RIPER workflow

Phases

1. Research — read-only. Output: research-notes.md.
2. Innovate — read-only. Output: approaches.md (2-3 viable).
3. Plan — write to docs. Output: [task]-plan.md with measurable success criteria.
4. Execute — full access. Follow plan, verify each step.
5. Review — read-only after. Output: review.md.

Principles

• Separation of concerns: each phase has its own access mode
• Context efficiency: minimal tokens per phase
• Persistent knowledge: ~/dev/[task]/ per task
• Conscious transitions: deliberate phase changes

When

Use for architecture, migrations, auth/payments/data work, multi-file refactors.

Don't use for typo fixes, obvious single-file bugs, prototype exploration.

Full content + worked task example at https://github.com/HermeticOrmus/riper-workflow-skills.