pstack

v2026.09.24

Playbook orchestrator for verified, unslopped engineering work. Matches a task to a named playbook, applies the principles index, and routes to how, why, architect, arena, swarm, interrogate, tdd, and related skills. Use for pstack, poteto-mode, /pstack, or requests to work in this style.

GitHub
Install command
npx skhub add shipshitdev/pstack
Markdown
SKILL.md

pstack

Lauren Tan's poteto-mode, recut for this catalog. Match the task to a playbook. Copy the playbook steps into the todo list verbatim. Route to the other skills as the steps fire. Name each principle that shaped a decision.

This is an execution router for the task the user selected. Invoke callable companion engines within that scope. Pass the requested target, authorized mutations, report-only restrictions, and host/provider limits to each delegate. Loading a playbook never grants additional authority. Recommend an explicit-only entry point when its separate workflow is needed.

Contract

Inputs:

  • A non-trivial task: bug, feature, investigation, refactor, perf, shipping, or a long unattended run

Outputs:

  • A matched playbook, a todo list of its steps, and the playbook's named reply
  • Principle citations that trace to a real choice

Creates/Modifies:

  • Whatever the matched playbook authorizes

External Side Effects:

  • Network, git, and GitHub writes only when the playbook's landing or review steps require them

Confirmation Required:

  • Irreversible writes: force-push to shared branches, deploys, data deletion, customer messages

Delegates To:

  • how, why, architect, arena, swarm, interrogate, tdd, figure-it-out, show-me-your-work, blast-radius, teach, recall
  • deslop, no-comments, technical-writing, review-dispatch, worktree, and skill-creator when their steps are authorized
  • Recommend finishing-a-development-branch or git-cleanup for their separate explicit workflows

Installation and Companion Resolution

This is the canonical Shipshit integration of Open Pstack and original Pstack. Resolve companions through this distribution's active catalog. Installed resources require neither upstream plugin. Report missing or ambiguous companions before relying on them. Resolve resources relative to each selected installed skill.

Read provider dispatch before launching a configured role. Read optional adapters when configuring a harness; preserve its canonical role sheet and existing generated adapters. The source ledger records exact upstream pins, adaptations and platform-specific capabilities. Optional adapters remain dormant until explicitly configured.

For prose, load references/prose-slop.md from the selected deslop skill.

Prepared Issue Execution

When implementing a prepared issue, apply the installed executing-plans contract and its references/delivery-gate.md across all playbooks. The planner resolves architecture, scope, contracts, and verification before execution. The executor implements those decisions and escalates any missing decision; it does not invoke an architectural investigation to choose a new design on its own authority. Planning-only requests route through feature-intake or writing-plans and stop before implementation. Existing explicit authorization carries across composition.

A complete issue owns the end-to-end outcome. Layer tasks and parallel lanes are internal work, not evidence that a feature is delivered. Every implementation needs current independent review from a different implementation lab and green required CI before merge-ready. A same-provider swarm supplements that review; it cannot replace it. Keep missing review capacity blocked and record actual evidence.

The prepared issue contract takes precedence over generic playbook defaults that would re-plan in the executor, require full implementation code in a plan, or add unrequested fixed-count review panels. Apply verification proportional to the approved acceptance criteria and risk, retaining every required gate.

Start

Open a todo list whose first item is reading references/principles.md in full. Then copy the matched playbook's steps in verbatim, before any task-specific todos. A step you skip stays listed with skip: <reason>.

Non-negotiables

  • Nontrivial change, architecture decision, or "are we sure?" → the how skill.
  • About to ask "which approach" or "how should I" → classify first. If the answer is a fact you could observe, sketch it via the Prototype playbook instead of asking. Reserve the question for a genuine product or preference call.
  • Any code → name the data shape first (Model the Domain).
  • Code crossing a function boundary → the architect skill.
  • Parallel fan-out → swarm for coverage, races, and partitions. arena for bakeoffs with a base and grafts.
  • Contested design → the interrogate skill before shipping.
  • Docs, RFCs, READMEs, PR descriptions, or commit messages → technical-writing, then the prose-slop catalog.
  • Before review → name no-comments.
  • PR-status request → the Babysit playbook. Never triggered by merely opening a PR.
  • Asked to land a green stack → the Shipping playbook. Green is not safe.
  • Review-bot comments → triage per references/bugbot-triage.md.
  • Long, autonomous, or multi-phase work → a decision trail via show-me-your-work.
  • Large or cross-cutting work, or work the user reviews after stepping away → figure-it-out even when a narrower playbook fits.

Capability tiers

Orchestrators speak in tiers. The consuming repo's routing block maps tiers to models. Never name a concrete model.

  • Fast cheap tier — fan-out finders, coverage workers, mechanical edits.
  • Strong instruction-following tier — specified sequences to execute to the letter.
  • Strongest judgment tier — synthesis, lead verdicts, contested design, cross-cutting architecture.

Spawn workers on the fast cheap tier unless the step needs judgment or letter-perfect execution. Review every delegate's diff yourself. Do not pass through a self-report. For delivery, the independent review must use a different provider/lab from every implementation contributor. A different tier alone does not qualify.

Give each writer its own worktree or branch. File pointers, not inlined dumps.

Autonomy

Reversible work proceeds. Pause for irreversible writes. "Don't stop" / "going to bed" / "run until done" keeps going. No is an acceptable answer. Decline scope that does not earn its place.

Writing the reply

Write the reply clean as you draft it.

  • Short declarative sentences. One thought per sentence.
  • Prefer periods over dashes and mid-sentence colons.
  • Frame impact for the consumer and the maintainer before implementation detail.
  • Never fabricate a link, citation, or transcript reference.
  • Apply references/prose-slop.md from the selected deslop skill directory.

Keep a comment only for a non-obvious why the code cannot show.

Playbooks

Match the task, open the file, copy its steps.

Automate Me procedure

Read automate-me procedure when creating or updating a personal mode from the user’s working conventions. Apply the authorized scope and mode of this entry point to every step. Resolve other skills through this distribution’s active catalog; resolve resources relative to the installed skill directory.

Babysit procedure

Read babysit procedure when selecting a PR monitoring workflow; the canonical Babysit playbook owns monitoring modes. Apply the authorized scope and mode of this entry point to every step. Resolve other skills through this distribution’s active catalog; resolve resources relative to the installed skill directory.

Bro procedure

Read bro procedure when the user asks to restate the previous answer more simply. Apply the authorized scope and mode of this entry point to every step. Resolve other skills through this distribution’s active catalog; resolve resources relative to the installed skill directory.

Poteto Mode procedure

Read poteto-mode procedure when selecting and running an engineering playbook. Apply the authorized scope and mode of this entry point to every step. Resolve other skills through this distribution’s active catalog; resolve resources relative to the installed skill directory.

Discovery
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Version
Latest version metadata

Version

v2026.09.24

Published

Sep 24, 2026

Category

Uncategorized

License

Not specified

Source path

skills/pstack

Default branch

master

Latest commit

a0f9899

Tree SHA

f05942e