Triage

Triage

Core principle: Classify before you load context. The blast radius of a change determines how much process it needs - not how simple it looks.

When to use

Run before any context load or task generation. Every incoming change must be classified first.

When starting triage, create this TODO - every item below, verbatim (never a single item named after the skill) - and mark items done as you complete them:

TODO:

- [ ] Classify the requirement
- [ ] State classification + recommended model
- [ ] Load next skill (ticket-review or implement directly for TRIVIAL)

Input handling

If the user provides a ticket key or URL (e.g., PROJ-123, Jira URL) instead of a plain requirement:

• Default classification to STANDARD - ticket content is not available at triage time.
• Skip classification signals - proceed directly to Output and the Handoff (which invokes ticket-review).
• ticket-review may upgrade to EPIC after fetching and analyzing the ticket content.

If the user provides a plain requirement, classify using the signals below.

Classification signals

Signal	Weight
Blast radius - how many systems / modules / teams affected	Primary
Contract impact - does a public interface / shared type change?	Primary
Validation clarity - is pass/fail unambiguous without running the system?	Primary
File count	Supporting hint
LOC	Supporting hint

Classification levels

Level	Criteria	Output
TRIVIAL	Single file, no public contract change, clear validation, low blast radius	Direct fix - no task file
SIMPLE	≤2 files, no cross-module contract, clear path, low blast radius	Task note: TASK + DONE WHEN + VERIFY
STANDARD	Cross-file, design decision, public contract changed, or validation unclear	Full task file
EPIC	Multi-session, multiple modules, new architecture pattern	Full task file + memory file

Safety override

Force upgrade to STANDARD regardless of classification when touching:

• auth / session / token handling
• payment / billing logic
• database migrations
• tenant / workspace isolation
• infra / runtime config
• shared contracts (types or interfaces exported across modules)

Context budget per level

Level	Load	Approx tokens
TRIVIAL	ritus golden rules + grep target file	~1k
SIMPLE	ritus + relevant skill file	~2–3k
STANDARD	ritus + docs/PROJECT_CONTEXT.md + relevant skills + docs/ARCHITECTURE.md (if new resource)	~5–8k
EPIC	Full context + memory file	~10–15k

Standards tokens are in addition to the budget above - load applicable standard skills per ritus standards table.

Output

After classification, state:

1. Classification level - TRIVIAL / SIMPLE / STANDARD / EPIC
2. Recommended model and effort - if the project opted into routing, read the Implementation (per triage) section of the model routing table in docs/PROJECT_CONTEXT.md ## Model routing for this classification (it drives execute-task; reviewers use the Review & verification (per worker) section; requirement-analysis is pinned to most capable). If model_routing is session (the default), there is no per-task model choice - every dispatched subagent runs on the session model.

Handoff

• Report: the classification (TRIVIAL / SIMPLE / STANDARD / EPIC) + recommended model/effort.
• TODO update:
  • TRIVIAL → no TODO; implement directly in this session (ritus golden rules), self-verify with build + test, then report to the user.
  • SIMPLE / STANDARD / EPIC → invoke ticket-review.