conductor-implement

Implement Track

Execute tasks from a track's implementation plan, following the workflow rules defined in conductor/workflow.md.

Use this skill when

Working on implement track tasks or workflows

Needing guidance, best practices, or checklists for implement track

Do not use this skill when

The task is unrelated to implement track

You need a different domain or tool outside this scope

Instructions

Clarify goals, constraints, and required inputs.

Apply relevant best practices and validate outcomes.

Provide actionable steps and verification.

If detailed examples are required, open resources/implementation-playbook.md.

Pre-flight Checks

Verify Conductor is initialized:

- Check conductor/product.md exists
- Check conductor/workflow.md exists
- Check conductor/tracks.md exists
- If missing: Display error and suggest running /conductor:setup first

Load workflow configuration:

- Read conductor/workflow.md
- Parse TDD strictness level
- Parse commit strategy
- Parse verification checkpoint rules

Track Selection

If argument provided:

Validate track exists: conductor/tracks/{argument}/plan.md

If not found: Search for partial matches, suggest corrections

If no argument:

Read conductor/tracks.md

Parse for incomplete tracks (status [ ] or [~])

Display selection menu:

Select a track to implement:
   In Progress:
   1. [~] auth_20250115 - User Authentication (Phase 2, Task 3)
   Pending:
   2. [ ] nav-fix_20250114 - Navigation Bug Fix
   3. [ ] dashboard_20250113 - Dashboard Feature
   Enter number or track ID:

Context Loading

Load all relevant context for implementation:

Track documents:

- conductor/tracks/{trackId}/spec.md - Requirements
- conductor/tracks/{trackId}/plan.md - Task list
- conductor/tracks/{trackId}/metadata.json - Progress state

Project context:

- conductor/product.md - Product understanding
- conductor/tech-stack.md - Technical constraints
- conductor/workflow.md - Process rules

Code style (if exists):

- conductor/code_styleguides/{language}.md

Track Status Update

Update track to in-progress:

In conductor/tracks.md:

- Change [ ] to [~] for this track

In conductor/tracks/{trackId}/metadata.json:

- Set status: "in_progress"
- Update updated timestamp

Task Execution Loop

For each incomplete task in plan.md (marked with [ ]):

1. Task Identification

Parse plan.md to find next incomplete task:

Look for lines matching - [ ] Task X.Y: {description}

Track current phase from structure

2. Task Start

Mark task as in-progress:

Update plan.md: Change [ ] to [~] for current task

Announce: "Starting Task X.Y: {description}"

3. TDD Workflow (if TDD enabled in workflow.md)

Red Phase - Write Failing Test:

Following TDD workflow for Task X.Y...
Step 1: Writing failing test

Create test file if needed

Write test(s) for the task functionality

Run tests to confirm they fail

If tests pass unexpectedly: HALT, investigate

Green Phase - Implement:

Step 2: Implementing minimal code to pass test

Write minimum code to make test pass

Run tests to confirm they pass

If tests fail: Debug and fix

Refactor Phase:

Step 3: Refactoring while keeping tests green

Clean up code

Run tests to ensure still passing

4. Non-TDD Workflow (if TDD not strict)

Implement the task directly

Run any existing tests

Manual verification as needed

5. Task Completion

Commit changes (following commit strategy from workflow.md):

git add -A
git commit -m "{commit_prefix}: {task description} ({trackId})"

Update plan.md:

Change [~] to [x] for completed task

Commit plan update:

git add conductor/tracks/{trackId}/plan.md
git commit -m "chore: mark task X.Y complete ({trackId})"

Update metadata.json:

Increment tasks.completed

Update updated timestamp

6. Phase Completion Check

After each task, check if phase is complete:

Parse plan.md for phase structure

If all tasks in current phase are [x]:

Run phase verification:

Phase {N} complete. Running verification...

Execute verification tasks listed for the phase

Run full test suite: npm test / pytest / etc.

Report and wait for approval:

Phase {N} Verification Results:
All phase tasks: Complete

Tests: {passing/failing}

Verification: {pass/fail}
Approve to continue to Phase {N+1}?
Yes, continue

No, there are issues to fix

Pause implementation

CRITICAL: Wait for explicit user approval before proceeding to next phase.

Error Handling During Implementation

On Tool Failure

ERROR: {tool} failed with: {error message}
Options:
Retry the operation

Skip this task and continue

Pause implementation

Revert current task changes

HALT and present options

Do NOT automatically continue

On Test Failure

TESTS FAILING after Task X.Y
Failed tests:
{test name}: {failure reason}
Options:
Attempt to fix

Rollback task changes

Pause for manual intervention

On Git Failure

GIT ERROR: {error message}
This may indicate:
Uncommitted changes from outside Conductor

Merge conflicts

Permission issues
Options:
Show git status

Attempt to resolve

Pause for manual intervention

Track Completion

When all phases and tasks are complete:

1. Final Verification

All tasks complete. Running final verification...

Run full test suite

Check all acceptance criteria from spec.md

Generate verification report

2. Update Track Status

In conductor/tracks.md:

Change [~] to [x] for this track

Update the "Updated" column

In conductor/tracks/{trackId}/metadata.json:

Set status: "complete"

Set phases.completed to total

Set tasks.completed to total

Update updated timestamp

In conductor/tracks/{trackId}/plan.md:

Update header status to [x] Complete

3. Documentation Sync Offer

Track complete! Would you like to sync documentation?
This will update:
conductor/product.md (if new features added)

conductor/tech-stack.md (if new dependencies added)

README.md (if applicable)
Yes, sync documentation

No, skip

4. Cleanup Offer

Track {trackId} is complete.
Cleanup options:
Archive - Move to conductor/tracks/_archive/

Delete - Remove track directory

Keep - Leave as-is

5. Completion Summary

Track Complete: {track title}
Summary:
Track ID: {trackId}

Phases completed: {N}/{N}

Tasks completed: {M}/{M}

Commits created: {count}

Tests: All passing
Next steps:
Run /conductor:status to see project progress

Run /conductor:new-track for next feature

Progress Tracking

Maintain progress in metadata.json throughout:

{
  "id": "auth_20250115",
  "title": "User Authentication",
  "type": "feature",
  "status": "in_progress",
  "created": "2025-01-15T10:00:00Z",
  "updated": "2025-01-15T14:30:00Z",
  "current_phase": 2,
  "current_task": "2.3",
  "phases": {
    "total": 3,
    "completed": 1
  },
  "tasks": {
    "total": 12,
    "completed": 7
  },
  "commits": [
    "abc1234: feat: add login form (auth_20250115)",
    "def5678: feat: add password validation (auth_20250115)"
  ]
}

Resumption

If implementation is paused and resumed:

Load metadata.json for current state

Find current task from current_task field

Check if task is [~] in plan.md

Ask user:

Resuming track: {title}
   Last task in progress: Task {X.Y}: {description}
   Options:
   1. Continue from where we left off
   2. Restart current task
   3. Show progress summary first

Critical Rules

NEVER skip verification checkpoints - Always wait for user approval between phases

STOP on any failure - Do not attempt to continue past errors

Follow workflow.md strictly - TDD, commit strategy, and verification rules are mandatory

Keep plan.md updated - Task status must reflect actual progress

Commit frequently - Each task completion should be committed

Track all commits - Record commit hashes in metadata.json for potential revert