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Skill

/nw-execute

Dispatches one unit of DELIVER work to a specialized agent for TDD execution. Runs a single roadmap.json step through the TDD cycle.

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nwave
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Install
$ npx -y skills add nWave-ai/nWave --skill nw-execute --agent claude-code

How it fires

How this skill gets triggered: by you, by Claude, or both.

  • Fires itselfAuto-invocation. Claude auto-loads it when your prompt matches the work.Auto-invocation is when the right skill fires by itself at the right moment, driven by a FLOW.md router and a hook, instead of you invoking it by name. It is the difference between a skill being installed and a skill actually getting used.Read the full definition →
  • You can call itInvoke it directly when you want it.
  • Slash command/nw-execute

Context preview

The summary Claude sees to decide when to auto-load this skill.

Dispatches one unit of DELIVER work to a specialized agent for TDD execution. Runs a single roadmap.json step through the TDD cycle.

SKILL.md

nw-execute.SKILL.md
name: nw-execute
description: "Dispatches one unit of DELIVER work to a specialized agent for TDD execution. Runs a single roadmap.json step through the TDD cycle."
user-invocable: true
argument-hint: '[agent] [feature-id] [step-id] - Example: @nw-software-crafter "auth-upgrade" "01-01"'

NW-EXECUTE: Atomic Task Execution

**Wave**: EXECUTION_WAVE | **Agent**: Dispatched agent (specified by caller)

Overview

Dispatch one unit of DELIVER work to an agent: a single roadmap step. `/nw-execute` extracts the step from `roadmap.json` and dispatches it for the 3-phase TDD canon; the agent appends phase events to `execution-log.json`.

Syntax

/nw-execute @{agent} "{feature-id}" "{step-id}"

Context Files Required

  • `docs/feature/{feature-id}/deliver/roadmap.json` — Orchestrator reads once, extracts step context
  • `docs/feature/{feature-id}/deliver/execution-log.json` — Agent appends only (never reads)

Rigor Profile Integration

Before dispatching the agent, read rigor config from `.nwave/des-config.json` (key: `rigor`). If absent, use standard defaults.

  • **`agent_model`**: Pass as `model` parameter to Agent tool. If `"inherit"`, omit `model` (inherits from session).
  • **`tdd_phases`**: Modify the TDD_PHASES section in the DES template to match the configured phases. The 3-phase canon (ADR-025) is `[RED, GREEN, COMMIT]`; the lean variant is `[RED, GREEN]`. Legacy 5-phase contract (`[PREPARE, RED_ACCEPTANCE, RED_UNIT, GREEN, COMMIT]`) and its lean variant (`[RED_UNIT, GREEN]`) remain supported for audit-log replay of pre-2026-05-07 commits. Remove omitted phases' instructions from the template.
  • **`refactor_pass`**: If `false`, skip COMMIT phase refactoring instructions.

Dispatcher Workflow

1. **Parse Parameters** — Extract agent name, feature ID, and step ID from invocation. Gate: all three parameters present and non-empty. 2. **Load Rigor Profile** — Read `.nwave/des-config.json` key `rigor` (default: standard if absent). Gate: config loaded or default applied. 3. **Validate Context Files** — Confirm `roadmap.json` and `execution-log.json` exist under `docs/feature/{feature-id}/deliver/`. Gate: both files present; report path-not-found if missing. 4. **Extract Step Context** — Grep roadmap for `step_id: "{step-id}"` with ~50 lines context. Gate: step found; report available step IDs if missing. 5. **Invoke Agent** — Call Agent tool with DES template below, applying rigor model and phases from step 2. Gate: Agent tool called, not executed inline.

Agent Invocation

@{agent}

Use this DES template verbatim. Fill `{placeholders}` from roadmap. Without DES markers, hooks cannot validate.

<!-- DES-VALIDATION : required -->
<!-- DES-PROJECT-ID : {feature-id} -->
<!-- DES-STEP-ID : {step-id} -->

# DES_METADATA
Step: {step-id}
Feature: {feature-id}
Command: /nw-execute

# AGENT_IDENTITY
Agent: {agent-name}

# SKILL_LOADING
Before starting TDD phases, read your skill files for methodology guidance.
Skills path: ~/.claude/skills/nw-{skill-name}/SKILL.md
Always load before RED: tdd-methodology.md, quality-framework.md (3-phase canon, ADR-025) — legacy 5-phase logs reference loading at PREPARE.
Load on-demand per phase as specified in your Skill Loading Strategy table.

# TASK_CONTEXT
{step context from roadmap - name|criteria|test_file|scenario_name|implementation_notes|deps|files_to_modify (per nWave/templates/roadmap-schema.json)}

# DESIGN_CONTEXT
{Summary of architectural decisions relevant to this step, extracted by the orchestrator from docs/product/architecture/brief.md and wave-decisions.md. Include: component structure, dependency boundaries, technology choices, and any design constraints that affect implementation. If no design artifacts exist, write "No design artifacts available — use project conventions."}

# TDD_PHASES
3-phase canon (ADR-025, 2026-05-07). Execute in order:

1. RED - Activate the pre-authored acceptance test (PRIMARY TBU DEFENSE); write PBT unit tests ONLY if the AT cannot reach GREEN without them.
   AT activation: If TASK_CONTEXT includes test_file, locate it and remove the @skip/@ignore/@pending/xit/.skip/[Ignore] marker from the target scenario (the AT scaffold was authored by DISTILL — DELIVER does NOT re-author ATs). Run it — must fail for business logic reason (not import/syntax error). Fail-for-right-reason gate: collected ≥ 1, failures ≥ 1, no collection errors, semantic AssertionError / expected-exception-not-thrown.
   PORT-TO-PORT PRINCIPLE: The acceptance test exercises the scenario through
   the driving port (application service, orchestrator, CLI handler, API controller),
   not a decomposed helper or internal class. A correctly-written port-to-port test
   makes TBU structurally impossible — if a new function were missing or unwired,
   THIS test stays RED. That is the entire point: GREEN is unreachable without wiring.
   Litmus test: "If I delete the call-site that wires the new code, does this test fail?"
   If no → the test is at the wrong level. Stop and flag to orchestrator (DISTILL re-author needed).
   Conditional unit-test authoring: write PBT unit tests (or integration tests for adapter/infrastructure code — adapters use real infrastructure, never mocked unit tests) ONLY when the AT requires them to reach GREEN. If the AT can pass via direct minimal implementation, skip unit-test authoring inside RED.

2. GREEN - Minimal code to pass AT + any unit tests authored in RED.
   After GREEN: run FULL test suite. If all pass, proceed to COMMIT immediately.
   Smell test: if any new function is only called from test code, your acceptance
   test is at the wrong abstraction level — stop and flag.
   Never move to new task or stop without committing green code.

3. COMMIT - Commit this step's owned files via `des-commit` (parallel-safe).
   Use `des-commit` instead of raw `git add` / `git commit`. It holds an
   exclusive lock and commits ONLY the paths you pass, so a parallel agent's
   staged work is never sw
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AI agents that guide you from idea to working code, with human judgment at every gate. nWave runs inside Claude Code. It breaks feature delivery into seven waves (discover, diverge, discuss, design, devops, distill, deliver).

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