This document defines the standard workflow for contributors using Claude Code to address issues and create pull requests in this repository.
Any contributor with Claude Code should follow this workflow when working on an issue. It combines AI-assisted planning and review with explicit human approval gates to produce consistent, high-quality contributions.
Before any work, isolate your changes in a dedicated git worktree. The main worktree is never touched during development.
/superpowers:using-git-worktrees
This creates an isolated working directory linked to the same git repository. All subsequent steps happen inside this worktree. The worktree skill creates and checks out a branch — this is the branch you will push in Step 8.
Inside the worktree, before writing any plan or code:
- Read the issue carefully and identify the exact problem or feature requested.
- Explore the relevant source files and understand the existing structure.
- Note affected files, dependencies, edge cases, and risks.
When using Claude Code, use the built-in Grep tool to search rather than shell grep.
Invoke the planning skill to structure your implementation plan:
/superpowers:writing-plans
The skill guides the planning process. Save the resulting plan to docs/plans/ using the naming convention YYYY-MM-DD-<feature-name>-plan.md. The plan must include: goal, architecture, exact file paths, step-by-step tasks with code, and a commit message per task.
docs/plans/ is listed in .gitignore — plan files never appear in PRs.
Have an agent critique the plan before presenting it to the human. Pass the plan file path to a review agent:
/research-ideas:_review-plan
Note:
_review-planis an internal sub-skill. If unavailable, ask a general-purpose agent to review the plan file directly by providing its path.
The agent should check for:
- Missing steps or ambiguities
- Edge cases not covered
- Consistency with existing repo patterns
Incorporate feedback into the plan before proceeding.
Do not write any implementation code before this step is complete.
Summarize the finalized plan for the human contributor:
- State the issue being addressed.
- List the files that will be created or modified.
- Describe the approach in 2–3 sentences.
- Show the task breakdown at a high level.
Wait for explicit human approval (e.g., "looks good", "proceed") before moving to Step 6.
Invoke the subagent-driven development skill to execute the approved plan. This drives each task in sequence within the current session, using a fresh subagent per task with a review checkpoint between tasks:
/superpowers:subagent-driven-development
- Mark each task complete before starting the next.
- Keep changes focused — no scope creep.
- Commit after each task using the message from the plan.
- Run tests after each task if applicable.
Once all tasks are complete, run a comprehensive PR review using specialized agents before opening the PR:
/pr-review-toolkit:review-pr
Address all issues found before proceeding.
Confirm your current branch name (set by the worktree in Step 1), then push and open a PR to the upstream repository.
# Confirm branch name
git branch --show-current
# Push to your fork
git push -u origin <your-branch-name>
# Open PR to upstream
gh pr create \
--repo AI-native-Systems-Research/agentic-strategy-evolution \
--title "<concise title>" \
--body "$(cat <<'EOF'
## Summary
- <what this does>
- <why>
## Related Issue
Closes #<issue-number>
## Test Plan
- [ ] <verification step>
🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.ai/claude-code)
EOF
)"PR checklist before submitting:
- Worktree was used — main worktree untouched
- Plan was reviewed by agent and approved by human gate
- All plan tasks completed and committed
-
/pr-review-toolkit:review-prpassed
| Step | Action | Skill / Command |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Create worktree | /superpowers:using-git-worktrees |
| 2 | Analyze issue + code | Read files, explore |
| 3 | Write plan | /superpowers:writing-plans |
| 4 | Review plan | /research-ideas:_review-plan |
| 5 | Human approval | Summarize + wait |
| 6 | Implement | /superpowers:subagent-driven-development |
| 7 | Review implementation | /pr-review-toolkit:review-pr |
| 8 | Create PR | gh pr create to upstream |