Conductor: Context-Driven Development

Measure twice, code once.

Overview

Conductor enables context-driven development by:

1. Establishing project context (product vision, tech stack, workflow)
2. Organizing work into "tracks" (features, bugs, improvements)
3. Creating specs and phased implementation plans
4. Executing with TDD practices and progress tracking

Interoperability: This skill understands conductor projects created by either:

• Gemini CLI extension (/conductor:setup, /conductor:newTrack, etc.)
• Claude Code commands (/conductor-setup, /conductor-newtrack, etc.)

Both tools use the same conductor/ directory structure.

When to Use This Skill

Automatically engage when:

• Project has a conductor/ directory
• User mentions specs, plans, tracks, or context-driven development
• User asks about project status or implementation progress
• Files like conductor/tracks.md, conductor/product.md exist
• User wants to organize development work

Slash Commands

Users can invoke these commands directly:

Command	Description
/conductor-setup	Initialize project with product.md, tech-stack.md, workflow.md
/conductor-newtrack [desc]	Create new feature/bug track with spec and plan
/conductor-implement [id]	Execute tasks from track's plan
/conductor-status	Display progress overview
/conductor-revert	Git-aware revert of work

Intent Mapping

When users express these intents, invoke the corresponding workflow:

User Intent	Action	Command
"Set up this project" / "Initialize conductor"	Run setup workflow	/conductor-setup
"Create a new feature" / "Add a track for X"	Create new track	/conductor-newtrack [desc]
"Start working" / "Implement the feature"	Begin implementation	/conductor-implement
"What's the status?" / "Show progress"	Display status	/conductor-status
"Undo that" / "Revert the last task"	Revert work	/conductor-revert
"Check for issues" / "Validate the project"	Run validation	/conductor-validate
"This is blocked" / "Can't proceed"	Mark as blocked	/conductor-block
"Skip this task"	Skip current task	/conductor-skip
"Archive completed tracks"	Archive tracks	/conductor-archive
"Export project summary"	Generate export	/conductor-export

Context Loading

When this skill activates, automatically load:

1. conductor/product.md - Understand the product
2. conductor/tech-stack.md - Know the tech constraints
3. conductor/workflow.md - Follow the methodology
4. conductor/tracks.md - Current work status

For active tracks, also load:

• conductor/tracks/<track_id>/spec.md
• conductor/tracks/<track_id>/plan.md
• conductor/tracks/<track_id>/implement_state.json (if exists)

Proactive Behaviors

When skill is active:

1. On new session: Check for in-progress tracks, offer to resume
2. On task completion: Suggest next task or phase verification
3. On blocked detection: Alert user and suggest alternatives
4. On all tasks complete: Congratulate and offer archive/cleanup

Conductor Directory Structure

When you see this structure, the project uses Conductor:

conductor/
├── product.md              # Product vision, users, goals
├── product-guidelines.md   # Brand/style guidelines (optional)
├── tech-stack.md           # Technology choices
├── workflow.md             # Development standards (TDD, commits, coverage)
├── tracks.md               # Master track list with status markers
├── setup_state.json        # Setup progress tracking
├── code_styleguides/       # Language-specific style guides
└── tracks/
    └── <track_id>/         # Format: shortname_YYYYMMDD
        ├── metadata.json   # Track type, status, dates
        ├── spec.md         # Requirements and acceptance criteria
        └── plan.md         # Phased task list with status

Status Markers

Throughout conductor files:

• [ ] - Pending/New
• [~] - In Progress
• [x] - Completed (often followed by 7-char commit SHA)

Reading Conductor Context

When working in a Conductor project:

1. Read conductor/product.md - Understand what we're building and for whom
2. Read conductor/tech-stack.md - Know the technologies and constraints
3. Read conductor/workflow.md - Follow the development methodology (usually TDD)
4. Read conductor/tracks.md - See all work items and their status
5. For active work: Read the current track's spec.md and plan.md

Workflow Integration

When implementing tasks, follow conductor/workflow.md which typically specifies:

1. TDD Cycle: Write failing test → Implement → Pass → Refactor
2. Coverage Target: Usually >80%
3. Commit Strategy: Conventional commits (feat:, fix:, test:, etc.)
4. Task Updates: Mark [~] when starting, [x] when done + commit SHA
5. Phase Verification: Manual user confirmation at phase end

Gemini CLI Compatibility

Projects set up with Gemini CLI's Conductor extension use identical structure. The only differences are command syntax:

Gemini CLI	Claude Code
/conductor:setup	/conductor-setup
/conductor:newTrack	/conductor-newtrack
/conductor:implement	/conductor-implement
/conductor:status	/conductor-status
/conductor:revert	/conductor-revert

Files, workflows, and state management are fully compatible.

Example: Recognizing Conductor Projects

When you see conductor/tracks.md with content like:

## [~] Track: Add user authentication
*Link: [conductor/tracks/auth_20241215/](conductor/tracks/auth_20241215/)*

You know:

• This is a Conductor project
• There's an in-progress track for authentication
• Spec and plan are in conductor/tracks/auth_20241215/
• Follow the workflow in conductor/workflow.md

References

For detailed workflow documentation, see references/workflows.md.