decompose git:20261025.6e96d09A

Immutable. This exact content never changes and is served at /api/v1/blob/c3a8b5595bdbe9b2.

---
name: decompose
description: Develop greenfield context from a resumable interview recorded as decomposition and knowledge records.
argument-hint: (none)
---

# decompose

<!-- catalog-compatibility-notice:start -->
> Compatibility route. Prefer `/ca-init --greenfield` for new usage. This installed route remains
> functional under the command-route compatibility policy at <plugin-root>/includes/command-compatibility.md;
> continue with the greenfield workflow below.
<!-- catalog-compatibility-notice:end -->

Develop the project specification before implementation. Keep actual user decisions,
planned architecture and observed repository facts distinct. Load
`<plugin-root>/includes/knowledge.md` for the record vocabulary and the
`knowledge.py` verbs used below.

## 1. Inspect and resume

Read `.codearbiter/CONTEXT.md` frontmatter. An initialized project returns to normal
operation; context changes use `/ca-context-check`. Meaningful implementation
source routes to `/ca-create-context`. If the scaffold is absent, run
`/ca-init` first. If `knowledge.py format` reports `markdown`, this is an older
scaffold: offer `knowledge.py convert`; read every returned Markdown section,
record its meaning, map each section ID to its saved record or note references
(`[]` only for `content=false`), then run
`knowledge.py convert --finish <token> --coverage @checklist.json` (the
transaction retains the original bytes). If the
user keeps the Markdown format, load
`<plugin-root>/routines/decompose/references/markdown-format.md` and follow that
unchanged procedure instead of this one; never convert silently.

Run `knowledge.py create-missing`, then `knowledge.py read decomposition`. Existing
`question` records with `status: answered` are settled: do not ask them again or
require another approval of unchanged answers. Resume with the open question that
matters most for what the user wants to do next, not a fixed first-unfinished
step. An explicit restart retires earlier records with a reason; it never deletes
them.

## 2. Capture the interview

Explain briefly that you will establish scope, architecture and a build sequence.
Ask focused questions only where existing answers do not establish the needed facts
or choices. Cover these areas, in whatever order the conversation makes natural;
record an inapplicable area with its reason:

| Area | Outcomes to capture |
|---|---|
| Vision | Problem, primary users, demonstrable success and exclusions. |
| Flows | User journey, non-human actors, failure experience and privilege boundaries. |
| Functional scope | Capabilities with initiators, inputs and outputs; MVP/v1/later; hardest user-facing risk. |
| Technical shape | Components and ownership, entities, state/write paths, stack and hard constraints, technical risks, copyright holder, release intent. |
| Integrations | External dependencies, contracts and authentication, ownership, reliability, cost and fallback. |
| Risks | Material risks with mitigations, open questions, bounded spikes and architecture-change triggers. |

Record each question as a decomposition `question` record when you ask it
(`status: open`) and update it with the user's actual answer
(`status: answered`, `basis: user-reported`) as soon as it is given, so a closed
session loses nothing. A deferral is `status: deferred`, not an answer. Exclude
secret values.

Record a user-decided architectural choice through `decision-lifecycle` at
`<plugin-root>/routines/decision-lifecycle/SKILL.md`; it owns ADR numbering,
attribution and status. Link the ADR from a decomposition `decision` record. Keep
draft choices as `proposed` until the user actually decides; do not create an ADR
merely to fill a quota.

Release intent is elicited here: capture the **tag prefix** preference and
**changelog kept** yes/no under technical shape. No `.codearbiter/release-targets.md` row is ever written by this skill.
Greenfield runs before any manifest or tag exists. `/ca-release` or a subsequent
context refresh derives a target from the actual manifest and delivery structure.

An unresolved consequential choice blocks only the output that depends on it.
Continue with independent areas.

## 3. Synthesize and confirm

From the answered questions and linked ADRs, add decomposition records:
`capability` (what the product does), `component` (intended parts, responsibilities
and connections), `phase` (MVP and later phases with measurable completion) and
`work_item` (bounded tasks with roles, dependencies and time-boxed spikes). Link
each to the questions it rests on in `related_refs`. These describe intended
architecture; they never claim code exists.

Show the user the synthesized records. Apply corrections with `update`; a wording
or method refinement does not need a fresh confirmation. Record the user's actual
confirmation as an answered question. Proceed when the records match the user's
choices and every remaining gap is an open question.

## 4. Populate context

Add knowledge records for what is known now:

| Document | Content |
|---|---|
| `project` | Identity, purpose, users, scope and exclusions. |
| `tech-stack` | Intended runtime, frameworks and tooling. A command without a real manifest is a `command` record with `basis: proposed` and `run_state: unrun`. |
| `coding-standards` | Confirmed structural and style conventions; copyright holder. |
| `security-controls` | Trust boundaries, authentication requirements, secret handling and prohibited primitives. Scope blocks for migrations, CI and deploys stay in `security-controls.md`. |
| `code-map` | Leave it empty or state that no implementation paths exist yet: the code map records observed code, and intended components live in decomposition. |

Leave unknowns as `unknown` records rather than inventing facts. Preserve
`CONTEXT.md` frontmatter exactly; the scaffold owns activation and stage.

Promote each approved `work_item` with `knowledge.py promote <WORK-ID>`. It adds the
task through the task board's own writer and is safe to repeat. Never write task
rows directly or mark planned work done. Record unresolved questions that need the
user's later decision on `open-questions.md` as well, keeping its history. Preserve
`overrides.log`, `last-checkpoint` and all ADR history.

## 5. Initialize and return to work

Run `knowledge.py initialize`. It checks that the knowledge documents exist and
parse and that the task board is well formed, then adds the standalone
`<!--INITIALIZED-->` marker to `CONTEXT.md`. Open questions do not prevent it.
A refusal names the document to repair; never append the marker manually.

Report the populated context, open questions and any actual checks, then continue
authorized work. Initialization records population; it does not certify host
enforcement, semantic review or passing tests.

When source and manifests arrive, `/ca-context-check` adds what the code
actually contains to the code map and reconciles intended and implemented facts,
keeping the interview records.