Aura Protocol Reference
Complete reference documentation for the Aura 12-phase workflow system.
Documents
Core
| File | Purpose |
|---|---|
| PROCESS.md | Step-by-step workflow execution (single source of truth) |
| AGENTS.md | Agent roles, phase ownership, and handoff procedures |
| CONSTRAINTS.md | Coding standards, naming conventions, and checklists |
| CLAUDE.md | Reusable agent directive for projects using Aura |
| SKILLS.md | Complete skill reference by role and phase |
| README.md | Protocol overview and quick-start |
| schema.xml | Beads label schema (XML format) |
Templates & Examples
| File | Purpose |
|---|---|
| HANDOFF_TEMPLATE.md | Standardized handoff document template |
| HANDOFF_EXAMPLE-web-command-impl.md | Handoff example: web command implementation |
| HANDOFF_EXAMPLE-ingest-pipeline-impl.md | Handoff example: ingest pipeline implementation |
| UAT_TEMPLATE.md | User acceptance testing template |
| UAT_EXAMPLE.md | UAT example with demonstrative scenarios |
| RESEARCH_EXAMPLE-nix-openclaw-req-ure-proposal.md | Research example: Nix/OpenClaw request through proposal |
Migration & Design
| File | Purpose |
|---|---|
| MIGRATION_v1_to_v2.md | Migration procedure from v1 to v2 label format |
| user-request-revamp-v2.md | Design doc for v2 user request phase revamp |
Quick Reference
12 Phases
- •REQUEST — Capture user request verbatim, classify, research, explore
- •ELICIT + URD — Requirements elicitation survey, create URD
- •PROPOSAL-N — Architect creates technical proposal
- •REVIEW — 3 axis-specific reviewers (A/B/C), binary ACCEPT/REVISE
- •Plan UAT — User acceptance test on the plan
- •RATIFY — Ratify accepted proposal, mark old as superseded
- •HANDOFF — Architect hands off to supervisor
- •IMPL_PLAN — Supervisor decomposes into vertical slices
- •SLICE-N — Workers implement slices in parallel
- •Code Review — 3 reviewers, severity tree (BLOCKER/IMPORTANT/MINOR)
- •Impl UAT — User acceptance test on the implementation
- •LANDING — Atomic commit, push, hand off
Label Format
code
aura:p{phase}-{domain}:s{step}-{type}
Follow-up Lifecycle
Trigger: Phase 10 code review completes with ANY IMPORTANT or MINOR findings (not gated on BLOCKER resolution).
Owner: Supervisor creates follow-up epic (label aura:epic-followup).
Flow:
code
Code Review (Phase 10) finds IMPORTANT/MINOR findings
→ Supervisor creates FOLLOWUP epic
→ FOLLOWUP_URE (supervisor, aggregated findings as requirements)
→ FOLLOWUP_URD (supervisor, single source of truth for follow-up)
→ h6 handoff: Supervisor → Architect
→ FOLLOWUP_PROPOSAL (architect proposes fix plan)
→ Review (same 3-axis review)
→ h1 handoff: Architect → Supervisor
→ FOLLOWUP_IMPL_PLAN (supervisor decomposes)
→ FOLLOWUP_SLICE-N (workers implement)
→ Code Review (severity tree, same process)
Original IMPORTANT/MINOR leaf tasks are adopted as children of FOLLOWUP_SLICE-N (dual-parent). No followup-of-followup — findings from follow-up code review stay on the existing follow-up epic.
Agent Roles
| Role | Phases | Key Responsibility |
|---|---|---|
| Epoch | 1-12 | Master orchestrator |
| Architect | 1-7 | Specs, proposals, review coordination |
| Reviewer | 4, 10 | End-user alignment review |
| Supervisor | 7-12 | Task decomposition, worker allocation |
| Worker | 9 | Vertical slice implementation |