Quick

Reference Loading Table

Instructions

Phase --trivial: INLINE EXECUTION (only with --trivial flag)

When --trivial is passed (or the router recognises a clearly one-line mechanical change), execute inline without plan display, without a feature branch, and without spawning subagents — because the overhead of those steps dwarfs the actual work.

Step 1: Read CLAUDE.md

Read repository CLAUDE.md before any edit, because repo-specific constraints affect how even trivial changes should be made.

Step 2: Scope check

If redirecting, say: This task exceeds --trivial scope ([reason]). Continuing as /quick. Then proceed to Phase 0 with the original request.

Step 3: Locate target files and execute

Read the target file(s). Make edits using the Edit tool. Track edit count. After each edit, check: have we hit 3 edits? If more are needed, stop -- do not rationalize "just one more edit." Say: "Scope exceeded during --trivial execution (3+ edits needed). Preserving work done. Continuing as /quick." Hand off to the standard quick phases with context about what was already done.

Step 4: Check branch

If on main/master, create a short-lived branch: git checkout -b quick/<brief-description>.

Step 5: Stage and commit

Stage specific files with git add <specific-files>. Commit using the format from references/templates.md (conventional commit, type usually fix:, chore:, or refactor:).

Step 6: Display summary

Use the --trivial summary banner format from references/templates.md.

GATE: Edit count is 1-3, commit succeeded. STOP — do not proceed to Phase 0.

Phase 0: SETUP

Step 1: Read CLAUDE.md

Read and follow the repository's CLAUDE.md before doing anything else, because repo-specific conventions override defaults and skipping this causes style/tooling mismatches.

Step 2: Parse flags

Extract --discuss, --research, --full, --no-branch, and --no-commit from the invocation. Everything remaining after flag extraction is the task description.

Step 3: Scope check

If the task involves multiple components, architectural changes, or needs parallel execution, redirect to /do instead because quick tasks are single-threaded by design -- parallelism means the task has outgrown this tier.

Phase 1: DISCUSS (only with --discuss flag)

This phase activates when the user passes --discuss or the request contains signals of uncertainty ("not sure", "maybe", "could be", "what do you think").

Step 1: Identify ambiguities

Read the request and list specific questions:

• What exactly should change? (if underspecified)
• Which approach among alternatives? (if multiple valid paths)
• What are the acceptance criteria? (if success is unclear)

Step 2: Present questions

Use the DISCUSS banner format from references/templates.md. Wait for user response. Do not proceed until ambiguities are resolved.

GATE: All ambiguities resolved. Proceed to Phase 2 or Phase 3.

Phase 2: RESEARCH (only with --research flag)

This phase activates when the user passes --research or the task touches code that needs investigation. Use --research when touching unfamiliar code because confidence about code behavior is not the same as correctness — --trivial exists for when you truly know.

Step 1: Identify scope

Determine which files and patterns need reading to understand the change.

Step 2: Read and analyze

Read relevant source files, tests, and configuration. Build a mental model of:

• Current behavior
• Where the change fits
• What might break

Step 3: Summarize findings

Present a brief (3-5 line) summary of what you learned and how it affects the plan.

GATE: Sufficient understanding to plan the change. Proceed to Phase 3.

Phase 3: PLAN

Step 1: Generate task ID

Assign the task ID now, not later, because untracked tasks become invisible and "later" never comes.

Format: YYMMDD-xxx where xxx is Base36 sequential (0-9, a-z).

# Check STATE.md for today's tasks to determine next sequence
date_prefix=$(date +%y%m%d)

If STATE.md exists in the repo root, find the highest sequence number for today's date prefix and increment. If no tasks today, start at 001. Use Base36 for the sequence: 001, 002, ... 009, 00a, 00b, ... 00z, 010, ...

If STATE.md is corrupted, scan git log for Quick task YYMMDD- patterns to find the true next ID. If a branch name collision occurs, increment the sequence number and try again.

Step 2: Create inline plan

Always display the inline plan, even for obvious tasks, because the plan catches misunderstandings before they become wrong edits and confirms alignment in 10 seconds that saves minutes. Do NOT write a task_plan.md file -- that is Simple+ tier, and using an inline plan here is the minimum viable ceremony.

Use the inline plan banner format from references/templates.md.

If estimated edits exceed 15, prompt the user to consider /do -- edit count is a scope signal regardless of difficulty.

If the task involves security, payments, or data migration, recommend --full because a one-line auth change can be catastrophic and risk is about impact, not size.

Step 3: Create feature branch (unless --no-branch)

Create a feature branch because small changes on main break the same as big ones:

git checkout -b quick/<task-id>-<brief-kebab-description>

If already on a non-main feature branch and --no-branch is set, stay on the current branch.

GATE: Task ID assigned, plan displayed, branch created. Proceed to Phase 4.

Phase 4: EXECUTE

Step 1: Make edits

Execute the changes described in the plan. Track edit count throughout.

Step 2: Scope monitoring

• At 10 edits: display a warning -- "10 edits reached. Quick tasks typically stay under 15."
• At 15 edits: suggest upgrade -- "15 edits reached. This may benefit from /do with full planning. Continue? [Y/n]"
• No hard cap -- the user decides. Quick's scope is advisory, not enforced like Fast's 3-edit gate.

Step 3: Verify changes (base mode)

Run a language-appropriate syntax check on edited files (e.g., python3 -m py_compile, go build ./..., tsc --noEmit). If --full flag is set, run the full quality gate instead (see Phase 5).

GATE: All planned edits complete. Sanity check passes.

Phase 5: VERIFY (only with --full flag)

Step 1: Run tests for affected packages/modules only -- do not run the full suite unless explicitly requested.

Step 2: Lint check using the repo's configured linter on changed files.

Step 3: Review changes with git diff. Check for unintended changes, missing error handling, and broken imports.

GATE: Tests pass, lint clean, diff reviewed. Proceed to Phase 6.

Phase 6: COMMIT (skip with --no-commit)

Stage specific files with git add <specific-files> -- not git add ., to avoid accidental inclusions. Commit using the format from references/templates.md. Include the task ID in the commit body for traceability.

GATE: Commit succeeded. Verify with git log -1 --oneline.

Phase 7: LOG

Step 1: Update STATE.md

Log the task to STATE.md because this is how tasks stay visible and cross-referenceable. Use the STATE.md schema from references/templates.md to create the file if it does not exist, and append one row per task. If escalated from --trivial, use tier trivial->quick.

Step 2: Display summary

Use the completion banner format from references/templates.md.

Reference Material

See references/examples.md for worked examples per flag mode, task ID format, and error handling.