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SpecWeave Command Decision Tree

Quick guide: Find the right command for your situation.


Quick Reference Card

I want to...Command
Start new feature/sw:increment "feature name"
Implement current feature/sw:do
See what's in progress/sw:progress
Complete an increment/sw:done 0001
Pause for other work/sw:pause 0001
Resume paused work/sw:resume 0001
Validate before closing/sw:validate 0001
Sync to GitHub/JIRA/sw:sync-progress
Save and push changes/sw:save

Decision Flowcharts

"What should I do next?"

"I finished my task"


By Scenario

Starting Work

ScenarioCommandNotes
New feature/sw:increment "feature name"Creates spec, plan, tasks
New bug fix/sw:increment "fix: bug description"Use fix: prefix
New experiment/sw:increment "experiment: idea"Use experiment: prefix
Resume from backlog/sw:resume 0001Picks up where you left off

During Implementation

ScenarioCommandNotes
Implement tasks/sw:doAutonomous implementation
Check progress/sw:progressShows task completion
View current status/sw:statusShows all increments
Run quality check/sw:qaAI quality assessment

Pausing Work

ScenarioCommandNotes
Temporarily blocked/sw:pause 0001External dependency, will resume
Deprioritized/sw:backlog 0001Not abandoned, just later
Feature canceled/sw:abandon 0001Won't continue this work

Completing Work

ScenarioCommandNotes
Validate before closing/sw:validate 0001Checks tasks, tests, docs
Close with PM review/sw:done 00013-gate validation
Move to next increment/sw:nextAuto-close current, suggest next

Syncing & Saving

ScenarioCommandNotes
Sync to external tools/sw:sync-progressGitHub/JIRA/ADO
Update living docs/sw:sync-docsBidirectional sync
Save and push to git/sw:saveCommits and pushes

Command Categories

Lifecycle Commands

Start     →  /sw:increment
Implement → /sw:do
Validate → /sw:validate
Complete → /sw:done

Status Management

Pause      →  /sw:pause    (temporary block)
Backlog → /sw:backlog (deprioritized)
Resume → /sw:resume (continue work)
Abandon → /sw:abandon (cancel)
Reopen → /sw:reopen (needs more work)

Visibility

Progress   →  /sw:progress   (task completion)
Status → /sw:status (all increments)
Workflow → /sw:workflow (next steps)

Synchronization

Sync All       →  /sw:sync-progress   (tasks → docs → external)
Sync Docs → /sw:sync-docs (living docs)
Sync Tasks → /sw:sync-tasks (external → tasks.md)
Sync ACs → /sw:sync-acs (acceptance criteria)

Quality

Validate   →  /sw:validate   (rule-based)
QA → /sw:qa (AI assessment)
Check Tests → /sw:check-tests (test coverage)

Common Workflows

Basic Feature Workflow

# 1. Plan the feature
/sw:increment "User authentication"

# 2. Implement it
/sw:do

# 3. Check progress periodically
/sw:progress

# 4. Validate when tasks complete
/sw:validate 0001

# 5. Close when ready
/sw:done 0001

Handling Interruptions

# Working on feature A
/sw:do

# Urgent bug comes in
/sw:pause 0001

# Fix the bug
/sw:increment "fix: critical login bug"
/sw:do
/sw:done 0002

# Resume feature A
/sw:resume 0001
/sw:do

Team Handoff

# Before handoff: validate and sync
/sw:validate 0001
/sw:sync-progress

# Handoff to teammate with clean state
# They can see progress in GitHub/JIRA

End of Day

# Sync all progress
/sw:sync-progress

# Save and push
/sw:save

When Things Go Wrong

Increment Needs More Work (Closed Too Early)

/sw:reopen 0001
# Continue work
/sw:do
/sw:done 0001

Wrong Increment Active

# Check what's active
/sw:status

# Switch to correct one
/sw:pause 0001 # Pause wrong one
/sw:resume 0002 # Resume correct one

Sync Failed

# Check sync status
/sw-github:status

# Force sync
/sw:sync-progress

Validation Fails

# See what failed
/sw:validate 0001

# Common issues:
# - Tasks not complete → mark tasks done
# - Tests not passing → fix tests
# - Docs not updated → run /sw:sync-docs

Platform-Specific Commands

GitHub

/sw-github:sync       # Sync increment
/sw-github:create # Create issue
/sw-github:close # Close issue
/sw-github:status # Check status

JIRA

/sw-jira:sync         # Sync increment
/sw-jira:import-projects # Import JIRA projects

Azure DevOps

/sw-ado:sync           # Sync increment
/sw-ado:create # Create work item
/sw-ado:status # Check status

Command Cheat Sheet

Most Used (Daily)

CommandShortcutPurpose
/sw:increment-Start new work
/sw:do-Implement tasks
/sw:progress-Check completion
/sw:done-Complete increment
/sw:save-Commit and push

Frequent (Weekly)

CommandPurpose
/sw:pauseTemporarily stop
/sw:resumeContinue paused
/sw:validatePre-close check
/sw:sync-progressSync external tools

Occasional (As Needed)

CommandPurpose
/sw:backlogDeprioritize
/sw:abandonCancel work
/sw:reopenNeeds more work
/sw:qaQuality assessment

Tips

  1. Start with /sw:increment — Always plan before coding
  2. Use /sw:progress often — Stay aware of status
  3. Validate before closing/sw:validate catches issues
  4. Sync at end of day/sw:sync-progress keeps everyone informed
  5. Save frequently/sw:save protects your work