/octocode-rfc-generator

name: octocode-rfc-generator
description: "Use when a consequential change needs a decision before coding: write or improve an RFC, design doc, architecture proposal, migration plan, option comparison, rollout plan, or measurable implementation contract. If the idea is still open-ended, use octocode-brainstorming first."

Octocode RFC Generator

Produce evidence-backed decisions that an implementer and reviewer can execute. Flow: `UNDERSTAND → RESEARCH → PREREQUISITES → COMPARE → WRITE → CLOSE QUESTIONS → KPI → VALIDATE → DELIVER`. For existing RFCs, run `REASSESS` (see `references/workflow.md` § Reassess existing RFCs) instead of WRITE — audit against live code, not prior checkboxes.

Lobby rules

• Skip RFC mode for trivial edits. Ask one focused question when uncertainty changes shape, owner, scope, or decision criteria.
• Compare at least two alternatives, including do-nothing, unless the user explicitly requests one implementation plan.
• Recommendations require verifiable facts; cite exact anchors and commands/checks that actually ran.
• `RFC.md` owns goals, scope, and decision. Other files link to its anchors rather than restating them.
• Resolve every open question with evidence or an explicit deferral; no recommendation may rest on an uncertain claim.
• Order implementation by dependency, not estimates; bind requirements to acceptance and verification.
• Reviewing, rating, or cleaning up `.octocode/rfc/` (delete/implemented/fixed calls) always requires a dated `## Audit Reasoning` block written into the RFC itself, backed by fresh reads of the live code.
• Never assert RFC status from memory or from another RFC's claims.
• Stop when: the change is a trivial one-file edit (route to `octocode-research`); a brainstorming handoff is marked Prototype First, Narrow, Park, or not ready; uncertainty changes artifact shape, owner, scope, or tradeoff priority; two research attempts fail (state what is known and ask for direction); scope needs splitting into separate RFCs or phases; an unresolved blocker would have to be assumed satisfied; or a save, delete, or archive under `.octocode/rfc/` awaits explicit approval.

Artifact route

• Small, reversible, single-package work: produce only `RFC.md` with plan, acceptance, and inline references.
• Otherwise, after save approval, create `<workspace>/.octocode/rfc/{name}/`: `RFC.md` (decide), `PREREQUISITES.md` (ready, existing code only), `IMPLEMENTATION.md` (build), `KPI.md` (verify), and `RESOURCES.md` (source appendix).

Smart routes — load only what the current step needs

• To understand the ask and select a mode before drafting, load `references/workflow.md` — gates, claim ledger, artifact set, traceability, validation, and delivery order.
• When researching evidence, load `references/octocode.md` then `references/research-playbook.md` — delegate exact research and keep claims auditable.
• When existing code has readiness work, load `references/rfc-prerequisites.md` before planning — expose baselines, blockers, owners, and setup.
• When comparing options and writing the decision, load `references/rfc-template.md` — structure alternatives, goals/non-goals, reversibility, and pre-mortem.
• When building the execution plan, load `references/rfc-implementation.md` — close open questions, order dependencies, and define rollout/rollback.
• When defining acceptance and KPI targets, load `references/rfc-kpi.md` — connect user stories, metrics, decision rules, and verification in a traceability matrix.
• When preserving sources, load `references/rfc-resources.md` — record provenance without moving decisive citations out of the RFC.
• When you reassess, rate, or clean up an existing RFC, load `references/rfc-audit.md` — the dated `## Audit Reasoning` block, with live-code evidence, is required before any keep/fix/delete call.
• When improving this skill, prefer `octocode-graph-eval`; otherwise load `references/improve-loop.md` — enforce measurable accept/revert.

Related routes and verification

• Use `octocode-brainstorming` before RFC when worth-building is unresolved; `octocode-research` to close factual questions; `octocode-graph-eval` for KPI rigor.
• Use `octocode-skills` when changing this skill folder.
• Before delivery validate the document contract section by section and report the real result.