Flow execution

Flow Execution

Use this lifecycle skill when implementation starts after a Flow plan or ready Beads task exists.

Beads mode: Skip every bd invocation when the SessionStart hook reports Beads Backend: Missing (None) or Disabled via plugin config (useBeads=false). Treat spec.md markers as fallback source of truth and skip /flow:sync. Never halt for missing Beads. See ../flow/references/discipline.md.

Workflow

1. Select ready work from bd ready and claim it before editing.
2. Read the relevant spec, notes, patterns, affected files, and validation commands.
3. Record investigation findings with bd note.
4. Follow red-green-refactor: write the failing test, verify the failure, implement minimally, verify green, then refactor.
5. Commit targeted changes, close the Beads task with evidence, and sync markdown when policy requires it.

Guardrails

• Do not manually edit task status markers in markdown.
• Do not skip failing-test evidence for behavior changes.
• Do not silently descope messy tasks; refine or ask how to prioritize.
• Preserve unrelated user changes and keep edits scoped to the claimed task.

Validation

• Verify the new test failed for the intended reason before implementation.
• Run focused tests after each task and the repo’s aggregate verification before phase completion.
• Record test output, commit reference, and closure reason in Beads.

References Index

• Implement
• Discipline

Example

User: "Implement auth flow."

Action: claim the next ready Beads task, add code-path notes, write a failing auth test, implement the minimal behavior, verify, commit, close the task, and sync.