Initialize epic directory, brief, and tracker entry. Use to begin a new epic.
Initialize an epic with scope artifacts and a tracker entry. Epics are logical containers (directory + tracker), not branches. Story branches are created directly from the development branch.
When to use: Starting a new body of work (3-10 stories), beginning a planned epic from the backlog.
When to skip: Small fixes or single stories (no epic needed). Continuation of existing epic.
Inputs: Epic number (E{N}), epic name/slug, high-level objective.
Branch config: Read branches.development from for . Default: .
.raise/manifest.yaml{dev_branch}mainEnsure on {dev_branch} (for creating scope artifacts):
git branch --show-current
| Condition | Action |
|---|---|
On {dev_branch} | Continue |
| On other branch | git checkout {dev_branch} && git pull |
Before creating the epic directory, check that no existing directory would collide:
ls work/epics/ | grep -i "^e{N}-"
| Condition | Action |
|---|---|
| No match | Continue — safe to create |
| Match found | STOP — directory e{N}-* already exists. Ask the developer to choose a different epic number |
This prevents ID collisions in the knowledge graph (RAISE-1199, RAISE-1204).
Create TWO artifacts:
work/epics/e{N}-{name}/brief.md using templates/brief.md — hypothesis, success metrics, appetite, rabbit holes.work/epics/e{N}-{name}/scope.md — objective, in/out scope, planned stories, done criteria.Commit:
git add -A
git commit -m "epic(e{N}): initialize {epic-name}
Objective: {1-line}
In scope:
- {item 1}
- {item 2}
Co-Authored-By: Rai <[email protected]>"
Register epic in the backlog tracker via CLI:
rai backlog transition {JIRA_KEY} "In Progress" -a jirarai backlog create "{title}" -p RAISE -t Epic -l epicShow the developer:
/rai-epic-design to formalize scope and stories| Item | Destination |
|---|---|
| Epic Brief | work/epics/e{N}-{name}/brief.md |
| Scope | work/epics/e{N}-{name}/scope.md |
| Scope commit | On {dev_branch} |
| Backlog entry | Tracker via rai backlog CLI |
| Next | /rai-epic-design |
templates/brief.mdrai backlog CLI{dev_branch}/rai-epic-design/rai-story-start (branches from {dev_branch})/rai-epic-closeCLAUDE.md § Branch Model