steering-specs-generator
Original:🇺🇸 English
Translated
Extract tacit engineering knowledge through guided interviews and generate structured steerings. Use when user mentions "steerings", "tacit knowledge", "conventions", "engineering practices", "interview", or wants to document team/project knowledge. Also activates when user asks for "steerings for X", "document X conventions", "continue steerings", "resume interview", or wants to extract knowledge about a specific topic. Supports reviewing and transforming existing steerings to standard format. Auto-detects existing sessions and offers to continue incomplete ones.
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NPX Install
npx skill4agent add timur-khakhalev/cc-plugins steering-specs-generatorTags
Translated version includes tags in frontmatterSKILL.md Content
View Translation Comparison →Steering Specs Generator
Conducts context-aware interviews to extract tacit engineering knowledge and generate agent-readable steerings. Format: Intent (Why) → Rules (What) → Practices (How) → Meta.
Supports predefined packs (8 areas) and custom topics (user-specified).
Flow overview: See flow-diagram.md for visual representation.
Prerequisites
- pack-reference.md — Topic areas and questions
- steering-template.md — Output format
- Access to an "ask user" tool and a "run subagent task" tool
Tooling Compatibility (Claude Code ↔ Codex CLI)
This skill was originally authored for Claude Code tool names (e.g. , ). To keep it portable, treat these as capabilities and map them to your runtime:
AskUserQuestionTask- Ask user (blocking input)
- Claude Code:
AskUserQuestion - Codex CLI:
request_user_input - If choice options aren't supported by your tool, present choices in text and ask for an index/label.
- Claude Code:
- Run subagents / parallel work
- Claude Code: (+ its output/wait mechanism)
Task - Codex CLI: +
spawn_agent(+ optionallywaitto clarify) +send_inputwhen doneclose_agent
- Claude Code:
- Repo scanning / file IO
- Claude Code: /
Read/WriteGlob - Codex CLI: for search/listing,
exec_commandfor edits (or your runtime’s native file tools)apply_patch
- Claude Code:
In the rest of this doc:
- means "use your environment’s ask-user tool".
ASK_USER(...) - "Task agent" means "spawn a subagent and wait for its output".
Mode Selection
| Keywords | Mode |
|---|---|
| "review steerings", "transform steerings", "fix format" | → Review Mode (Step R) |
| "continue steerings", "continue session", "resume interview" | → Interview Mode (Step 0) with session check |
| "steerings", "tacit knowledge", "interview", "conventions" | → Interview Mode (Step 0) |
Interview Flow
Step 0: Check for Existing Sessions
Before configuring paths, check if sessions already exist in the repo:
-
Scan common session directories:
.sessions/sessions/docs/sessions/
-
If sessions found, present:
ASK_USER(...)
yaml
questions:
- question: "Found existing session(s). Continue or start fresh?"
header: "Session"
options:
- label: "Continue {sessionId}"
description: "Resume incomplete session ({N} of {M} packs done)"
- label: "Start new session"
description: "Create fresh session with new ID"-
If continuing existing session:
- Set to parent directory of found session
sessionsPath - Set to selected session name
sessionId - Scan for completed pack files
{sessionsPath}{sessionId}/ - Completed pack detection: A pack is complete if:
- File exists AND
{packId}.md - Contains section with at least one
## Interviewentry### Q
- File
- Store list (pack IDs to skip)
completedPacks[] - Read and
explore-docs-conventions.mdpaths if they existexplore-repo-context.md - Skip to Step 3 (Pack Interview Loop), filtering out completed packs
- Set
-
If starting new or no sessions found → Continue to Step 0a
Step 0a: Configure Output Paths
Ask user to confirm paths using :
ASK_USER(...)yaml
questions:
- question: "Where should steering files be saved?"
header: "Steerings"
options: ["./steerings/", "docs/steerings/", ".memory-bank/steerings/", "Custom"]
- question: "Where should session files be saved?"
header: "Sessions"
options: ["./sessions/", ".sessions/", "docs/sessions/", "Custom"]
- question: "Where should action items be saved?"
header: "Backlog"
options: ["./backlog/", "Same as steerings parent", ".backlog/", "Custom"]Store: , , . Create directories if needed.
steeringsPathsessionsPathbacklogPathDefaults: , ,
steerings/sessions/backlog/Step 0b: Generate sessionId
- short words id
sessionIdStep 1: Define Topics
Custom topic detected (patterns: "steerings for X", "document X conventions"):
- If clear → Generate ,
packId,packName,packType: "custom"customTopicDescription - If broad → Clarify with (aspects, level, scope)
ASK_USER(...)
No custom topic → Present 8 predefined packs as multi-select:
Step 1a: Choose Interview Mode
Ask user to select interview mode using :
ASK_USER(...)yaml
questions:
- question: "Interview mode preference?"
header: "Mode"
options:
- label: "Interactive (default)"
description: "Answer questions one-by-one with discussion"
- label: "Fast mode"
description: "Answer all questions at once, faster execution"Store: ("interactive" or "fast")
interviewMode| Pack | ID |
|---|---|
| Codebase Topology & Ownership | |
| Architecture & Design Invariants | |
| Business Domain Contracts | |
| Quality & Style Assurance | |
| Testing & Verification Strategy | |
| Risk & Historical Landmines | |
| Security, Data & Compliance | |
| Delivery Lifecycle & Change Flow | |
Step 2: Discovery (Parallel Explore)
Run TWO Explore agents in parallel. Each writes report to and returns path.
{sessionsPath}{sessionId}Explore #1 - Docs & Conventions:
Analyze repository for: steering files, CONVENTIONS.md, ARCHITECTURE.md,
CLAUDE.md, README conventions, eslint/prettier/tsconfig.
OUTPUT: Write to `{sessionsPath}{sessionId}/explore-docs-conventions.md`, return path.Explore #2 - Repo Context:
Analyze: project purpose, tech stack, directory structure, main modules, patterns.
OUTPUT: Write to `{sessionsPath}{sessionId}/explore-repo-context.md`, return path.Capture paths: ,
docsConventionsReportPathrepoContextReportPathStep 3: Pack Interview Loop
Filter packs: If exists (from session continuation), exclude those pack IDs from processing.
completedPacks[]Show progress when continuing:
Continuing session: {sessionId}
✅ Completed: {completedPacks.join(', ')}
⏳ Remaining: {remainingPacks.join(', ')}When running packs in parallel:
- Launch all pack agents as background tasks
- Capture all task IDs
- Wait for all to complete (Claude: Task output/wait; Codex: )
wait - Display progress as packs finish
Spawn a Task agent per pack - run all in parallel for faster execution.
Claude Code: use for each call, then wait for all to complete.
run_in_background: trueTaskCodex CLI: for each pack, capture agent IDs, then for completion (optionally streaming progress as each finishes).
spawn_agentwaityaml
subagent_type: "general-purpose"
description: "Interview for {packName}"
prompt: |
Conduct interview for a single pack and save results.
## Pack Info
- Pack ID: {packId}
- Pack Name: {packName}
- Pack Type: {packType} # "predefined" or "custom"
- Custom Description: {customTopicDescription} # only if custom
## Context Files
- Pack Reference: pack-reference.md
- Repo Context: {repoContextReportPath}
- Docs & Conventions: {docsConventionsReportPath}
## Output
- Path: {sessionsPath}{sessionId}/{packId}.md
## Instructions
### 1. Read Context
Read pack-reference.md to get question themes for this pack.
Read repoContextReportPath and docsConventionsReportPath for grounding.
These reports contain ALL necessary findings - do NOT run additional explores.
### 2. Generate Questions
Question count:
- Predefined: 5
- Custom (narrow): 3-4
- Custom (medium): 5
- Custom (broad): 6-7
Guidelines:
- Ground ONLY in the provided explore reports + existing docs
- Reference actual code: "I see X in Y file..." (from reports)
- Ask about conventions, not roadmap
- Offer 4 options (A/B/C/D)
- Mark one as "⭐ Recommended" at end of description
Pattern:
Q: I found {finding}. How should {convention question}?
A) {Option} — {rationale}
B) {Option} — {rationale} ⭐ Recommended
C) {Option} — {rationale}
D) {Option} — {rationale}
### 3. Conduct Interview
If interviewMode is "fast":
- Present all questions in a single markdown code block
- User responds with all answers at once (e.g., "A, B, A, C, B")
If interviewMode is "interactive":
- Present via `ASK_USER(...)` (max 4 questions per call if your runtime supports batching)
### 4. Classify Responses
For each response, classify as:
- CONVENTION: Timeless, future-focused ("When implementing X, do Y")
- ACTION_ITEM: Temporal, fixes current state ("Replace X", "Fix X")
### 5. Extract and Save Results
Extract rules immediately (not full Q&A) and write to {sessionsPath}{sessionId}/{packId}.md:
- CONVENTION items → "## Conventions" section
- ACTION_ITEM items → "## Action Items" section with severity
- Optionally preserve raw Q&A in collapsed "## Raw Interview" sectionSession structure:
{sessionsPath}
└── {sessionId}/
├── codebase-topology-ownership.md
├── architecture-design-invariants.md
├── {custom-pack-id}.md
└── ...Pack file format:
markdown
# {Pack Name}
**Pack ID:** {id}
## Conventions
- Q1: {extracted rule}
- Q2: {extracted rule}
## Action Items
- Q3: {action item with severity}
## Raw Interview (optional, for reference)
Preserve Q&A in collapsed detail if needed for debugging.Step 4: Await Pack Interviews
Wait for all pack interview agents to complete. Each writes its results to with classifications already included.
{sessionsPath}{sessionId}/{packId}.mdNote: Pack agents use existing explore reports - no additional explores are run.
Step 5: Generate Outputs
Delegate to general-purpose subagent (use the strongest available model in your runtime):
yaml
subagent_type: "general-purpose"
description: "Generate steerings and action items"
prompt: |
Generate steerings AND action items from interview sessions.
Session directory: {sessionsPath}{sessionId}/
(contains one .md file per pack with classifications)
Docs report: {docsConventionsReportPath}
Repo report: {repoContextReportPath}
Template: steering-template.md
Output paths: {steeringsPath}, {backlogPath}
Instructions:
1. Read all pack files from session directory
2. Extract CONVENTION items → generate steering files
3. Extract ACTION_ITEM items → generate backlog file
4. Generate index.md for steeringsSteering filenames:
| Pack ID | Filename |
|---|---|
| codebase-topology-ownership | code-ownership.md |
| architecture-design-invariants | architecture-invariants.md |
| business-domain-contracts | domain-invariants.md |
| quality-style-assurance | quality-and-style.md |
| testing-verification-strategy | testing-strategy.md |
| risk-historical-landmines | risk-registry.md |
| security-data-compliance | security-and-compliance.md |
| delivery-lifecycle-change-flow | delivery-lifecycle.md |
| {custom-pack-id} | {custom-pack-id}.md |
Rule style:
- ✅ "When implementing X, do Y" / "Use X for Y" / "New features require X"
- ❌ "Proactively refactor X" / "Continue using X" / "Add X to existing code"
Action items file:
{backlogPath}steering-specs-action-items.mdSeverity: 🔴 CRITICAL (data loss, security) → 🟡 HIGH → 🟢 MEDIUM → 🔵 LOW → ⏸️ DEFERRED
Step 6: Present Results
Generated steerings:
- {steeringsPath}*.md (N rules, M practices each)
- {steeringsPath}index.md
Action Items: {backlogPath}steering-specs-action-items.md
- 🔴 Critical: N | 🟡 High: N | 🟢 Medium: N
Session: {sessionsPath}{sessionId}/
- {packId-1}.md
- {packId-2}.md
- ...Review Mode (Step R)
Transform existing steerings to standard format.
R1: Locate Steerings
Auto-detect or ask: , ,
steerings/docs/steerings/.steerings/R2: Analyze with Explore
yaml
subagent_type: "Explore"
prompt: |
Analyze steering files in {steeringsPath}:
- Structure: Intent → Rules → Practices → Meta?
- Rules: numbered, prescriptive, no metadata?
- Code examples: 5-15 lines?
- File size: <200 lines?
Report compliant vs non-compliant files with specific issues.R3: Present Summary
✅ Compliant: file1.md, file2.md
⚠️ Need transformation:
- file3.md: Missing Intent, verbose rules
- file4.md: Code examples too longR4: Ask Action
Options: Transform all | Transform specific | Backup and transform | Plan only | Skip
R5: Transform
Delegate to general-purpose subagent with transformation guidelines from steering-template.md.
R6: Present Results
Show changes per file, regenerate index.md.
Quick Reference
Activation keywords: steerings, tacit knowledge, interview, conventions, "steerings for X", "continue steerings"
Session continuation: Auto-detects existing sessions in , , . Offers to resume incomplete sessions, skipping completed packs.
.sessions/sessions/docs/sessions/8 Predefined Packs: Topology, Architecture, Domain, Quality, Testing, Risk, Security, Delivery
Output format: Intent (1 sentence) → Rules (numbered) → Practices (heading + explanation) → Meta
Files generated:
- — Steering files
{steeringsPath}*.md - — Table of contents
{steeringsPath}index.md - — Action items
{backlogPath}steering-specs-action-items.md - — Interview responses per pack
{sessionsPath}{sessionId}/{packId}.md - — Discovery reports
{sessionsPath}explore-*.md
Reference files:
- flow-diagram.md — Visual flow
- pack-reference.md — Pack definitions and Explore prompts
- steering-template.md — Output format validation