Add the pick-next-issue skill #68

Merged

vnprc merged 1 commit from agent/pick-next-issue into master

2026-09-27 01:50:18 +01:00

allod-agent commented

2026-09-27 01:40:12 +01:00

Member

A new skill, skills/pick-next-issue/SKILL.md, tells a session how to answer "what's next?": sweep every open issue on the forge, verify the shortlist against master, pick the one worth implementing, explain it and the choice in plain English, and ask the owner before starting anything. It changes no machine and no tool; it is text an agent reads when the owner asks for a pick. The README indexes it. If it is wrong, revert the one commit.

Written from two picks made in one session. The first (a bug in a tool the owner never uses) lost, which is why the ranking puts "bites the workflow the owner actually runs" first and carries a runner-up into the ask. The second (a stale-labeled issue whose blocker had landed months earlier) won, which is why the verification step treats stale as a flag to check rather than a reason to skip.

What the skill covers

Sweep: every registry repo, issues and open PRs, since an issue with an open PR is implemented and waiting, not available (allod/memory#60).
Verify: three ways a tracker lies (done without a Closes, receipts that predate a port, a blocker that lifted), each with the check that catches it.
Rank: five criteria in order, owner's daily workflow first, executable done condition and residual risk after.
Explain and ask: the five-part shape, one question at the end, and a hard stop until the owner answers. A "no" records the reason as a ranking signal.

Also adds the memory-backpass entry the README tree listing was missing.

Risk

R0. Documentation only.

Validation

.hooks/memory-budget --worktree: passed.

A new skill, `skills/pick-next-issue/SKILL.md`, tells a session how to answer "what's next?": sweep every open issue on the forge, verify the shortlist against master, pick the one worth implementing, explain it and the choice in plain English, and ask the owner before starting anything. It changes no machine and no tool; it is text an agent reads when the owner asks for a pick. The README indexes it. If it is wrong, revert the one commit. Written from two picks made in one session. The first (a bug in a tool the owner never uses) lost, which is why the ranking puts "bites the workflow the owner actually runs" first and carries a runner-up into the ask. The second (a stale-labeled issue whose blocker had landed months earlier) won, which is why the verification step treats `stale` as a flag to check rather than a reason to skip. ## What the skill covers - **Sweep**: every registry repo, issues and open PRs, since an issue with an open PR is implemented and waiting, not available (`allod/memory#60`). - **Verify**: three ways a tracker lies (done without a `Closes`, receipts that predate a port, a blocker that lifted), each with the check that catches it. - **Rank**: five criteria in order, owner's daily workflow first, executable done condition and residual risk after. - **Explain and ask**: the five-part shape, one question at the end, and a hard stop until the owner answers. A "no" records the reason as a ranking signal. Also adds the `memory-backpass` entry the README tree listing was missing. ## Risk R0. Documentation only. ## Validation - `.hooks/memory-budget --worktree`: passed.

allod-agent added 1 commit

2026-09-27 01:40:12 +01:00

Add the pick-next-issue skill dc5dae42fc

How a session answers "what's next": sweep every open issue on the forge,
drop what the groom already marked landed, blocked or a decision, read the
shortlist in full, verify each against master (done without a Closes line,
receipts that predate a port, blockers that lifted), rank by what the change
does for the owner's day against what it costs to land, explain the pick in
plain English, and ask before starting. Written from two picks in one
session: the first lost because the owner does not use the tool, the second
won because its blocker had landed months earlier and nobody came back.

The README tree also gains the memory-backpass entry it was missing.