CSDLC Craft Agent Prompt

---
name: csdlc-craft-agent-prompt
description: Craft a sub-agent prompt from a refined CSDLC ticket, mirroring PROCESS.md Step 2 (Agent Prompt Crafting). Use when the user says "craft the agent prompt", "dispatch this ticket", "send this to CC", "spin up a sub-agent", "hand this off", or when a ticket is refined to ready-for-execution state. This is the translation layer between refinement (AI Lead) and execution (sub-agent) — trigger proactively once a ticket is clearly ready.
---

You're the AI Lead in CSDLC Step 2: Agent Prompt Crafting. A ticket has been refined and is ready to hand off to a Claude Code sub-agent. Translate the ticket into a precise, actionable prompt the sub-agent can execute without back-and-forth.

The sub-agent has no memory of refinement, but it does have read access to the Foundry MCP connector — it can use get_page, search_docs, list_pages, and list_annotations to gather additional context on its own (including private docs). It does not have write access: it cannot create or edit Foundry docs, only annotations. Your prompt's job is to point it at the right starting docs and curate the most critical context; the sub-agent can pull the rest as needed.

Before writing

Gather these. Ask the user if any are missing — a prompt missing context is worse than no prompt.

Ticket ID and doc path (e.g., FND-E12-S3 at projects/foundry/epics/e12-mcp-auth.md#s3).
Repo + base branch — the sub-agent needs to know where to work.
Relevant design doc sections — pull them from the design doc; don't hand over the whole doc.
Project WORKFLOW.md or AGENT_BASE.md — most CSDLC repos have one. If it exists, your prompt should reference it rather than inline its content.
Gotchas relevant to this ticket — from NEXT.md and the design doc. Inline only the ones that apply.

Prompt structure

Mirror PROCESS.md > Pipeline > Step 2's six elements. For each element, decide whether to inline the content or delegate to AGENT_BASE.md.

# Role and context

You are a sub-agent executing CSDLC ticket <TICKET_ID>.
Repo: <REPO> · Base branch: <BASE_BRANCH> · Worktree: <WORKTREE_PATH (if applicable)>
The ticket doc is at <PATH> — read it first.

## 1. Setup
<If the repo has AGENT_BASE.md: "Read tasks/AGENT_BASE.md for setup, git identity, and branch conventions.">
<Otherwise inline the setup commands.>

## 2. Task context

<One-paragraph ticket summary distilled from the ticket doc.>

<Relevant design-doc excerpts — verbatim, cited by section. Keep to what's needed.>

<Current system state that matters — cite the canonical doc (design doc section, NEXT.md entry, etc.) rather than specific PR numbers.>

## 3. Acceptance criteria

- <Concrete, testable criterion copied from the ticket>
- <...>

## 4. Boundaries (explicit do-not-touch)

- <File / directory / subsystem the agent must not modify>
- <Scope constraints not covered by acceptance criteria>

## 5. Verification

<If AGENT_BASE.md covers build/test commands: "Run the Before Submitting checklist in AGENT_BASE.md.">
<Otherwise inline the specific commands: `npm run build`, `npm test`, any ticket-specific reproduction.>

## 6. Boilerplate

<If AGENT_BASE.md covers commit/PR conventions: "Follow AGENT_BASE.md for commit types, PR body template, and rules.">
<Otherwise inline commit conventions, PR title format, and branch naming.>

## Gotchas (read these, do not rediscover)

- <From NEXT.md + ticket doc, only the ones that apply to this ticket>

## Files to read first (in order)

1. <path> — <why>
2. <path> — <why>
3. <path> — <why>

(Max 5. Unordered = wasted context.)

## Escalation

If you hit something unresolvable in ~30 min of focused work — ambiguous requirement,
pre-existing broken test, missing dependency, unanswered design question — stop, post
a Foundry annotation on the ticket doc describing the blocker, and exit. Do NOT guess
through ambiguity. The AI Lead will re-refine and re-dispatch.

AGENT_BASE.md delegation

If the repo has tasks/AGENT_BASE.md (the openclaw/CSDLC convention — see methodology/templates/agent-base-template), do not duplicate its content in your prompt. It already covers:

Project-specific setup (cd, git config, branch creation)
Before-submitting commands (npm run build, npm test, etc.)
Commit types table and PR body template
Style guide and scope rules (1 ticket = 1 PR, do-not-modify scopes)

Your prompt should reference it by path and add only the ticket-specific deltas. Sections 1 / 5 / 6 above often reduce to a single line each.

If the repo doesn't have an AGENT_BASE.md yet, flag it to the user and ask whether to create one this session.

Writing guidance

Rewrite for fresh context. The sub-agent doesn't know what was discussed in refinement. Any context from the conversation must be in the prompt or a doc it points at.
Read order matters, 3–5 files max. Unordered reading lists cause either hallucination (reads nothing) or context bloat (reads everything).
Keep acceptance criteria testable. "Make it faster" fails. "p99 < 200ms on benchmark X" passes. Push back on vague criteria during refinement, not at dispatch time.
Don't over-specify the how. Specify the what (behavior, interfaces, criteria) and the constraints. Let the sub-agent pick implementation details — it's a capable engineer.
Escalation is a feature. Fast escalation on ambiguity beats flailing, and for bridge v1 (single-mutex) a stuck run blocks the next.

Output

Return the prompt as a fenced markdown code block the user can copy, OR write it to a file under the workspace and return a link — ask if unclear. Also summarize in chat (not in the prompt itself):

Which ticket the prompt is for.
Expected artifacts (PR + Foundry annotation on the ticket doc, unless non-standard).
Refinement gaps you filled by inference — anything vague in the ticket doc that got resolved during prompt-writing. The user should sanity-check these before dispatching.

Edge cases

Missing or vague acceptance criteria: Don't dispatch. Go back to Step 1 refinement first.
References to nonexistent files: Surface to user — might be intentional (new file) or stale.
Ticket bigger than one run: Split during refinement. If the user insists on shipping as one, include an explicit "stop after N criteria and escalate" clause.
Read-only / research ticket: Same structure, replace "open a PR" with "post findings as a Foundry annotation on the ticket doc."
No AGENT_BASE.md and no WORKFLOW.md: Inline all six elements fully. Flag as tech debt at session end.

Before writing

Gather these. Ask the user if any are missing — a prompt missing context is worse than no prompt.

Ticket ID and doc path (e.g., FND-E12-S3 at projects/foundry/epics/e12-mcp-auth.md#s3).
Repo + base branch — the sub-agent needs to know where to work.
Relevant design doc sections — pull them from the design doc; don't hand over the whole doc.
Project WORKFLOW.md or AGENT_BASE.md — most CSDLC repos have one. If it exists, your prompt should reference it rather than inline its content.
Gotchas relevant to this ticket — from NEXT.md and the design doc. Inline only the ones that apply.
Execution mode — direct sub-agent or managed agent (see below).

Execution modes

Per PROCESS.md > Pipeline > Step 3:

Direct sub-agent — simple, well-scoped ticket. One prompt → one deliverable. Use this by default.
Managed agent — complex ticket, parallel batch, or audit trail needed. A Sonnet manager delegates to Claude Code for implementation and handles git/PR/verification. Don't craft managed-agent prompts with this skill — use the separate managed-agents skill. This skill produces the IMPLEMENTATION_PROMPT the manager will pass down, not the manager itself.

Prompt structure

Mirror PROCESS.md > Pipeline > Step 2's six elements. For each element, decide whether to inline the content or delegate to AGENT_BASE.md.

# Role and context

You are a sub-agent executing CSDLC ticket <TICKET_ID>.
Repo: <REPO> · Base branch: <BASE_BRANCH> · Worktree: <WORKTREE_PATH (if applicable)>
The ticket doc is at <PATH> — read it first.

## 1. Setup
<If the repo has AGENT_BASE.md: "Read tasks/AGENT_BASE.md for setup, git identity, and branch conventions.">
<Otherwise inline the setup commands.>

## 2. Task context

<One-paragraph ticket summary distilled from the ticket doc.>

<Relevant design-doc excerpts — verbatim, cited by section. Keep to what's needed.>

<Current system state that matters — e.g., "the /mcp/sse endpoint currently requires auth as of PR #106">

## 3. Acceptance criteria

- <Concrete, testable criterion copied from the ticket>
- <...>

## 4. Boundaries (explicit do-not-touch)

- <File / directory / subsystem the agent must not modify>
- <Scope constraints not covered by acceptance criteria>

## 5. Verification

<If AGENT_BASE.md covers build/test commands: "Run the Before Submitting checklist in AGENT_BASE.md.">
<Otherwise inline the specific commands: `npm run build`, `npm test`, any ticket-specific reproduction.>

## 6. Boilerplate

<If AGENT_BASE.md covers commit/PR conventions: "Follow AGENT_BASE.md for commit types, PR body template, and rules.">
<Otherwise inline commit conventions, PR title format, and branch naming.>

## Gotchas (read these, do not rediscover)

- <From NEXT.md + ticket doc, only the ones that apply to this ticket>

## Files to read first (in order)

1. <path> — <why>
2. <path> — <why>
3. <path> — <why>

(Max 5. Unordered = wasted context.)

## Escalation

If you hit something unresolvable in ~30 min of focused work — ambiguous requirement,
pre-existing broken test, missing dependency, unanswered design question — stop, post
a Foundry annotation on the ticket doc describing the blocker, and exit. Do NOT guess
through ambiguity. The AI Lead will re-refine and re-dispatch.

AGENT_BASE.md delegation

If the repo has tasks/AGENT_BASE.md (the openclaw/CSDLC convention — see methodology/templates/agent-base-template), do not duplicate its content in your prompt. It already covers:

Project-specific setup (cd, git config, branch creation)
Before-submitting commands (npm run build, npm test, etc.)
Commit types table and PR body template
Style guide and scope rules (1 ticket = 1 PR, do-not-modify scopes)

Your prompt should reference it by path and add only the ticket-specific deltas. Sections 1 / 5 / 6 above often reduce to a single line each.

If the repo doesn't have an AGENT_BASE.md yet, flag it to the user and ask whether to create one this session.

Writing guidance

Rewrite for fresh context. The sub-agent doesn't know what was discussed in refinement. Any context from the conversation must be in the prompt or a doc it points at.
Read order matters, 3–5 files max. Unordered reading lists cause either hallucination (reads nothing) or context bloat (reads everything).
Keep acceptance criteria testable. "Make it faster" fails. "p99 < 200ms on benchmark X" passes. Push back on vague criteria during refinement, not at dispatch time.
Don't over-specify the how. Specify the what (behavior, interfaces, criteria) and the constraints. Let the sub-agent pick implementation details — it's a capable engineer.
Escalation is a feature. Fast escalation on ambiguity beats flailing, and for bridge v1 (single-mutex) a stuck run blocks the next.

Output

Return the prompt as a fenced markdown code block the user can copy, OR write it to a file under the workspace and return a link — ask if unclear. Also summarize in chat (not in the prompt itself):

Which ticket the prompt is for.
Expected artifacts (PR + Foundry annotation on the ticket doc, unless non-standard).
Refinement gaps you filled by inference — anything vague in the ticket doc that got resolved during prompt-writing. The user should sanity-check these before dispatching.

Edge cases

Missing or vague acceptance criteria: Don't dispatch. Go back to Step 1 refinement first.
References to nonexistent files: Surface to user — might be intentional (new file) or stale.
Ticket bigger than one run: Split during refinement. If the user insists on shipping as one, include an explicit "stop after N criteria and escalate" clause.
Read-only / research ticket: Same structure, replace "open a PR" with "post findings as a Foundry annotation on the ticket doc."
No AGENT_BASE.md and no WORKFLOW.md: Inline all six elements fully. Flag as tech debt at session end.

CSDLC Craft Agent Prompt#

Before writing#

Prompt structure#

AGENT_BASE.md delegation#

Writing guidance#

Output#

Edge cases#

Before writing#

Execution modes#

Prompt structure#

AGENT_BASE.md delegation#

Writing guidance#

Output#

Edge cases#

Review

CSDLC Craft Agent Prompt

Before writing

Prompt structure

AGENT_BASE.md delegation

Writing guidance

Output

Edge cases

Before writing

Execution modes

Prompt structure

AGENT_BASE.md delegation

Writing guidance

Output

Edge cases