An agent skill for developing applications through an iterative SDLC workflow with repo-native documentation, Mermaid UML diagrams, and anti-slop quality gates.

Repository layout

skills/sdlc-architect/
├── SKILL.md
├── agents/openai.yaml
└── references/
    ├── antislop-integration.md
    ├── artifact-templates.md
    ├── api-dependency-lifecycle.md
    ├── commands.md
    ├── evidence.md
    ├── execution-protocol.md
    ├── forward-testing.md
    ├── iteration.md
    ├── migration.md
    ├── quality-gates.md
    ├── project-governance.md
    ├── project-state.md
    ├── security-threat-model.md
    ├── sdlc-workflow.md
    └── uml-mermaid.md

The root plugin manifests make the skill discoverable as a Codex plugin. The antislop bundle is available beside it under skills/antislop*. skills/antislop-human/ also includes the contrast checker and its MCP launcher. The SDLC skill can also be copied from skills/sdlc-architect/ into an Agent Skills-compatible skills directory.

Installation & Quickstart

You can quickly initialize or install this skill into any repository or agent workspace using npx:

# 1. Full interactive/automated setup (skills + Cursor adapter + state + ADRs)
npx sdlc-architect init --all --platform cursor --state --adr

# 2. Or install sdlc-architect skills only (default to ./skills)
npx sdlc-architect
npx sdlc-architect --all

# 3. Generate platform-specific rules for your AI coding assistant
npx sdlc-architect adapter cursor    # creates .cursor/rules/sdlc-architect.mdc
npx sdlc-architect adapter claude    # creates CLAUDE.md
npx sdlc-architect adapter copilot   # creates .github/copilot-instructions.md
npx sdlc-architect adapter windsurf  # creates .windsurfrules
npx sdlc-architect adapter github    # creates .github/pull_request_template.md and issue templates
npx sdlc-architect adapter all       # generates all adapters

# 4. Scaffold a new Architecture Decision Record (ADR)
npx sdlc-architect adr "use-redis-for-session-caching"

# 5. Validate Mermaid diagrams in your Markdown docs (prevent broken diagrams in CI)
npx sdlc-architect check-mermaid ./docs

# 6. Run repository health check or quality gate audit
npx sdlc-architect doctor
npx sdlc-architect gate ready   # audit Definition of Ready before building
npx sdlc-architect gate done    # audit Definition of Done and test suite

# 7. Update installed skills to the latest package version
npx sdlc-architect update
npx sdlc-architect update --adapters   # also refresh agent rules

CLI Reference

| Command / Option | Alias | Description | |---|---|---| | install [dir] | | Install skill(s) to destination directory (default: ./skills) | | update, upgrade [dir] | | Update installed skill(s) to latest package version | | init [options] | | Full initialization: copies skills, configures agent rules, state, and ADRs | | adapter <platform> | | Generate agent adapter (cursor, claude, copilot, windsurf, github, all) | | adr <title> | | Scaffold a numbered ADR in docs/adr/000X-<slug>.md | | gate [ready\|done] | | Quality Gate: audit Definition of Ready or Definition of Done | | check-mermaid [path] | | Validate Mermaid diagram syntax and fences in Markdown files | | doctor, check | | Health check: validates skills, project state, ADRs, and Mermaid diagrams | | list | | List bundled skills and descriptions | | --dest <path> | -d | Destination directory for skills | | --all | -a | Install/update sdlc-architect and all bundled antislop concern skills | | --skill <name> | -s | Install or update a specific skill (e.g. antislop-ui) | | --platform <name> | -p | Specify agent platform adapter (cursor, claude, copilot, windsurf, github, all) | | --adapters | | Also update agent platform adapters during update | | --state | | Generate initial docs/project-state.md | | --adr | | Initialize docs/adr/ with 0001-record-architecture-decisions.md | | --github | | Initialize .github/ with pull request and issue templates | | --templates | -t | Also copy artifact templates | | --force | -f | Overwrite existing files if destination already exists |

Automated Shorthand Slash Commands

Shorthand slash commands automatically trigger and route to the corresponding SDLC phase across AI coding assistants:

• Claude Code: Natively registered via .claude/commands/sdlc.md (supports auto-complete and argument passing).
• Cursor: Intercepted via .cursor/rules/sdlc-architect.mdc using high-priority regex pattern matching.
• Codex / Antigravity / Gemini CLI: Automatically activated via semantic skill trigger matching in SKILL.md frontmatter.
• GitHub Copilot & Windsurf: Guided by .github/copilot-instructions.md and .windsurfrules.

| Command | Phase / Mode | What the Agent Does | |---|---|---| | /sdlc plan <feature> | Discovery → Technical Design | Inspects repo, specifies requirements, designs architecture & grounded Mermaid diagrams without modifying code. | | /sdlc build <feature> | Implementation → Verification | Checks Definition of Ready, implements increment, adds tests, verifies against Done checklist. | | /sdlc audit [target] | Audit / Governance | Inspects existing code, architecture, or documentation. Produces prioritized findings with evidence. | | /sdlc gate ready | Quality Gate | Audits pending task/backlog item against the Definition of Ready checklist. | | /sdlc gate done | Quality Gate | Audits changes against the Definition of Done checklist, tests, and anti-slop rules. | | /sdlc adr <title> | Architecture | Scaffolds a new Architecture Decision Record in docs/adr/. | | /sdlc diagram <type> | UML / Mermaid | Generates a grounded Mermaid diagram (use-case, activity, sequence, domain, component, deployment). | | /sdlc antislop [scope] | Anti-slop Gate | Audits UI, copy, accessibility contrast, responsive layouts, or code comments. | | /sdlc threat-model | Security Gate | Performs STRIDE and AI/LLM safety threat analysis for high-risk changes. |

Antislop reference

The bundled antislop core and concern skills take their structure and anti-slop principles from the upstream miqdadbadjuber/anti-slop repository.

This package vendors the core, UI, copywriting, human, responsive layout, and code-comment skills so the SDLC workflow remains reproducible. Check the upstream repository for the latest antislop rules and releases.

What it covers

• Agile SDLC from discovery through delivery and maintenance.
• Traceability between requirements, design decisions, implementation, and tests.
• Use case, activity, sequence, class/domain, component, and deployment diagrams in Mermaid.
• Anti-slop routing for UI, copy, accessibility, responsive layout, visual assets, and code comments.
• Vendored antislop core plus UI, copywriting, human, mobile, and code-comment concern skills.
• Definition of Ready and Done, security/data review, change impact analysis, and operational delivery gates.
• Increment sizing standards (S/M/L/XL) and automatic task-splitting protocol to prevent scope creep.
• Architecture drift detection and layer boundary validation against accepted ADRs.
• Zero-downtime database migration playbooks (Expand-Contract) and rollback decision matrix.
• Production Readiness Review (PRR) & Observability blueprint covering the Four Golden Signals, /healthz, /readyz, and structured logging.
• GitHub Pull Request and Issue templates for end-to-end requirement-to-PR traceability.
• Reusable artifact templates and behavioral forward-test scenarios.
• Traceability IDs and matrix, phase transitions, risk levels, project baselines, test selection, ADR lifecycle, monorepo boundaries, and maintenance governance.
• Cross-session project state, backlog iteration, evidence grading, command discovery, migration rollback, and isolated forward-test evaluation.
• API and dependency lifecycle, STRIDE threat modeling, prompt-injection boundaries, and project-state schema validation.
• Versioned releases with CHANGELOG.md and the release process.

Validation

Run the repository guardrail check:

node scripts/check-repo.mjs
node scripts/check-mermaid.mjs
node scripts/check-scenarios.mjs
node scripts/check-governance.mjs
node scripts/check-forward-tests.mjs
node scripts/check-project-state.mjs templates/project-state.md
node scripts/check-release.mjs

The skill itself can also be validated with the Codex skill validator:

python3 /path/to/skill-creator/scripts/quick_validate.py skills/sdlc-architect