PRD Task Creator

Write a clear, actionable PRD or task — output depends on where the user tracks work.

Authorized Scope

Apply this engine only within the user's requested task and existing explicit authorization. Loading or delegating to it grants no additional authority. Preserve report-only restrictions and the caller's target, host, provider, and cost limits. Existing approval satisfies a gate only for the same actions and scope; obtain approval before expanding them. Forward these limits to delegates.

Contract

Inputs:

• Feature, bug, enhancement, or planning request
• Destination preference: GitHub issue, local PRD/task file, or both
• Optional parent issue, labels, assignee, and priority

Outputs:

• Draft PRD or task body
• Destination-specific create command or file path
• Created issue/file URL or path after approval

Creates/Modifies:

• Local .agents/memory/<kebab-name>.md PRD files only after draft approval
• GitHub issues/sub-issues only after draft approval

External Side Effects:

• Reads GitHub issue state
• May create GitHub issues, sub-issues, or issue branches

Confirmation Required:

• Always show the draft before creating files or GitHub issues
• Ask before linking sub-issues or creating issue branches

Delegates To:

• spec-first when implementation constraints are still unclear
• tdd when the work should be executed test-first
• github-fix-ci for CI failures after implementation
• roadmap-analyzer for roadmap-level planning
• cto-advisor for technical strategy and architecture tradeoffs

Step 1: Detect workflow preference

Check in order:

1. User explicitly says "GitHub issue", "local file", or both
2. Check if gh auth status succeeds and a GitHub remote exists → GitHub available
3. If ambiguous, ask: "GitHub issue, local PRD file in .agents/memory/, or both?"

Step 2: Understand the request

Ask only what's missing:

• What problem does this solve?
• Who's affected? (user-facing, internal, infra)
• Any hard constraints or dependencies?
• Is this part of a larger epic? (→ sub-issue)
• Priority: critical / high / medium / low

Step 3: Research before writing

• Read relevant architecture docs in .agents/memory/ (look for architecture, summary, or context files)
• Search codebase for related patterns
• Check for existing issues: gh issue list --search "[keyword]"

Step 4: Write the PRD

See references/full-guide.md for the full PRD structure.

A good PRD has:

• Problem — why this exists, what breaks without it
• Goal — one sentence, measurable outcome
• Scope — what's in, what's explicitly out
• Acceptance criteria — EARS (WHEN/WHILE/WHERE/IF … THE SYSTEM SHALL …), testable, not vague
• Technical notes — approach, risks, dependencies

Acceptance criteria must be EARS-shaped and checkable by a human.

Agent-ready issue rules

When the output is an issue for an autonomous or AFK agent, write it as an agent brief, not a stream-of-consciousness plan:

• Describe behavior and contracts, not file-by-file instructions.
• Avoid line numbers and brittle file paths unless the path is itself the contract.
• Include current behavior, desired behavior, acceptance criteria, and out of scope.
• Name public interfaces, CLI commands, API shapes, config keys, or data contracts when known.
• Keep implementation notes as constraints, not a script the agent must follow.

Vertical-slice breakdown

When breaking an epic, PRD, or plan into issues:

• Prefer thin vertical slices that produce a verifiable outcome.
• Mark each issue as AFK when an agent can complete it without more human input.
• Mark each issue as HITL when it needs a human decision, design review, credential, or product judgment.
• Publish blockers before blocked issues so dependencies can reference real issue IDs.
• Keep each sub-issue small enough for one focused PR.

Step 5: Output to correct destination

GitHub (primary if available)

New issue:

gh issue create \
  --title "[type]: clear title" \
  --body "$(cat <<'BODY'
[PRD content here]
BODY
)" \
  --label "type:feature" \
  --assignee "@me"

Sub-issue (linked to parent):

# Create sub-issue
gh issue create --title "..." --body "..." 

# Link as sub-issue to parent #N
gh issue develop N --checkout  # only if needed
# Use: gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/issues/{parent}/sub_issues --method POST -f sub_issue_id={child_id}

Draft PR from issue:

gh issue develop [issue-number] --branch "feature/[name]"

Local files (optional, or when no GitHub)

• PRD: .agents/memory/[kebab-name].md

See references/full-guide.md for local file templates.

Step 6: Get approval before creating

Show the draft PRD. Wait for "looks good" or edits. Then create.

Rules

• Reusable engine → act only within the requested destination and approved draft
• Never create files or GitHub issues without user seeing the draft first
• Sub-issues should be small enough to ship in one PR
• If requirements are unclear, write the problem statement first — not the solution
• If rejecting an enhancement as out of scope, record durable reasoning in .out-of-scope/<concept>.md when the repo uses local out-of-scope memory.

Related

• prd-writer — author the PRD document first when requirements are not settled yet; this skill files what that one wrote
• spec-first — spec-driven development before writing code
• tdd — red-green-refactor execution for tasks with clear behavior
• github-fix-ci — fix CI on existing PRs
• roadmap-analyzer — broader roadmap planning
• cto-advisor — technical strategy and architecture tradeoffs