hacking-workflowlisted

# Hacking Workflow ## Overview **Core principle:** Real work runs a loop with **gates** — points where a human decides and where you must *prove* progress before advancing. The loop keeps momentum honest: you never drift from a vague idea straight into code, and you never call something done without evidence. This skill is the spine; each phase is its own skill it hands off to. **This is the front door.** When a build starts, run the loop. Right-size the ceremony to the work (a spike skips most of it) but **never skip a human-approval gate.** ## Classify First (right-size the loop) Announce which path you're on. Complexity can only *upgrade* the path, never downgrade it. | Path | What it is | Loop | |---|---|---| | **Spike** | "Can this even be done?" throwaway probe | `spike-and-stabilize` only, report back. Skip the rest. | | **Bounded** | A clear, contained change | Shape briefly → build → verify → finish. Skip the plan doc. | | **Architectural** | New system, many parts, real design choices | The full loop below. | ## The Loop Track the whole thing in **beads** from the first phase (**using-beads**) — file the work, close as you go. ``` Phase 0 — SHAPE understand the goal, weigh approaches, get buy-in → shaping. GATE: the human approves the intent/design before ANY code. Phase 1 — ISOLATE a clean workspace so nothing races or leaks onto main → using-worktrees. GATE: clean baseline (builds/tests green, or human OKs). Phase 2 — PLAN (arch