new-app-pipeline

new-app-pipeline

The end-to-end process for starting a new app: capture the idea as a PRD, refine it by resolving every open question, break it into execution-ready GitHub issues, review the model/effort assignments, then run the milestone workflow. Each stage produces a durable artifact (PR, issues, workflow run) so the pipeline survives context resets — the conversation is never the state.

Stages

#	Stage	Skill	Artifact	Checkpoint before next stage
1	Idea → PRD	app-prd	PRD.md on a PR	User iterates on the draft, in bursts
2	Resolve questions	prd-questions	Updated PRD, empty Open Questions	User answered every batch
3	Merge the PRD PR	—	PRD on main	Explicit user go
4	Issues + milestones	prd-to-issues	Milestones, 15–25 issues with Execution blocks	User reviews the breakdown table
5	Execution plan	execution-plan-review	Revised Execution blocks	User settles the final table
6	Run a milestone	milestone-workflow	Workflow run → PRs → LGTMs	User approves the run plan (mandatory)

Rules

• Never skip a checkpoint. Every stage boundary stops for the user; the pipeline is collaborative at the joints and autonomous inside them.
• Stages are re-enterable: the user can jump back ("actually keep Drizzle", "12 should be medium") at any point — apply the revision to the artifact, not just the chat.
• Stage 6 repeats per milestone (v0, then v1, …), chaining workflow invocations where cross-phase dependencies require earlier merges.
• Tech-stack debates during stage 1–2 (framework, ORM, hosting) are settled in chat and recorded in the PRD's Platforms & Technology table — the PRD carries the decision, the chat carries the reasoning.
• All the standing rules apply throughout: worktree + PR for every change, attribution footers, github-issue-format before filing, best-solution over cheap-solution.

Starting mid-pipeline

If the artifacts already exist (a PRD in the repo, issues filed), enter at the first stage whose artifact is missing or stale — never redo a finished stage. Verify by looking at the repo and issues, not by asking.