speckit-tasks

---

name: speckit-tasks description: Generate an actionable, dependency-ordered tasks.md for the feature based on available design artifacts.

User Input

Copy$ARGUMENTS

You MUST consider the user input before proceeding (if not empty).

Memory Integration

Before Starting

Search for task breakdown patterns:

Copy./scripts/memory-search "task breakdown patterns for {feature type}"

After Completion

Save task structure decisions:

Copy./scripts/memory-save --decisions "Task structure for {feature}: {phases and approach}" --issues ""

Constitution Alignment

This skill enforces project principles:

• TDD: Tests are NOT optional - always generate tests first
• Atomic Commits: Tasks sized for 300-600 LOC commits
• Traceability: Every task linked to requirements

Outline

1. Setup: Run .specify/scripts/bash/check-prerequisites.sh --json from repo root and parse FEATURE_DIR and AVAILABLE_DOCS list. All paths must be absolute. For single quotes in args like "I'm Groot", use escape syntax: e.g 'I'''m Groot' (or double-quote if possible: "I'm Groot").

2. Load design documents: Read from FEATURE_DIR:

   • Required: plan.md (tech stack, libraries, structure), spec.md (user stories with priorities)
   • Optional: data-model.md (entities), contracts/ (API endpoints), research.md (decisions), quickstart.md (test scenarios)
   • ALL projects have all documents. Ensure you have traced back to all requirement and design documents.

3. Execute task generation workflow:

   • Load plan.md and extract tech stack, libraries, project structure
   • Load spec.md and extract user stories with their priorities (P1, P2, P3, etc.)
   • If data-model.md exists: Extract entities and map to user stories
   • If contracts/ exists: Map endpoints to user stories
   • If research.md exists: Extract decisions for setup tasks
   • Generate tasks organized by user story (see Task Generation Rules below)
   • Generate dependency graph showing user story completion order
   • Create parallel execution examples per user story
   • Validate task completeness (each user story has all needed tasks, independently testable)

4. Generate tasks.md: Use .specify/templates/tasks-template.md as structure, fill with:

   • Correct feature name from plan.md
   • Phase 1: Setup tasks (project initialization)
   • Phase 2: Foundational tasks (blocking prerequisites for all user stories)
   • Phase 3+: One phase per user story (in priority order from spec.md)
   • Each phase includes: story goal, independent test criteria, tests (if requested), implementation tasks
   • Final Phase: Polish & cross-cutting concerns
   • All tasks must follow the strict checklist format (see Task Generation Rules below)
   • Clear file paths for each task
   • Dependencies section showing story completion order
   • Parallel execution examples per story
   • Implementation strategy section (incremental delivery)

5. Report: Output path to generated tasks.md and summary:

   • Total task count
   • Task count per user story
   • Parallel opportunities identified
   • Independent test criteria for each story
   • Format validation: Confirm ALL tasks follow the checklist format (checkbox, ID, labels, file paths)

Context for task generation: $ARGUMENTS

The tasks.md should be immediately executable - each task must be specific enough that an LLM can complete it without additional context.

Task Generation Rules

CRITICAL: Tasks MUST be organized by user story to enable independent implementation and testing.

Tests are NOT OPTIONAL: Always generate tests using the TDD approach.

Checklist Format (REQUIRED)

Every task MUST strictly follow this format:

Copy- [ ] [TaskID] [P?] [Story?] Description with file path

Format Components:

1. Checkbox: ALWAYS start with - [ ] (markdown checkbox)
2. Task ID: Sequential number (T001, T002, T003...) in execution order
3. [P] marker: Include ONLY if task is parallelizable (different files, no dependencies on incomplete tasks)
4. [Story] label: REQUIRED for user story phase tasks only
   • Format: [US1], [US2], [US3], etc. (maps to user stories from spec.md)
   • Setup phase: NO story label
   • Foundational phase: NO story label
   • User Story phases: MUST have story label
   • Polish phase: NO story label
5. Description: Clear action with exact file path

Examples:

• Correct: - [ ] T001 Create project structure per implementation plan
• Correct: - [ ] T005 [P] Implement authentication middleware in src/middleware/auth.py
• Correct: - [ ] T012 [P] [US1] Create User model in src/models/user.py
• Correct: - [ ] T014 [US1] Implement UserService in src/services/user_service.py
• Wrong: - [ ] Create User model (missing ID and Story label)
• Wrong: T001 [US1] Create model (missing checkbox)
• Wrong: - [ ] [US1] Create User model (missing Task ID)
• Wrong: - [ ] T001 [US1] Create model (missing file path)

Task Organization

1. From User Stories (spec.md) - PRIMARY ORGANIZATION:

   • Each user story (P1, P2, P3...) gets its own phase
   • Map all related components to their story:
     • Models needed for that story
     • Services needed for that story
     • Endpoints/UI needed for that story
     • If tests requested: Tests specific to that story
   • Mark story dependencies (most stories should be independent)

2. From Contracts:

   • Map each contract/endpoint to the user story it serves
   • If tests requested: Each contract: contract test task [P] before implementation in that story's phase

3. From Data Model:

   • Map each entity to the user story(ies) that need it
   • If entity serves multiple stories: Put in earliest story or Setup phase
   • Relationships: service layer tasks in appropriate story phase

4. From Setup/Infrastructure:

   • Shared infrastructure: Setup phase (Phase 1)
   • Foundational/blocking tasks: Foundational phase (Phase 2)
   • Story-specific setup: within that story's phase

Phase Structure

• Phase 1: Setup (project initialization)
• Phase 2: Foundational (blocking prerequisites - MUST complete before user stories)
• Phase 3+: User Stories in priority order (P1, P2, P3...)
  • Within each story: Tests (if requested): Models: Services: Endpoints: Integration
  • Each phase should be a complete, independently testable increment
• Final Phase: Polish & Cross-Cutting Concerns

Handoff

After completing this skill:

• Create Linear issues: Run /speckit.taskstolinear to create Linear issues
• Start implementing: Run /speckit.implement to begin task execution
• Analyze consistency: Run /speckit.analyze to check artifact consistency

References

• .specify/templates/tasks-template.md - Tasks template
• spec.md - Feature specification with user stories
• plan.md - Implementation plan with tech stack