express

Express mode collapses the 8-phase pipeline into 3 steps for medium-complexity tasks: 1. PLAN (Discovery + Design compressed into one approval gate) 2. BUILD (Development + QA in a single pass with inline testing) 3. SHIP (Fix + Delivery compressed)

This reduces approval gates from 5 to 2 and turns from ~20 to ~8.

<Use_When>

• Task is medium complexity (2-5 files, clear requirements)
• User explicitly requests express mode
• KO: "빠르게", "간단하게" JA: "簡単に", "エクスプレス" ZH: "快速", "简单"
• Task type is 'feature' or 'refactor' with clear scope </Use_When>

<Do_Not_Use_When>

• Task requires extensive discovery (unclear requirements)
• Security-sensitive changes (auth, payments, data handling)
• Large-scale architectural changes (use full pipeline)
• Simple bugfix (use light tier instead) </Do_Not_Use_When>

Step 1 — PLAN: 1. Initialize .forge/ with tier='medium', mode='express' 2. PM: Generate compact spec (max 1 page) from user's request - Include understanding check: PM summarizes back to user before finalizing 3. CTO: Define code-rules and key interfaces inline - **Lightweight Handoff Interview**: CTO reads spec, flags any gaps in 1 round - PM/CEO resolves gaps immediately (no multi-round interview in express mode) 4. Optional: dispatch Analyst for quick architecture snapshot (skip if trivial task — only useful when touching 3+ modules or unfamiliar areas) 5. Single approval gate: "Plan looks good? (y/n)"

Step 2 — BUILD:

1. Lead-dev: Split into tasks, assign to developer(s)
2. Developer: Implement with inline QA checks (test as you go)
   • Recommend native worktree isolation (Agent tool isolation: "worktree") for parallel developer lanes
3. Fact-checker validates key claims
4. Auto-merge if tests pass, else flag issues

Step 3 — SHIP:

1. Fix any flagged issues (max 2 iterations)
2. Tech-writer: Generate minimal README updates
3. Present delivery summary
4. Done — no separate QA or security phase (already inline)

<Layer_Classification> Express uses layer0 only — no Teams overhead. Speed is the priority. Keep the process compressed: Analyst snapshot is optional, worktree isolation is recommended but not enforced. </Layer_Classification>

<Tool_Usage>

• Agent tool: dispatch forge:pm for compact spec generation (PLAN phase)
• Agent tool: dispatch forge:cto for code-rules and interface definition (PLAN phase)
• Agent tool: dispatch forge:developer (layer2_subagent, isolation="worktree") for implementation (BUILD phase)
• Agent tool: dispatch forge:fact-checker for claim validation (BUILD phase)
• Agent tool: dispatch forge:analyst (optional) for architecture snapshot on multi-module tasks
• Bash tool: run tests inline during BUILD, git operations
• Read tool: load .forge/spec.md, .forge/code-rules.md
• Edit tool: update .forge/state.json </Tool_Usage>

<State_Management> Express mode uses the same .forge/ directory but with mode='express'. Phase mapping: plan=discovery, build=develop, ship=delivery Tier is locked to 'medium' throughout. </State_Management>