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Build Epic

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danielvm-git
build-epic

Eight-step epic build cycle — reads state.yaml, execution-status.yaml, and one epic capsule; updates status via bp-yaml-set or direct edit. Resume mode runs one step per invocation. Use instead of ad-hoc execute-plan for release work.

Overview

Publisherdanielvm-git
Repositorybigpowers
Skill namebuild-epic
Stars
206
Forks
18
Bundled files
Instructions only
LicenseMIT
Links
  • Markdown instructions

    A SKILL.md file the model loads on demand, so it only costs tokens when a request actually matches.

  • Works with any LLM

    AI skills are plain Markdown, not provider-specific code, so this works with GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, or a local model.

  • Self-contained

    Everything the model needs lives in the instructions — no extra files to sync.

  • Open source

    Published by danielvm-git on GitHub. Read the source before you install it.

Installation

Install the Build Epic AI skill in TypingMind to use it with any LLM, or drop it into another agent that reads SKILL.md.

1

Install in TypingMind

TypingMind installs a skill straight from its GitHub folder — it reads SKILL.md, bundles the resource files, and stores the result locally.

  1. Open the app and go to Plugins → Skills.
  2. Choose "Install from GitHub".
  3. Paste the skill folder URL below and confirm.
  4. Enable the skill in any chat where you want it available.
Plugins → Skills → Add skill → From GitHub URL, then paste the folder URL and press Continue.
2

Install in another agent

Any agent that reads the Agent Skills format can use this skill — copy the folder into that agent's skills directory.

Claude Code — .claude/skills
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/danielvm-git/bigpowers.git /tmp/bigpowers
mkdir -p .claude/skills
cp -r /tmp/bigpowers/skills/build-epic .claude/skills/build-epic
Restart Claude Code after copying so it picks up the new skill.

Use it in TypingMind

Enable Build Epic in any TypingMind chat and the model takes it from there. Its name and description sit in the system prompt, and the moment a request matches, the model loads the full instructions itself — you never invoke it by hand, and it costs no tokens until it is actually used.

The model loads Build Epic on its own as soon as a request matches it.

Works with any AI model

AI skills are plain Markdown instructions rather than provider-specific code, so Build Epic is not tied to the model it was written for. Install it once in TypingMind and use it with GPT-5, Claude, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek, Mistral, Llama, or a local model you run yourself — all on your own API keys.

  • Loaded only when it is needed

    The system prompt carries just the name and description. The instructions are fetched on the first matching request, so an idle skill costs nothing.

  • Switch models mid-chat

    Because the skill is instructions rather than code, changing model does not break it — the next model reads the same SKILL.md.

Skill instructions

This is the SKILL.md content the model loads. Read it before installing — a skill is instructions your model will follow.

story: e20s05

Build Epic

Scope: one story. Called by orchestrate-project Phase 4. Not a replacement for orchestrate-project.

Orchestrates the build flow for a single epic: survey → plan tasks → kickoff → TDD → verify → audit → commit → release.

HARD GATE — Set specs/state.yaml active_flow: build_epic and active_epic: eNN before starting.

HARD GATE — Not on main/master before step 3 (kickoff-branch).

Nine steps (epic_cycle in state.yaml)

StepSkill / action
0security-review — threat-model epic scope → specs/security/epics/<id>/THREAT_MODEL.md
1survey-context — confirm epic + story
2plan-work — flesh out story tasks[] in specs/epics/eNN-slug/epic.yaml
3kickoff-branch — feature branch + clean baseline
4develop-tdd — red-green per task
5verify-work — UAT + mechanical gates
6audit-codenon-optional gate (pass/fail; fail → loop back to step 4)
7commit-message — Conventional Commits draft
8release-branch — PR or solo land (supports --squash-state)

Process

  1. Read specs/state.yaml, specs/execution-status.yaml, specs/release-plan.yaml, active specs/epics/eNN-slug/epic.yaml.
    • On story start (step 1): Write started_at ISO 8601 timestamp to execution-status.yaml under the story's key in the stories: section. The bp-timing.sh script already tracks skill-level timings — this is story-level.
  2. Step 0 — Threat Model: Run security-review against the epic's scope (read from the epic capsule). Output specs/security/epics/<epic-id>/THREAT_MODEL.md with surface area, vulnerability categories, risk level, and mitigation guidance.
  3. Assess Impact (Step 2): Before writing tasks, run assess-impact --lightweight on the proposed change. If the risk score exceeds 7, gate — require a grill-me session. Write the impact report to specs/IMPACT-<epic>-<story>.md. For net-new code with no existing dependents, skip.
  4. BCP Tracking (Step 2): After plan-work completes, read the bcps: count (Business Complexity Points story size) from the epic capsule and carry it into state.yaml as epic_cycle.story_bcps = N.
  5. BCP Plus (Step 2, optional): When the epic capsule carries a bcp_plus_breakdown (13-dimension sizing), also carry it into state.yaml as epic_cycle.bcp_plus. The breakdown maps each of the 13 dimensions to an integer count. NFR dimensions (11–13) that are N/A per the NFR Gate may be set to 0.
  6. If epic_cycle.step missing, set to 1.
  7. Run only the current step (resume mode) unless user asked for full auto-run.
  8. After step verify passes, increment epic_cycle.step in state.yaml (or bash scripts/bp-yaml-set.sh if available).
  9. On story complete, set execution-status.yaml story key to done; run bash scripts/sync-status-from-epics.sh.
    • On story complete (step 8): Write completed_at ISO 8601 timestamp to execution-status.yaml under the same story key. Format:

      yaml
      stories:
        e01s01:
          status: done
          started_at: "2026-07-12T16:00:00-03:00"
          completed_at: "2026-07-12T18:45:00-03:00"
  10. Traceability refresh: Before step 8 (release-branch), run bash scripts/trace-stories.sh to regenerate specs/traceability-matrix.json, specs/TRACEABILITY_LATEST.md, and the specs/codebase-wiki/ OKF bundle. Surface dark/orphan/stale findings for the just-built epic in your verify summary. If scripts/trace-stories.sh is missing or fails, note "trace skipped" and continue — trace failure must be visible, not silent (blocking is gate-trace's job, e38s06).

9b. OKF wiki refresh (e39s08): Before step 8, run maintain-wiki INGEST to refresh the OKF wiki bundle:

bash
bash scripts/decompose-conventions.sh
bash scripts/generate-agent-guide.sh

If any script is missing or fails, note "OKF wiki refresh skipped" and continue. This is non-blocking — stale concepts are caught by LINT in verify-work Phase 3.

Step 6 — audit-code gate (non-optional)

After step 5 (verify-work) completes successfully, step 6 runs audit-code automatically in --gate mode:

  1. Run audit: Invoke audit-code --gate on the complete diff for this story.
  2. Pass (exit 0): All checklist sections pass → advance to step 7 (commit-message). Record epic_cycle.audit_result: pass in state.yaml.
  3. Fail (exit 1): One or more checklist sections fail → reset epic_cycle.current_step to 4 (develop-tdd) and add the failing section IDs to completed_steps as "1,2,3,4,5,6(fail: ...)". Record epic_cycle.audit_result: fail in state.yaml. Do NOT advance past step 6 until audit passes.
  4. Audit artifact: Full audit report saved to specs/verifications/AUDIT-<epic>-<story>.md regardless of pass/fail, for reviewer traceability.
  5. Enforce F.I.R.S.T: After audit-code passes, run enforce-first --quick on new/modified tests. Append F.I.R.S.T violations (if any) to the audit report. Failing F.I.R.S.T criteria trigger the same loop-back to step 4.

--fast mode

Coalesces read-and-report steps to reduce token overhead. Activate with build-epic --fast.

Normal--fastChange
Step 1 (survey-context)1+2 togethersurvey + plan in one invocation
Step 2 (plan-work)(absorbed into 1)
Step 3 (kickoff-branch)Step 2unchanged, sequential
Step 4 (develop-tdd)Step 3unchanged, sequential
Step 5 (verify-work)Step 4unchanged, sequential
Step 6 (audit-code)5+6 togetheraudit + commit-message in one invocation
Step 7 (commit-message)(absorbed into 6)
Step 8 (release-branch)Step 7unchanged, sequential

Total invocations: 8 → 6 per story.

Rules:

  • Steps 3/4/5/8 (kickoff, develop, verify, release) still run sequentially — they require user interaction or branch state.
  • --fast does NOT skip any checklist items; it only coalesces steps that are pure read-and-report.
  • Record epic_cycle.fast_mode: true in state.yaml when this flag is active.

Handoff

Write handoff.next_skill and handoff.context in state.yaml when pausing mid-epic.

Verify

→ verify: test -f specs/state.yaml && test -f specs/execution-status.yaml && test -f specs/release-plan.yaml && test -d skills/assess-impact && test -d skills/audit-code && test -d skills/security-review

Frequently asked questions

What does the Build Epic AI skill do?

Eight-step epic build cycle — reads state.yaml, execution-status.yaml, and one epic capsule; updates status via bp-yaml-set or direct edit. Resume mode runs one step per invocation. Use instead of ad-hoc execute-plan for release work.

Why use Build Epic on TypingMind?

Because you install it once and use it with any model. Build Epic is plain Markdown rather than provider-specific code, so the same skill runs on GPT-5, Claude, Gemini, Grok, or a local model — and you can switch model mid-chat without it breaking. TypingMind runs on your own API keys, so you pay providers directly instead of a per-seat subscription, and your skills and chats stay in your own storage.

How do I install Build Epic in TypingMind?

Open Plugins → Skills → Install from GitHub in TypingMind and paste https://github.com/danielvm-git/bigpowers/tree/main/skills/build-epic. TypingMind reads its SKILL.md and installs it as a skill you can enable per chat.

Which AI models can use Build Epic?

Any model you connect in TypingMind. AI skills are plain Markdown instructions rather than provider-specific code, so GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, and local models can all load this skill when a request matches it.

How many AI models can I use with Build Epic?

As many as you like. As long as a model supports skills, you can use Build Epic with it — GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek, Mistral, Llama and more — all on TypingMind with your own API keys.

Is the Build Epic AI skill free?

Yes. It is published on GitHub by danielvm-git under the MIT license. You only pay your own AI provider for the tokens you use.

What are AI skills?

An AI skill is a reusable instruction bundle that teaches an AI model how to do one specific task. It follows the open Agent Skills format: a SKILL.md file with a name and description, plus any scripts, templates or reference files the model may need. The model reads the instructions only when your request matches the skill, so an installed skill costs nothing until it is used.

How are AI skills different from plugins or MCP servers?

A plugin or MCP server gives a model new tools to call — code that runs somewhere and returns a result. An AI skill gives the model knowledge and process instead: how to approach a task, which steps to follow, what good output looks like. Skills are plain Markdown, so they need no server, no API key and no runtime, and they work with any model.

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