Story Coordinator

> **Paths:** File paths (`references/`, `../ln-*`) are relative to this skill directory.

# Story Coordinator

**Type:** L2 Domain Coordinator
**Category:** 2XX Planning

Runtime-backed Story planning coordinator. The runtime owns flow control, pause/resume, and worker result tracking.

## MANDATORY READ

Load these before execution:
- `references/coordinator_runtime_contract.md`
- `references/story_planning_runtime_contract.md`
- `references/coordinator_summary_contract.md`
- `references/environment_state_contract.md`
- `references/storage_mode_detection.md`
- `references/problem_solving.md`

**MANDATORY READ:** Load `references/researchgraph_mcp_usage.md` when the Epic, source docs, or existing Stories cite H/G/run IDs or when a researchgraph layout can change Story decomposition.

## Purpose

- assemble Epic planning context
- perform focused standards research when it changes Technical Notes
- build the ideal Story plan before checking existing Stories
- detect routing and mode per epic group
- batch child manifest/artifact preparation before delegation
- delegate creation or replanning to standalone workers

## Inputs

| Parameter | Required | Description |
|-----------|----------|-------------|
| `epicId` | Yes | Epic to decompose |
| `autoApprove` | No | If false, runtime pauses on preview confirmation |

## Runtime

Runtime family: `story-planning-runtime`

Identifier:
- `epic-{epicId}`

Phases:
1. `PHASE_0_CONFIG`
2. `PHASE_1_CONTEXT_ASSEMBLY`
3. `PHASE_2_RESEARCH`
4. `PHASE_3_PLAN`
5. `PHASE_4_ROUTING`
6. `PHASE_5_MODE_DETECTION`
7. `PHASE_6_DELEGATE`
8. `PHASE_7_FINALIZE`
9. `PHASE_8_SELF_CHECK`

Terminal phases:
- `DONE`
- `PAUSED`

Summary flow:
- consume child `story-plan-worker` artifacts from `ln-221` / `ln-222`
- write coordinator `story-plan` artifact during `PHASE_7_FINALIZE`

## Phase Map

### Phase 1: Context Assembly

Resolve Epic and assemble only the planning inputs that change Story decomposition:
- Epic scope
- success criteria
- known personas and constraints
- project task provider

Checkpoint payload:
- `context_ready`

### Phase 2: Research

Do focused research only when it changes Story Technical Notes or implementation constraints.

Do not let research expand Story scope.

If a researchgraph layout exists, use `verify_index` first and then query only the relevant goals, hypotheses, evidence, or runs. Use graph results to ground Story scope, readiness, and Technical Notes; do not create new Story scope just because graph debt exists.

Checkpoint payload:
- `research_status`
- `research_file`

### Phase 3: Plan

Build the ideal Story plan before looking at existing Stories.

Rules:
- vertical slices only
- 5-10 Stories when Epic warrants it
- concise Story statements and observable ACs
- no orchestration prose inside the plan
- delegate ACs must specify what equips the actor (context, instructions, tools, configuration), not just what the actor does

Checkpoint payload:
- `ideal_plan_summary`

### Phase 4: Routing

Route planned Stories to epic groups.

Fast path:
- all Stories stay in the resolved Epic

Pause only when routing is ambiguous or requires confirmation.

Checkpoint payload:
- `routing_summary`

### Phase 5: Mode Detection

Determine mode per epic group:
- `CREATE`
- `REPLAN`
- `ADD`

Checkpoint payload:
- `epic_group_modes`

### Phase 6: Delegate

Phase 6 has two internal steps.

**Phase 6a: Prepare delegation**
- finalize routing groups
- materialize worker manifests
- precompute `run_id` and `summary_artifact_path` for each child
- checkpoint the expected worker set before execution

**Phase 6b: Execute delegation**

Delegate by group:
- `ln-221-story-creator`
- `ln-222-story-replanner`

Workers remain standalone-capable. In managed mode the coordinator starts them through `planning-worker-runtime`, passes `runId + summaryArtifactPath`, stores the launch metadata in `child_run`, then records the resulting worker artifact through `record-epic`.

Worker summary kind:
- `story-plan-worker`

### Phase 7: Finalize

Finalize only after all expected worker summaries are recorded.

Coordinator output:
- build one `story-plan` summary for the parent runtime
- write it through `node references/scripts/story-planning-runtime/cli.mjs record-plan-summary`
- persist the artifact before advancing to `PHASE_8_SELF_CHECK`

**Template compliance gate:** Fetch each created Story via the configured tracker provider (`getStory` operation per `references/tracker_provider_contract.md`). Run `validateTemplateCompliance(description, 'story')` from `planning-runtime/lib/template-compliance.mjs`. All stories must pass (9 sections in order). Record `template_compliance_passed` in state. Guard blocks SELF_CHECK without it.

Checkpoint payload:
- `final_result`
- `template_compliance_passed`

### Phase 8: Self-Check

Confirm:
- phase coverage
- planned vs produced Story counts
- no missing epic groups

Checkpoint payload:
- `pass`
- `final_result`

## Pending Decisions

Use runtime `PAUSED + pending_decision` for:
- missing context
- routing confirmation
- ambiguous `ADD` vs `REPLAN`
- preview confirmation when `autoApprove=false`

Do not hold these decisions only in chat.

## Worker Contract

Workers:
- do not know the coordinator
- do not read runtime state
- remain standalone
- may receive `summaryArtifactPath`
- return shared summary envelope either way

Expected summary kind:
- child workers: `story-plan-worker`
- coordinator output: `story-plan`

## Worker Invocation (MANDATORY)

**Host Skill Invocation:** `Skill(skill: "...", args: "...")` is mandatory delegation.
- Claude: call the Skill tool exactly as shown.
- Codex: if no Skill tool exists, locate the named skill in available skills, read its `SKILL.md`, treat `args` as `$ARGUMENTS`, execute that skill workflow, then return here with its result/artifact.
- Do not inline worker logic or mark the worker complete without executing the target skill.

| Phase | Worker | Context |
|-------|--------|---------|
| 6 | `ln-221-story-creator` | CREATE or ADD path |
| 6 | `ln-222-story-replanner` | REPLAN path |

```text
node references/scripts/planning-worker-runtime/cli.mjs start --skill {worker} --identifier {identifier} --manifest-file {workerManifestPath} --run-id {childRunId} --summary-artifact-path {childSummaryArtifactPath}
child_run = { skill, run_id, identifier, summary_artifact_path }
childSummaryArtifactPath = .hex-skills/runtime-artifacts/runs/{parent_run_id}/story-plan-worker/{worker}--{identifier}.json
Skill(skill: "{worker}", args: "{identifier} --ideal-plan {idealPlanJSON} --epic {epicId} --run-id {childRunId} --summary-artifact-path {childSummaryArtifactPath}")
Read {childSummaryArtifactPath}
node references/scripts/story-planning-runtime/cli.mjs record-epic --epic {epicId} --payload-file {childSummaryArtifactPath}
node references/scripts/story-planning-runtime/cli.mjs record-plan-summary --epic {epicId} --payload-file {coordinatorSummaryPath}
```

## TodoWrite format (mandatory)

```text
- Phase 1: Assemble context (pending)
- Phase 2: Research only what changes Technical Notes (pending)
- Phase 3: Build ideal Story plan (pending)
- Phase 4: Route Stories by Epic (pending)
- Phase 5: Detect mode per group (pending)
- Phase 6a: Prepare delegation batch (pending)
- Phase 6b: Execute worker(s) sequentially (pending)
- Phase 7: Finalize result (pending)
- Phase 8: Self-check (pending)
```

## Critical Rules

- Build the ideal plan before checking existing Stories.
- Use research only to improve Technical Notes and implementation realism.
- Do not keep routing or preview approvals in chat-only state.
- Batch only read-only preparation. Do not parallelize Story mutations across routed groups unless runtime semantics explicitly allow it.
- Do not create or update Stories directly when a worker should do it.
- Consume worker summaries, not free-text worker prose.

## Definition of Done

- [ ] Runtime started with Epic-scoped identifier
- [ ] Context assembly checkpointed
- [ ] Research checkpointed or explicitly minimal
- [ ] Ideal plan checkpointed
- [ ] Routing checkpointed
- [ ] Mode detection checkpointed
- [ ] All expected worker summaries recorded
- [ ] Coordinator `story-plan` summary recorded
- [ ] Final result checkpointed
- [ ] Template compliance passed for all created Stories
- [ ] Self-check passed

## Meta-Analysis

Optional reference: load `references/meta_analysis_protocol.md` only when the user asks for post-run meta-analysis or protocol-formatted run reflection.

Skill type: `planning-coordinator`. When requested, run after all phases complete. Output to chat using the protocol format.

## Reference Files

- `references/environment_state_contract.md`
- `references/storage_mode_detection.md`
- `references/replan_algorithm.md`

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**Version:** 5.0.0
**Last Updated:** 2026-02-03