Comet Classic — OpenSpec + Superpowers

Classic has five phases: Open → Design → Build → Verify → Archive. OpenSpec manages specifications and archiving. Superpowers provides design methods and the planning, execution, and review methods selected by the user. The full workflow requires brainstorming and design confirmation; hotfix/tweak follow their preset steps.

1. Resolve the Target and Workspace

For a new task or host change, perform the host capability check before approving Open. When execution configuration changes, check only capabilities required by the new strategy.

Before starting or resuming, resolve artifact paths with comet-classic/reference/classic-layout.md and follow “CLI Bootstrap” in comet-classic/reference/scripts.md. Use the public Comet CLI and its OpenSpec adapter. Read only sections needed for the current action; reuse valid instructions already in context.

• When Classic was not explicitly invoked and existing work may need to resume: read Ambient Resume in comet-classic/reference/context-recovery.md and follow comet resume-probe . --stdin --json. Only auto_resume enters automatically; for ask_user ask by reason using the Ambient Resume table's question and options; out_of_scope/none does not enter.
• When starting a new request or the target change is unclear: read the minimal example and target-selection rules in comet-classic/reference/intent-frame.md. List active changes, fill a CometIntentFrame, and run comet classic intent route --stdin. The Agent extracts intent fields from evidence; Runtime computes the route. Follow its result without inventing a separate set of prose scoring rules.
• When the target change is explicit and Runtime has initialized it, bind its workspace below. New SDK changes use comet-state.yaml; historical .comet.yaml files are read and written in place, and compat initialization still uses the old name. Use Runtime ownership returned by state next, not the mere presence of the state file, to choose the recovery path. Bind only after selecting among active changes. A new change goes to /comet-open or the matching preset Skill, which prepares the workspace before initializing; workspace resolve reports not-found for an uninitialized change.

comet classic workspace resolve <change-name> --json
# Enter the returned projectRoot before selecting the change
comet state select <change-name> --json

If both comet-state.yaml and .comet.yaml exist, including dangling symlinks, stop, preserve both, and check their origins; never silently select, overwrite, or rename either.

Continue from selection when it supplies Runtime ownership, phase, revision, and nextAction. Run comet state next <change-name> --json only for missing information, external changes, or an expired response.

Transfer the actual state file, change documents, referenced artifacts, code, and project configuration together; checkpoints omit separate child worktrees and uncommitted code. For a copied SDK change with run_checkpoint, named state select or state next restores its saved phase, Actions, and approvals. Confirm the original device's execution stopped before continuing external work; reconcile unknown outcomes before retrying. Only if an older state has no checkpoint and the entry reports missing Run history, inspect formal documents, explain that restoration returns to Open and needs fresh approvals/checks, and obtain consent before comet state restore <change-name> --confirmed.

On actual file changes to ordinary or formal materials, or when continuation requests an edit judgment, first read and follow edit continuation, then handle phase actions or revision commands. Runtime revision commands do not grant user authorization. Without authorization for the added scope, retain the original phase, accepted results and pending work, and request only the related decision.

When agent.continuation.mode exists, follow comet-classic/reference/auto-transition.md: execute, wait, ask, reconcile, or finish. Use nextAction.kind below only for older responses without mode.

Use data.runtimeFormat (sdk or compat), phase, configuration, and data.nextAction.kind. Only an SDK action loads the returned Skill. For decision, evidence, or reconcile, first resolve the current Run's decision, evidence, or claimed Action; never replay it as a fresh Skill action. Keep the original routing for compat changes. Send a new full change to /comet-open, which prepares the workspace, creates OpenSpec artifacts, and initializes an SDK Run. Send confirmed hotfix/tweak choices to their preset Skills. Do not call /opsx:new directly. On ownership conflicts or malformed state, follow “Entry Errors and Recovery” in context-recovery.md and stop; do not infer phase from artifacts or create another state record.

Select a new full change's workspace before Open creates artifacts. Full-workflow isolation may be current, branch, or worktree; use Worktree for explicit parallel work, otherwise follow comet-classic/reference/workspace.md. Hotfix/tweak bind workspaces during initialization. Resume in the bound workspace; rebind changed branch ownership according to existing user authorization, asking only if it is missing.

2. Load the Current Phase

Reuse results and context for the same tasks. Follow returned state and agent.continuation; query only for missing fields, workspace or external changes, or lost recovery context. Choose checks by risk; Verify owns the final integrated review.

On workspace/phase entry, phase changes, Agent handoff or recovery, follow Task Context and Artifact Language. Take one snapshot using the continuation or claimed Action's contextRequest; use the configured artifact language and expand only missing Context Manifest content. Report actual usage outcomes and save a checkpoint at task end.

Before completion, record the task-context learning check as submitted, no-observation, or not-run. Personal Memory stores reusable user information, never task summaries, progress, command output, or test results.

Save validated project experience with comet knowledge remember. Project experience and personal preferences are stored separately; Personal Memory holds user preferences and stable collaboration habits. Commands and filtering rules: Task Context and Artifact Language.

• new full / open: /comet-open: clarify scope, create required artifacts, and obtain the user's review and confirmation
• design: /comet-design: resolve technical tradeoffs and confirm the formal design
• build + full: /comet-build: recover configuration/plan, complete tasks and required reviews
• hotfix / build + hotfix: /comet-hotfix: repair a localized existing defect
• tweak / build + tweak: /comet-tweak: make a lightweight adjustment within one change
• verify: /comet-verify: run acceptance checks, reverify repairs, and perform the only final integrated review
• archive / verify_result: pass: /comet-archive: confirm archiving, commit only this change's files, and complete the selected delivery method

The corresponding Skill performs phase work; load it before authoring artifacts, calling OpenSpec, or advancing. Resolve decision, evidence, and reconcile on the current Run without repeating phase work.

For new full / Open, or an Action specifying comet-open:

Immediately execute: Use the Skill tool to load the comet-open skill. Skipping this step is prohibited.

For an Action specifying comet-design:

Immediately execute: Use the Skill tool to load the comet-design skill. Skipping this step is prohibited.

Recommend a lightweight workflow only for a new request. Enter directly when its risk fits the preset and the user has explicitly selected it. When the Agent makes the recommendation, explain why, present hotfix/tweak and full with their effects, and wait for confirmation. Never silently downgrade an existing full change. Assess public APIs, data migrations, security, concurrency, and cross-module design by their actual risks; a small file count does not waive necessary steps.

For hotfix/tweak, SDK must read and follow Preset scope and reuse valid rulings.md authorization; Compat follows the chosen preset's reference/compat.md. Review scope when only file count exceeds the threshold, asking only when a new decision is needed. Upgrade after the user's choice, using the Run continuation or matching Compat command. Use verify_mode for verification depth; keep workflow and escalation decisions separate.

On session recovery, external changes, or discrepancies between actual work and plan, task, review, or delivery records, read comet-classic/reference/context-recovery.md. Use nextAction from the current phase entry to identify unfinished steps. Reuse valid configuration and work; an unchecked task is not proof that implementation is missing. Follow that reference for the recovery procedure.

3. Complete the Work Authorized for This Invocation

After phase exit checks pass, follow comet-classic/reference/auto-transition.md: read agent.continuation from the successful result and load only its next Skill. Query again only when reusable state is unavailable, session recovery lacks context, or external state changes. auto_transition: false controls the next Skill invocation, not the phase already advanced by Guard. For NEXT: manual, show HINT and end the invocation without adding a confirmation question.

First check existing approval, delegated authority, and the user's requested confirmation method. Wait for an explicit answer when a new decision is needed. Before the first clarification or confirmation, read comet-classic/reference/decision-point.md and follow its options, recommendation reasons, per-option effects, and AskUserQuestion priority. Reuse it when already in context. Check authorization for the following matters under that protocol. Continue when existing authority still covers them; ask only when a new decision is needed:

• If the target change, PRD split, or workspace isolation still needs a choice, ask related questions together and wait.
• At the end of Open, obtain final confirmation of the name, scope, and artifacts. After Design develops a proposal, obtain confirmation of the formal design. In both cases, check current content against existing authority. Present a reviewable result and wait when a user decision is needed.
• Before Build writes a plan, ask about execution/TDD/review configuration only when it is missing or the user requests a change. After a user-requested plan-ready pause, wait for an explicit instruction to continue.
• In Verify, ask when accepting deviations, resolving implementation/Spec disagreement, or choosing how to proceed after the automatic-repair limit. In Archive, confirm archiving and the delivery method.
• Ask when upgrading a preset to the full workflow, or when Build needs to expand scope, redesign, or split a change.

Before an explicit choice, do not write state or execute branch operations that depend on it, and do not bypass phase Guards. Reuse valid authorization and configuration. Automatically handle in-scope failures with a known repair, state that can be reconciled from evidence, and other steps with only one valid action; do not add “continue?” questions.

Archive and delivery method are combined into one final confirmation. /comet-archive checks authorization, actual Git state, and completion of the selected delivery actions. Passing verification does not authorize archiving; an archive directory does not prove that a commit, push, or PR is complete.

Rules for Every Phase

• Use Runtime phase, Guard results, and the current workspace binding to determine workflow state. Files and conversation help reconcile it; they do not authorize editing phase by hand to bypass confirmation or verification.
• proposal records goals and scope; spec defines behavior and acceptance; design_doc points to the single formal technical design; plan describes implementation; tasks.md records task completion.
• Follow the confirmed execution, TDD, and review configuration. Autonomous still requires full-workflow design, planning, real verification, and independent review. Build confirms missing or user-requested configuration changes; never replace configuration based on a model name.
• Attribute uncommitted changes using comet-classic/reference/dirty-worktree.md. Handle only the current change and protect unrelated work. For rejected state updates, path escapes, unavailable dependencies, or unclear ownership, read “Entry Errors and Recovery” in comet-classic/reference/context-recovery.md, report the original error, and follow the matching recovery rule.
• For failures in the current phase, read comet-classic/reference/debug-gate.md and investigate before fixing. Claim a test or build result only after actually running it. Reuse an earlier pass only when Runtime confirms it is still valid.

Read comet-classic/reference/comet-yaml-fields.md for state-field meanings and comet-classic/reference/file-structure.md for artifact directories. Read other references only when their triggers above apply.