commit
Single-change scopes skip decomposition.
3. Implement
Worktree First — Non-Negotiable
Never edit files on main. Multiple sessions run concurrently; editing main causes merge conflicts and lost work.
If CWD is already inside .worktrees/, use it. Otherwise: noodle worktree create <descriptive-name>
Use absolute paths or noodle worktree exec <name> <cmd>. Never cd into a worktree — if it gets removed while the shell is inside, the session dies permanently.
Commit inside the worktree. When done: noodle worktree merge <name>
Skip only when the user is interactively driving a single-agent session and explicitly chooses main.
Delegation
- Self-execute: Single change, or tightly coupled changes (shared types, sequential dependencies).
- Sub-agents: 2+ independent changes touching different files. Front-load context: scope, relevant code, domain skill name.
- Team execution: 2+ parallelizable phases in a plan. See
references/team-execution.md. - Codex: Mechanical work not requiring judgment (renames, boilerplate, repetitive edits). Never for architectural decisions.
Sequential is fine when phases are tightly coupled. Before parallelizing, ask: "Does any phase's output become another phase's input?" Phases with shared type-level contracts must be sequential.
4. Verify
Run the full verification suite before committing. See references/verification.md for the complete checklist. Never commit failing code — fix and re-verify on failure.
5. Commit
<type>(<scope>): <description> with optional Refs: #<issue-ID> footer. Types: feat, fix, refactor, test, docs, chore. One commit per logical change.
6. Yield
After all changes are committed and verified, emit stage_yield:
noodle event emit --session $NOODLE_SESSION_ID stage_yield --payload '{"message": "Implemented: <brief summary>"}'Without this, the stage only completes on clean process exit — interrupted work is lost to the pipeline.
Scope Discipline
- Only change what's in scope. No defensive code, backwards-compat shims, or speculative features.
- Out-of-scope discoveries go in the quality review notes — don't change them.
- Wrong or incomplete plan/requirements: flag it in output, don't silently deviate.
Principles
Read at runtime from brain/principles/:
- [[prove-it-works]]
- [[subtract-before-you-add]]
- [[cost-aware-delegation]]
- [[guard-the-context-window]]
- [[boundary-discipline]]
- [[outcome-oriented-execution]]