hellblazer/rdr-create

RDR Create Skill

When This Skill Activates

• User says "create an RDR", "new RDR", "start an RDR"
• User invokes /nx:rdr-create
• User wants to think through a technical decision — before, during, or after building

Inputs

Prompt the user for:

• Title (required): e.g., "Bulk PDF Indexing with OCR Support"
• Type (optional, default: Feature): Feature | Bug Fix | Technical Debt | Framework Workaround | Architecture
• Priority (optional, default: Medium): High | Medium | Low
• Related issues (optional): bead IDs or URLs

Behavior

Step 0: Resolve RDR directory

Read the RDR base directory from .nexus.yml indexing.rdr_paths[0]; default docs/rdr:

python3 -c "
import os, re, sys
f = '.nexus.yml'
if not os.path.exists(f): print('docs/rdr'); sys.exit()
t = open(f).read()
try:
    import yaml; d = yaml.safe_load(t) or {}; paths = (d.get('indexing') or {}).get('rdr_paths', ['docs/rdr']); print(paths[0] if paths else 'docs/rdr')
except ImportError:
    m = re.search(r'rdr_paths[^\[]*\[([^\]]+)\]', t) or re.search(r'rdr_paths:\s*\n\s+-\s*(.+)', t)
    v = m.group(1) if m else ''; parts = re.findall(r'[a-z][a-z0-9/_-]+', v)
    print(parts[0] if parts else 'docs/rdr')
" 2>/dev/null || echo "docs/rdr"

Use this value as RDR_DIR throughout all steps below (wherever docs/rdr appears).

Step 1: Bootstrap (first use only)

If $RDR_DIR does not exist:

1. Create $RDR_DIR/ and $RDR_DIR/post-mortem/ directories
2. Copy RDR template from $CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT/resources/rdr/TEMPLATE.md to $RDR_DIR/TEMPLATE.md
3. Copy post-mortem template from $CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT/resources/rdr/post-mortem/TEMPLATE.md to $RDR_DIR/post-mortem/TEMPLATE.md
4. Create $RDR_DIR/README.md from $CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT/resources/rdr/README-TEMPLATE.md

If $CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT is not available, use the templates inline (they are embedded below in the Templates section).

Gap convention (enforced at /nx:rdr-gate Layer 1 and /nx:rdr-close for post-65 RDRs): the ## Problem Statement (or ## Problem) section must contain one or more #### Gap N: <title> headings (regex: ^#{3,5} Gap \d+:). Fill these in during drafting — the template scaffolds Gap 1 and Gap 2 placeholders. Replacing the Problem Statement with free-form prose and removing the gap headings will fail the gate at accept time, not just at close time. Authors can override with /nx:rdr-gate <id> --skip-gaps when the gap structure truly does not fit (audit-trail escape only; prefer adding real gap headings).

Step 2: Assign ID

Scan $RDR_DIR/ for files matching [0-9][0-9][0-9]-*.md. Find the highest number. Next ID = max + 1, zero-padded to 3 digits. If no files exist, start at 001.

Derive project prefix from repo name:

basename $(git rev-parse --show-toplevel) | tr '[:lower:]' '[:upper:]' | tr -cd '[:alnum:]' | head -c 3

Example: nexus → NEX, arcaneum → ARC, nx-tools → NXT (hyphens stripped)

Step 3: Create RDR file

Create $RDR_DIR/NNN-kebab-case-title.md from the template with these metadata fields pre-filled:

• Date: today's date (YYYY-MM-DD)
• Status: Draft
• Type: user's choice
• Priority: user's choice
• Related Issues: user's input (if any)

Replace [NUMBER] with the assigned ID and [TITLE] with the user's title.

Step 4: Write T2 record

mcp__plugin_nx_nexus__memory_put(content="id: NNN\nprefix: PREFIX\ntitle: User's Title\nstatus: Draft\ntype: Feature\npriority: Medium\ncreated: YYYY-MM-DD\ngated: \nclosed: \nclose_reason: \nsuperseded_by: \nsupersedes: \nepic_bead: \narchived: false\nfile_path: $RDR_DIR/NNN-kebab-title.md", project="{repo}_rdr", title="{NNN}", ttl="permanent", tags="rdr,{type}"

Step 5: Regenerate README index

Read all T2 records for {repo}_rdr project via memory_get tool: project="{repo}_rdr", title="". If T2 is empty (first create before T2 write completes), also scan filesystem frontmatter. Generate the index table and update $RDR_DIR/README.md.

Step 6: Stage files

git add $RDR_DIR/NNN-kebab-title.md $RDR_DIR/README.md

If bootstrap ran, also stage: $RDR_DIR/TEMPLATE.md, $RDR_DIR/post-mortem/TEMPLATE.md

Output

Print:

Created RDR PREFIX-NNN: "Title"
File: docs/rdr/NNN-kebab-title.md
Status: Draft

Next: Fill in Problem Statement and Context, then use /nx:rdr-research to add findings.

Success Criteria

• [ ] RDR directory resolved from .nexus.yml indexing.rdr_paths[0] (default docs/rdr)
• [ ] RDR file created at $RDR_DIR/NNN-kebab-title.md with correct metadata
• [ ] Sequential ID assigned (no collisions with existing RDRs)
• [ ] T2 record written to {repo}_rdr project with all required fields
• [ ] $RDR_DIR/README.md index regenerated with new entry
• [ ] Files staged via git add
• [ ] Bootstrap completed on first use (template and directory structure)

Agent-Specific PRODUCE

This skill produces outputs directly (no agent delegation):

• T3 knowledge: Not produced at create time (archival happens at /nx:rdr-close)
• T2 memory: RDR metadata record via memory_put tool: project="{repo}_rdr", title="{NNN}", ttl="permanent", tags="rdr,{type}"
• T1 scratch: Working notes during creation via scratch tool: action="put", content="RDR NNN: scaffolding", tags="rdr,create" (optional, for tracking multi-step creation)
• Filesystem: docs/rdr/NNN-kebab-title.md, updated docs/rdr/README.md

Session Scratch (T1): Use scratch tool for ephemeral working notes if the creation involves multiple prompts or complex ID assignment. Flagged items auto-promote to T2 at session end.

Does NOT

• Create beads (that happens at /nx:rdr-close)
• Run validation (that happens at /nx:rdr-gate)
• Commit (user decides when to commit)
• Run nx index rdr (user can do this manually or it happens at gate/close)