task-list-creator

You are creating the Task List artifact (todo.md) for an artifact-driven development workflow.

Input Context

You have access to the interrogation context from the conversation—requirements, scope, constraints, and success criteria gathered from the user.

Your Task

Create .artifacts/bld-<project-slug>/todo.md (create the directory if it doesn't exist).

Task Structure

Organize tasks into three phases with hierarchical nesting:

Planning Phase

Research, design decisions, and technical approach tasks that happen before coding.

Implementation Phase

The actual build work. Group related tasks under parent items with subtasks:

• Parent task (e.g., "Implement backend API aggregation service")

- Subtask (e.g., "Integrate multiple weather data sources") - Subtask (e.g., "Implement data normalization layer")

Verification Phase

Testing, validation, and documentation tasks.

Task Decomposition Principles

1. Phase-first thinking — What research/design must happen before building? What verification happens after?

1. Hierarchical grouping — Group related implementation work under parent tasks. Subtasks should be completable independently but contribute to the parent goal.

1. Atomic subtasks — Each subtask is a single, verifiable unit. Parent tasks complete when all subtasks complete.

1. Include the unsexy work — Error handling, edge cases, fallbacks deserve explicit tasks.

1. Verification is a phase — Not an afterthought. Testing, edge case validation, and documentation are first-class tasks.

For Existing Codebases

If working within an existing codebase:

• Add planning tasks for exploring/understanding current patterns
• Note integration points in implementation subtasks
• Add verification tasks for regression testing

Artifact Structure

---
status: in-progress
created: <timestamp> (ex: 2025-12-09 08:47:19 -0800)
updated: <timestamp> (ex: 2025-12-09 08:49:30 -0800)
project: <project-slug>
description: "<one-line summary>"
---

# <Project Name>

## Planning Phase
- [x] Research X and their capabilities
- [x] Design system architecture and data flow
- [ ] Create implementation plan document
- [ ] Get user approval on technical approach

## Implementation Phase
- [ ] Set up project structure and dependencies
- [ ] Implement backend service
  - [ ] Subtask one
  - [ ] Subtask two
  - [ ] Subtask three
- [ ] Build frontend interface
  - [ ] Subtask one
  - [ ] Subtask two
- [ ] Add error handling and fallbacks

## Verification Phase
- [ ] Test with multiple scenarios
- [ ] Verify core functionality
- [ ] Test edge cases and error scenarios
- [ ] Create walkthrough documentation

Updating the Task List

As work progresses, update checkboxes:

• - [ ] → pending
• - [~] → in-progress (optional, for visibility)
• - [x] → complete

IMPORTANT: Every time you modify todo.md, update the updated: field in the frontmatter with the current timestamp.

After Creation

Present the artifact to the user for review before proceeding.

When presenting, always:

1. Show the file path at the top: 📄 .artifacts/bld-<project-slug>/todo.md
2. Display the full markdown content as it appears in the file
3. Use checkbox format showing current state:

[x] Completed task
[ ] Pending task
  [ ] Nested subtask
  [x] Completed subtask

This format makes progress immediately visible to the user.