BMad Help

Purpose

Desired Outcomes

1. Know where they are — which module and phase they're in, what's already been completed
2. Know what to do next — the next recommended and/or required step, with clear reasoning
3. Know how to invoke it — skill name, menu code, action context, and any args that shortcut the conversation
4. Get offered a quick start — when a single skill is the clear next step, offer to run it for the user right now rather than just listing it
5. Feel oriented, not overwhelmed — surface only what's relevant to their current position; don't dump the entire catalog

Data Sources

• Catalog:

  {project-root}/_bmad/_config/bmad-help.csv

  — assembled manifest of all installed module skills
• Config:

  config.yaml

  and

  user-config.yaml

  files in

  {project-root}/_bmad/

  and its subfolders — resolve

  output-location

  variables, provide

  communication_language

  and

  project_knowledge

• Artifacts: Files matching

  outputs

  patterns at resolved

  output-location

  paths reveal which steps are possibly completed; their content may also provide grounding context for recommendations
• Project knowledge: If

  project_knowledge

  resolves to an existing path, read it for grounding context. Never fabricate project-specific details.

CSV Interpretation

module,skill,display-name,menu-code,description,action,args,phase,after,before,required,output-location,outputs

• anytime

  — available regardless of workflow state
• Numbered phases (

  1-analysis

  ,

  2-planning

  , etc.) flow in order; naming varies by module

• after

  — skills that should ideally complete before this one

• before

  — skills that should run after this one
• Format:

  skill-name

  for single-action skills,

  skill-name:action

  for multi-action skills

• required=true

  items must complete before the user can meaningfully proceed to later phases
• A phase with no required items is entirely optional — recommend it but be clear about what's actually required next

• Search resolved output paths for

  outputs

  patterns
• Fuzzy-match found files to catalog rows
• User may also state completion explicitly, or it may be evident from the current conversation

Response Format

• [menu-code]

  Display name — e.g., "[CP] Create PRD"
• Skill name in backticks — e.g.,

  bmad-create-prd

• For multi-action skills: action invocation context — e.g., "tech-writer lets create a mermaid diagram!"
• Description if present in CSV; otherwise your existing knowledge of the skill suffices
• Args if available

Constraints

• Present all output in

  {communication_language}

• Recommend running each skill in a fresh context window
• Match the user's tone — conversational when they're casual, structured when they want specifics
• If the active module is ambiguous, ask rather than guess