mk:sprint-contract

What This Skill Does

Creates and negotiates a sprint contract — a signed agreement between the generator (developer agent) and evaluator (review agent) about what will be built, what acceptance criteria must pass, and how it will be evaluated. Uses a git-signed two-commit-per-agent protocol for cryptographic non-repudiation.

When to Use

• Starting a harness-driven sprint build (required before code)
• Complex features needing explicit scope boundaries
• Multi-agent builds where ownership must be clear
• NOT for: single-file changes, quick fixes, tasks without evaluation gates

Core Capabilities

• Contract template: 10 frontmatter fields (status, parties, rubric_preset, scope_in, scope_out, ACs with assertions, negotiation_log, amendments, signatures)
• BDD translation: 6 rules for converting user stories into Given/When/Then acceptance criteria with anti-pattern detection
• Git signing: two-commit-per-agent protocol — each party commits their signature separately, SHA capture for non-repudiation
• Amendment protocol: nullifies existing signatures on amend, append-only changes, re-signing required
• Validation: validate-contract.sh checks 7 categories (frontmatter, status enum, rubric_preset, AC count, GWT form, injection patterns, required sections)
• Hard constraints: max 2 negotiation rounds, max 15 ACs, LEAN mode bypass via MEOWKIT_AUTOBUILD_MODE=LEAN

Arguments

Flag	Effect
--propose	Create a new contract from requirements
--review	Review a proposed contract (evaluator role)
--amend	Amend an existing contract (appends to negotiation log, nullifies signatures)
--sign	Sign the contract (generator or evaluator)
--validate	Run validate-contract.sh checks
sprint-goal set/show/align	Sprint-LEVEL goal management (Agile mode — gated by agile-sprint-commitment.md Section 1)

sprint-goal subcommand (Agile mode)

Sprint-LEVEL goal contract — distinct from per-story sprint-CONTRACT files. Writes to tasks/contracts/sprint-state-{date}-sprint-{N}.md using assets/sprint-state-template.md.

Action	Form	Effect
set	mk:sprint-contract sprint-goal set "<text>" --sprint N	Writes sprint_goal: (≤120 chars) to sprint-state file. Creates the file if absent. Acquires flock for concurrent-write safety
show	mk:sprint-contract sprint-goal show --sprint N	Prints current sprint_goal:
align	mk:sprint-contract sprint-goal align --plan <path>	Renders alignment between plan goal and sprint goal. Advisory only

Validator scope note: the existing validate-contract.sh validates per-story sprint-CONTRACT files only. Sprint-STATE files have NO validator — YAML is parsed inline by consuming skills.

Workflow

1. Propose — generator creates contract from requirements with ACs and rubric bindings
2. Review — evaluator reviews, may request changes (max 2 rounds)
3. Negotiate — amendments appended to negotiation log (append-only)
4. Sign — generator signs (commit 1), evaluator signs (commit 2). Both SHAs recorded.
5. Validate — validate-contract.sh runs. Gate enforcement checks check-contract-signed.sh.
6. Build — developer reads signed contract before writing code (enforced by gate-enforcement.sh)

Usage

/mk:sprint-contract --propose "build user authentication with OAuth"
/mk:sprint-contract --review
/mk:sprint-contract --amend "add rate limiting to scope"
/mk:sprint-contract --sign
/mk:sprint-contract --validate

Example Prompt

Create a sprint contract for adding two-factor authentication to the login flow. Scope: TOTP generation, QR code setup, backup codes, and recovery flow. Out of scope: SMS-based 2FA, hardware key support.

Common Use Cases

• Harness-driven sprint builds
• Complex features with multiple acceptance criteria
• Multi-agent builds requiring clear ownership
• Regulated environments requiring audit trails

Pro Tips

• Every AC must bind to a rubric criterion. If a preset rubric is used, every criterion should have at least one AC binding.
• Assertion form is valid. For criteria without preconditions, use explicit Assertion instead of Given/When/Then. Example: "Assertion: The user receives a JWT with a 15-minute expiry."
• Mid-build amendments require re-signing. If scope changes during build, the amendment nullifies all signatures and both parties must re-sign.

Canonical source: .claude/skills/sprint-contract/SKILL.md