APEX Tier 1 — Fire and Forget

Execute a well-defined task from start to finish without human intervention. Open a draft PR when done.

When to Use

Use Tier 1 when ALL of these are true:

• The task has clear, unambiguous acceptance criteria
• Failure is cheap (can be reverted easily)
• No architectural decisions are required
• The scope is small (one feature, one fix, one file group)

Do NOT use Tier 1 when:

• The task requires design decisions → use apex-tier2 or apex-tier3
• The task touches critical infrastructure → use apex-tier3
• The requirements are vague → clarify first, then decide tier

Workflow

1. Parse the task into acceptance criteria
2. Create a working branch
3. Implement the change
4. Run the self-correcting loop
5. Open a draft PR

Step 1: Parse Task into Acceptance Criteria

Convert the task description into a checklist:

Task: "Add unit tests for the UserService class"

Acceptance Criteria:
- [ ] Tests cover all public methods of UserService
- [ ] Tests cover error/edge cases documented in the class
- [ ] All tests pass
- [ ] Coverage does not decrease
- [ ] Lint passes

If you cannot create at least 2 concrete acceptance criteria, the task is too vague for Tier 1. Ask the user to clarify or escalate to Tier 2.

Step 2: Create Working Branch

git checkout -b apex/{task-slug} && git push -u origin apex/{task-slug}

Step 3: Implement the Change

Write the code. Follow project conventions from AGENTS.md. Do not refactor unrelated code. Do not change formatting outside your scope.

Step 4: Self-Correcting Loop

Run validation and iterate until clean:

Linux/Mac:

bash "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/validate.sh" <target-dir>

Windows:

powershell -File "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/validate.ps1" <target-dir>

Maximum 5 fix cycles. If still failing after 5 attempts, commit what you have, note the failures in the PR description, and flag for human review.

Step 5: Open Draft PR

gh pr create --draft --title "apex: {task description}" --body-file /tmp/apex-pr-body.md

The PR body must include:

• Task description
• Acceptance criteria checklist (checked/unchecked)
• Validation results (lint, types, tests, build)
• Any unresolved issues flagged with [NEEDS REVIEW]

Output

A draft PR on a feature branch with all acceptance criteria met and validation passing.

Example PR body:

## apex: Add unit tests for UserService

### Task
Add unit tests for the UserService class

### Acceptance Criteria
- [x] Tests cover all public methods of UserService
- [x] Tests cover error/edge cases documented in the class
- [x] All tests pass
- [x] Coverage does not decrease
- [x] Lint passes

### Validation Results
| Step | Status |
|------|--------|
| Lint | ✅ PASS |
| Types | ✅ PASS |
| Tests | ✅ PASS |
| Build | ✅ PASS |

### Files Changed
- `tests/services/user-service.test.ts` (new, 147 lines)