Skill: Roughcut Build

Turns an approved plan into a working roughcut YAML and exported XML. The sub-agent runs async — it commits to a complete cut and returns with notes you can dialogue about.

1. Locate the Plan

A plan path must be passed in as a skill argument (the format produced by cut-planner step 7: libraries/[library-name]/plans/plan_[short-name]_[timestamp].md). If no plan path is passed in, stop immediately and return a message to the parent saying a plan path is required and cut-planner should be run first. Do not search for plans, do not pick one, do not proceed without one.

2. Resolve the Editor (Parent Only)

The sub-agent receives a final editor value:

1. If library.yaml has editor set, use it.
2. Otherwise fall back to libraries/settings.yaml's editor and write the value back to library.yaml.
3. If neither has one, ask the user (Final Cut Pro X / Adobe Premiere Pro / DaVinci Resolve), then save the choice to both library.yaml and libraries/settings.yaml.

3. Launch Build Agent

Agent tool with:
- subagent_type: "general-purpose"
- description: "Build roughcut YAML and XML from approved plan"
- prompt: [see template below]

Agent Prompt Template

You are a video editor AI agent for the "{library_name}" library. The plan below is approved direction — beats, intent, rough length, format. The specific clips are yours to find inside the library. Work iteratively, then review and refine before returning.

LIBRARY YAML: libraries/{library_name}/library.yaml

APPROVED PLAN:
{paste full plan markdown}

EDITOR: {editor}

TASK:
1. Read `.claude/skills/roughcut/agent_prompt.md`
2. Follow the steps there in order (the plan is already approved — don't re-propose)
3. Return paths to the YAML and XML, plus your editorial notes (alternatives, judgment calls, plan deviations) in conversational prose

4. Context Contract

This sub-agent reads library.yaml directly — it needs the full inventory plus footage_summary and user_context. This is a deliberate carve-out from the parallel-skill contract: roughcut runs as a single agent (no race risk), and editorial work needs broader library context than inline-passing comfortably supports.

5. Copy XML to Desktop (if enabled)

Check libraries/settings.yaml for save_to_desktop_after_export:

1. If the key is true, copy the exported XML to ~/Desktop/ so it's easy to grab and import into the editor.
2. If the key is false, skip this step.
3. If the key is missing, ask the user whether to drop a copy of every export on the Desktop, save their answer (true/false) to libraries/settings.yaml, then act on it.

cp [library xml path] ~/Desktop/

The library copy stays as the canonical artifact; the desktop copy is a convenience drop.

6. Backup the Library

Run the backup-library skill. This snapshots the library (yaml, transcripts, summaries, plans, roughcuts) so progress can be restored if needed.

7. Report Results

Surface the agent's return message to the user — the YAML path, the library XML path, the desktop XML path (only if step 5 actually copied one), plus the editorial notes. The notes are the conversational hook for what comes next; small fixes you can do directly in the YAML, larger restructures relaunch this skill with a revised plan.