Meta Skill

Thin wrapper that delegates system building to meta-builder-agent subagent. This skill handles all three modes of /meta: interactive interview, prompt analysis, and system analysis.

IMPORTANT: This skill implements the skill-internal postflight pattern. After the subagent returns, this skill handles all postflight operations (git commit if tasks created) before returning. This eliminates the "continue" prompt issue between skill return and orchestrator.

Context References

Reference (do not load eagerly):

Path: .claude/context/formats/return-metadata-file.md - Metadata file schema
Path: .claude/context/patterns/postflight-control.md - Marker file protocol
Path: .claude/context/patterns/file-metadata-exchange.md - File I/O helpers

Note: This skill is a thin wrapper with internal postflight. Context is loaded by the delegated agent.

Trigger Conditions

This skill activates when:

/meta command is invoked (with any arguments)
User requests system building or task creation for .claude/ changes
System analysis is requested (--analyze flag)

Anti-Bypass Constraint

PROHIBITION: This skill and its delegated agent (meta-builder-agent) MUST NOT write to .claude/ paths using Write or Edit tools. The /meta workflow creates TASKS only. All .claude/ file modifications happen through the /implement lifecycle with proper skill delegation.

Detected by: PostToolUse hook validate-meta-write.sh provides corrective context if bypass is attempted.

Legitimate writes: Only specs/ paths (TODO.md, state.json, task directories) are valid write targets for this skill chain.

Execution

1. Input Validation

Validate and classify mode from arguments:

Mode Detection Logic:

# Parse arguments
args="$ARGUMENTS"

# Determine mode
if [ -z "$args" ]; then
  mode="interactive"
elif [ "$args" = "--analyze" ]; then
  mode="analyze"
else
  mode="prompt"
  prompt="$args"
fi

No task_number validation needed - /meta creates new tasks rather than operating on existing ones.

2. Context Preparation

Prepare delegation context:

{
  "session_id": "sess_{timestamp}_{random}",
  "delegation_depth": 1,
  "delegation_path": ["orchestrator", "meta", "skill-meta"],
  "timeout": 7200,
  "mode": "interactive|prompt|analyze",
  "prompt": "{user prompt if mode=prompt, null otherwise}"
}

3. Invoke Subagent

CRITICAL: You MUST use the Task tool to spawn the subagent.

The agent field in this skill's frontmatter specifies the target: meta-builder-agent

Required Tool Invocation:

Tool: Task (NOT Skill)
Parameters:
  - subagent_type: "meta-builder-agent"
  - prompt: [Include mode, prompt if provided, delegation_context]
  - description: "Execute meta building in {mode} mode"

DO NOT use Skill(meta-builder-agent) - this will FAIL. Agents live in .claude/agents/, not .claude/skills/. The Skill tool can only invoke skills from .claude/skills/.

The subagent will:

Load component guides on-demand based on mode
Execute mode-specific workflow:
- Interactive: Run 7-stage interview with AskUserQuestion
- Prompt: Analyze request and propose task breakdown
- Analyze: Inventory existing components and provide recommendations
Create task entries (TODO.md, state.json, task directories) for non-analyze modes
Return standardized JSON result

4. Return Validation

Validate return matches return-metadata-file.md schema:

Status is one of: completed, partial, failed, blocked
Summary is non-empty and <100 tokens
Artifacts array present (task directories for interactive/prompt modes)
Metadata contains session_id, agent_type, delegation info

5. Return Propagation

Return validated result to caller without modification.

Return Format

See .claude/context/formats/return-metadata-file.md for full specification.

Expected Return: Interactive Mode (tasks created)

{
  "status": "tasks_created",
  "summary": "Created 2 tasks for command creation workflow. Tasks start in NOT STARTED status.",
  "artifacts": [
    {
      "type": "task",
      "path": "specs/430_create_export_command/",
      "summary": "Task directory for new command"
    },
    {
      "type": "task",
      "path": "specs/431_export_command_tests/",
      "summary": "Task directory for tests"
    }
  ],
  "metadata": {
    "session_id": "sess_1736700000_abc123",
    "agent_type": "meta-builder-agent",
    "delegation_depth": 1,
    "delegation_path": ["orchestrator", "meta", "meta-builder-agent"],
    "mode": "interactive",
    "tasks_created": 2,
    "tasks_status": "not_started"
  },
  "next_steps": "Run /research 430 to begin research on first task"
}

Note: Tasks created via /meta start in NOT STARTED status. Run /research N to begin the standard research -> plan -> implement lifecycle.

Expected Return: Analyze Mode (read-only)

{
  "status": "analyzed",
  "summary": "System analysis complete. Found 9 commands, 9 skills, 6 agents, and 15 active tasks.",
  "artifacts": [],
  "metadata": {
    "session_id": "sess_1736700000_xyz789",
    "agent_type": "meta-builder-agent",
    "delegation_depth": 1,
    "delegation_path": ["orchestrator", "meta", "meta-builder-agent"],
    "mode": "analyze",
    "component_counts": {
      "commands": 9,
      "skills": 9,
      "agents": 6,
      "active_tasks": 15
    }
  },
  "next_steps": "Review analysis and run /meta to create tasks if needed"
}

Expected Return: User Cancelled

{
  "status": "cancelled",
  "summary": "User cancelled task creation at confirmation stage. No tasks created.",
  "artifacts": [],
  "metadata": {
    "session_id": "sess_1736700000_def456",
    "agent_type": "meta-builder-agent",
    "delegation_depth": 1,
    "delegation_path": ["orchestrator", "meta", "meta-builder-agent"],
    "mode": "interactive",
    "cancelled": true
  },
  "next_steps": "Run /meta again when ready to create tasks"
}

Error Handling

Input Validation Errors

Return immediately with failed status if arguments are malformed.

Subagent Errors

Pass through the subagent's error return verbatim.

User Cancellation

Return completed status (not failed) when user explicitly cancels at confirmation stage.

Timeout

Return partial status if subagent times out (default 7200s for interactive sessions).

MUST NOT (Postflight Boundary)

After the agent returns, this skill MUST NOT:

Edit .claude/ files - All system building is done by agent
Create task directories - Task creation is done by agent
Run analysis commands - Analysis is agent work
Write documentation - Artifact creation is agent work
Use AskUserQuestion - User interaction is agent work

The postflight phase is LIMITED TO:

Reading agent return
Git commit (if tasks were created)

Reference: @.claude/context/standards/postflight-tool-restrictions.md

skill-meta