Add Feature to Backlog

You are executing the ADD TO BACKLOG workflow.

First: Check Initialization

Read docs/features/DASHBOARD.md to verify the project is initialized.

If docs/features/ directory does NOT exist, tell the user:

"Run /feature-init first to set up the feature workflow structure."

Do NOT create the structure yourself. The init script handles this.

FORBIDDEN - Do Not Do These Things

• •NEVER create BACKLOG.json - This is an old format. Do not use it.
• •NEVER create .feature-workflow/ directory - This is an old format. Do not use it.
• •NEVER write DASHBOARD.md - It's auto-generated by hooks. You will be blocked.
• •NEVER write JSON files for features - Use markdown only.
• •NEVER create docs/features/ yourself - Use /feature-init instead.

REQUIRED - You Must Do This

1. •Verify docs/features/ exists (if not, tell user to run /feature-init)
2. •Create directory: docs/features/[kebab-case-id]/
3. •Write file: docs/features/[id]/idea.md with YAML frontmatter
4. •That's it. The hook will auto-generate DASHBOARD.md.

First Step (Do This Now)

Read the file at path: docs/features/DASHBOARD.md

Check for duplicates and understand current features. If the file doesn't exist, that's OK - you'll create the first feature.

Target Files

• •Read: docs/features/DASHBOARD.md (to check for duplicates)
• •Write: docs/features/[id]/idea.md (to add new feature)

Workflow Overview

Phase 1: Interactive Questions

See: interview.md

• •Ask questions using AskUserQuestion tool
• •Capture type, name, problem, priority, effort, impact, areas

Phase 2: Validation

See: validation.md

• •Read DASHBOARD.md to check existing features
• •Generate kebab-case ID from feature name
• •Check for duplicate IDs

Phase 3: Create Feature Directory

See: capture.md

• •Create docs/features/[id]/idea.md with frontmatter AND content in ONE write
• •After writing idea.md, regenerate the dashboard by running:
  bash

  python3 ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/shared/lib/run_dashboard.py <project_root>
  

• •Do NOT attempt to edit DASHBOARD.md - it will be blocked

Phase 4-5: Git Staging & Confirmation

See: confirmation.md

• •Optionally stage with git
• •Display summary and next steps

File Organization

Features are stored in directories with status determined by file presence:

docs/features/
├── DASHBOARD.md              # Auto-generated, read-only for Claude
├── my-feature/
│   ├── idea.md               # Problem statement + metadata (backlog)
│   ├── plan.md               # Implementation plan (in-progress)
│   └── shipped.md            # Completion notes (completed)
└── another-feature/
    └── idea.md

Status Detection by File Presence

Key Principles:

• •/feature-capture creates idea.md only (backlog status)
• •/feature-plan adds plan.md (changes to in-progress)
• •/feature-ship adds shipped.md (changes to completed)
• •DASHBOARD.md is auto-regenerated by hooks - never edit directly

idea.md Format

IMPORTANT: Write idea.md with YAML frontmatter on the FIRST write. Do not write content first and add frontmatter later.

---
id: my-feature
name: Human Readable Name
type: Feature|Enhancement|Bug Fix|Tech Debt
priority: P0|P1|P2
effort: Small|Medium|Large
impact: Low|Medium|High
created: 2024-01-20
---

# My Feature Name

## Problem Statement
Description of the problem this feature solves...

## Proposed Solution
High-level approach (optional, keep brief)...

## Affected Areas
- area1
- area2

Integration Notes

This command works with /feature-plan and /feature-ship for a complete lifecycle:

1. •/feature-capture - Creates idea.md in backlog (YOU ARE HERE)
2. •/feature-plan [id] - Adds plan.md, changes to in-progress
3. •/feature-ship [id] - Adds shipped.md, changes to completed

What Makes a Good Backlog Item?

IMPORTANT: Capture the WHAT and WHY, not the HOW.

DO Capture:

• •What you need - The feature, fix, or improvement
• •Why it matters - The value, pain point, or opportunity
• •Who benefits - Which users or systems are affected
• •Context - Any relevant background information

DO NOT Capture:

• •Implementation details - Don't describe how to build it yet
• •Technical designs - That's for /feature-plan
• •Architecture decisions - That's for /feature-plan

Examples

Good (focuses on what/why):

"Users can't find their validation reports after running a scan. They have to search through multiple pages and often give up."

Bad (jumps to solution):

"We need to add a reports dashboard with filters and a search bar that queries the DynamoDB table."

Error Handling

• •If docs/features/ directory doesn't exist, create it
• •If duplicate ID found in DASHBOARD.md, offer to choose different name
• •If DASHBOARD.md doesn't exist yet, that's OK - hook will create it

Quick Example

For a feature called "User Authentication", you would:

1. •Create: docs/features/user-authentication/idea.md
2. •With this content:

---
id: user-authentication
name: User Authentication
type: Feature
priority: P1
effort: Medium
impact: High
created: 2026-01-22
---

# User Authentication

## Problem Statement
Users cannot log in securely...

## Affected Areas
- auth
- api

1. •Regenerate the dashboard:

python3 ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/shared/lib/run_dashboard.py <project_root>

That's it. The dashboard regeneration ensures DASHBOARD.md is up to date.

Let's capture your idea!