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## BACKLOG WORKFLOW INSTRUCTIONS

This project uses Backlog.md MCP for all task and project management activities.

**CRITICAL GUIDANCE**

- If your client supports MCP resources, read `backlog://workflow/overview` to understand when and how to use Backlog for this project.
- If your client only supports tools or the above request fails, call `backlog.get_backlog_instructions()` to load the tool-oriented overview. Use the `instruction` selector when you need `task-creation`, `task-execution`, or `task-finalization`.

- **First time working here?** Read the overview resource IMMEDIATELY to learn the workflow
- **Already familiar?** You should have the overview cached ("## Backlog.md Overview (MCP)")
- **When to read it**: BEFORE creating tasks, or when you're unsure whether to track work

These guides cover:
- Decision framework for when to create tasks
- Search-first workflow to avoid duplicates
- Links to detailed guides for task creation, execution, and finalization
- MCP tools reference

You MUST read the overview resource to understand the complete workflow. The information is NOT summarized here.

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## Available Skills

Five Claude Code skills are installed in this repo's dev container. Each maps to a phase of the feature lifecycle.

| Skill | Invoke | When to use |
|-------|--------|-------------|
| **grill-me** | `/grill-me` | Before implementing — stress-tests a design through sequential questioning |
| **to-prd** | `/to-prd` | After a planning conversation — formalises context into a GitHub issue PRD |
| **grill-with-docs** | `/grill-with-docs` | When domain terms are drifting or new concepts are landing — challenges plans against `CONTEXT.md`, sharpens terminology inline, and writes ADRs for load-bearing decisions in `docs/adr/`. Replaces the older `ubiquitous-language` skill. |
| **tdd** | `/tdd` | During implementation — enforces vertical-slice TDD (one test → one impl → repeat) |
| **improve-codebase-architecture** | `/improve-codebase-architecture` | During refactoring — surfaces shallow modules and proposes deepening opportunities |

Domain glossary lives at [CONTEXT.md](./CONTEXT.md); load-bearing decisions live at [docs/adr/](./docs/adr/). The legacy [UBIQUITOUS_LANGUAGE.md](./UBIQUITOUS_LANGUAGE.md) is a redirect.

### Typical session chains

**Feature planning:**
`/grill-me` → `/to-prd` → `/grill-with-docs`

**Implementation:**
`/tdd` (+ `/grill-me` if a design fork appears mid-session)

**Refactoring:**
`/improve-codebase-architecture` → `/grill-me` → `/tdd` → `/grill-with-docs`

### First time setting up?

Skills are installed automatically when the dev container is built, via the postCreate step that pulls from `Hestia-Homes/agentic-toolkit` (see `.devcontainer/backend/Dockerfile`). If an existing container is missing skills, rebuild the dev container.

## Type Safety

All new code must pass `pyright` with zero errors under `typeCheckingMode = strict`.
Use Optional over | None
Annotate all function return types. Use `dict[str, Any]` for untyped external API
payloads — never bare `dict`. Add `pandas-stubs` when introducing pandas to a module.