use-conductor

89jobrien's avatarfrom 89jobrien

Scan conductor/ directory for project direction, workflows, and task planning when present

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[Project Management]

When & Why to Use This Skill

The Use Conductor skill is a powerful project management and context-awareness tool for Claude. It enables the agent to autonomously scan a structured `conductor/` directory to understand project vision, technical stacks, and workflows. By interpreting standardized task markers and track plans, it ensures that AI-driven development is perfectly aligned with project goals, coding standards, and real-time progress tracking, significantly enhancing productivity in complex software environments.

Use Cases

  • Automated Project Onboarding: Quickly grasp the product vision, technical decisions, and style guides when introduced to a new codebase.
  • Intelligent Task Execution: Identify the next priority task by scanning active work tracks and status markers ([ ], [~], [x]) to maintain development momentum.
  • Workflow Alignment: Ensure all AI-generated code and actions strictly follow the project's specific TDD methodologies and commit guidelines.
  • Dynamic Progress Reporting: Automatically update project tracking files and 'plan.md' documents as tasks are completed, maintaining an accurate record of work-in-progress.
  • Context-Aware Decision Making: Reference the 'tech-stack.md' and 'product-guidelines.md' to ensure new features or refactors remain within the defined scope and architectural boundaries.
nameuse-conductor
descriptionScan conductor/ directory for project direction, workflows, and task planning when present

Use Conductor

Scan the conductor/ directory at project root for structured project management files that provide direction, workflows, and task planning context.

When to Use

Use this skill when:

  • Starting work on a project that may have conductor files
  • Looking for project context, guidelines, or current tasks
  • Needing to understand the project's workflow methodology
  • Determining what work is in progress or next in queue

Conductor Directory Structure

The conductor system uses this structure:

conductor/
├── product.md              # Product vision and purpose
├── product-guidelines.md   # Standards and conventions
├── tech-stack.md           # Technology decisions
├── workflow.md             # Task execution methodology
├── tracks.md               # Index of active work tracks
├── setup_state.json        # Setup progress state
├── code_styleguides/       # Language-specific style guides
│   ├── general.md
│   └── python.md
└── tracks/                 # Detailed track plans
    └── <track_name>/
        ├── spec.md         # Track specification
        ├── plan.md         # Task checklist with progress
        └── metadata.json   # Track metadata

File Purposes

File Purpose
product.md Product vision, target audience, core features
product-guidelines.md Naming conventions, quality standards, documentation rules
tech-stack.md Approved technologies and libraries
workflow.md TDD methodology, task workflow, commit guidelines
tracks.md High-level index of all work tracks
tracks/<name>/plan.md Detailed task checklist with [ ], [~], [x] status
tracks/<name>/spec.md Goals, scope, and success criteria for the track

How to Scan

  1. Check if conductor/ directory exists at project root
  2. If present, read core files to understand project context:
    • product.md for vision
    • product-guidelines.md for standards
    • tracks.md for active work
  3. For active tracks (marked [~]), read the track's plan.md to find current tasks
  4. Follow the workflow methodology defined in workflow.md

Task Status Markers

In plan.md files:

  • [ ] - Task not started
  • [~] - Task in progress
  • [x] - Task completed (may include commit SHA)

Integration with Work

When conductor files are present:

  1. Respect the plan - Follow the task order in plan.md
  2. Update status - Mark tasks as [~] when starting, [x] when done
  3. Follow workflow - Use the TDD methodology if specified
  4. Maintain standards - Follow product-guidelines.md and style guides
  5. Stay in scope - Check spec.md for what's in/out of scope

Example Usage

Before starting work on a project:

User: "What should I work on next?"

Claude: [Checks for conductor/ directory]
        [Reads tracks.md to find active track]
        [Reads tracks/<active>/plan.md to find next [ ] task]
        "According to the conductor plan, the next task is..."