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Use Case Guide

Find the right SpecWeave skill or command for what you're trying to do.

"I want to..." Quick Lookup​

Planning & Starting Work​

I want to...Use thisType
Start a new feature/sw:increment "feature"Command
Get help writing specs/sw:pmSkill
Design system architecture/sw:architectSkill
Plan a product roadmap/sw:roadmap-plannerSkill
Break down a complex feature/sw:role-orchestratorSkill
Create tasks with test plans/sw:test-aware-plannerSkill

Implementing Features​

I want to...Use thisType
Work autonomously (hours)/sw:autoCommand
Work task-by-task manually/sw:doCommand
Work with multiple agents/sw:auto-parallelCommand
Check auto mode progress/sw:auto-statusCommand
Get React/Vue/Angular help/sw-frontend:frontend-architectSkill
Get Node.js API help/sw-backend:nodejs-backendSkill
Get .NET help/sw-backend:dotnet-backendSkill
Get Python help/sw-backend:python-backendSkill
Optimize database queries/sw-backend:database-optimizerSkill
Set up Kubernetes/sw-kubernetes:k8s-manifest-generatorSkill
Design Kafka architecture/sw-kafka:kafka-architectSkill

Testing & Quality​

I want to...Use thisType
Validate quickly (rules)/sw:validateCommand
AI quality assessment/sw:qa --gateCommand
Deep implementation audit/sw:grillCommand
Follow TDD strictly/sw:tdd-orchestratorSkill
Write failing tests first/sw:tdd-redSkill
Get test strategy help/sw:qa-leadSkill
Write E2E tests/sw-testing:e2e-testingSkill
Code review my changes/sw:code-reviewerSkill

Completing & Managing Work​

I want to...Use thisType
Finish and get next task/sw:nextCommand
Close specific increment/sw:done 0007Command
Check progress/sw:progressCommand
Pause for later/sw:pauseCommand
Resume paused work/sw:resumeCommand
Abandon increment/sw:abandonCommand
Reopen completed work/sw:reopenCommand

Syncing with External Tools​

I want to...Use thisType
Sync to GitHub Issues/sw-github:syncCommand
Sync to JIRA/sw-jira:syncCommand
Sync to Azure DevOps/sw-ado:syncCommand
Configure external sync/sw:external-sync-wizardSkill

Documentation​

I want to...Use thisType
Write technical docs/sw:docs-writerSkill
Update living docs/sw:docs-updaterSkill
Navigate project docs/sw:living-docs-navigatorSkill
Build Docusaurus site/sw-docs:docusaurusSkill
Preview documentation/sw-docs:previewSkill

Security & Compliance​

I want to...Use thisType
Security assessment/sw:securitySkill
Detect security patterns/sw:security-patternsSkill
SOC 2/HIPAA compliance/sw:compliance-architectureSkill
PCI-DSS for payments/sw-payments:pci-complianceSkill

Cost & Performance​

I want to...Use thisType
Optimize cloud costs/sw-cost-optimizer:cost-optimizationSkill
Analyze AWS costs/sw-cost-optimizer:aws-cost-expertSkill
Improve performance/sw:performanceSkill

By Role​

I'm a Product Manager​

/sw:pm                    # Requirements, user stories, ACs
/sw:roadmap-planner       # Quarterly planning, prioritization
/sw:increment "feature"   # Start new work
/sw:progress              # Track team progress

I'm an Architect​

/sw:architect             # System design, ADRs
/sw:role-orchestrator     # Coordinate multiple agents
/sw-infrastructure:devops # CI/CD, deployment
/sw:security              # Security review

I'm a Frontend Developer​

/sw-frontend:frontend-architect    # React/Vue patterns
/sw-frontend:nextjs                # Next.js specifics
/sw-frontend:design-system-architect  # Component library
/sw:auto                           # Autonomous implementation

I'm a Backend Developer​

/sw-backend:nodejs-backend         # Node.js APIs
/sw-backend:database-optimizer     # SQL optimization
/sw-kafka:kafka-architect          # Event-driven design
/sw:auto                           # Autonomous implementation

I'm a DevOps Engineer​

/sw-infrastructure:devops          # CI/CD pipelines
/sw-kubernetes:k8s-manifest-generator  # K8s manifests
/sw-kubernetes:gitops-workflow     # ArgoCD/Flux
/sw:infrastructure                 # Terraform IaC

I'm a QA Engineer​

/sw:qa-lead                        # Test strategy
/sw-testing:e2e-testing            # Playwright E2E
/sw-testing:unit-testing           # Unit test patterns
/sw:tdd-orchestrator               # TDD workflow
/sw:grill                          # Implementation audit

I'm a Security Engineer​

/sw:security                       # Vulnerability assessment
/sw:security-patterns              # Real-time detection
/sw:compliance-architecture        # Compliance frameworks
/sw-payments:pci-compliance        # PCI-DSS

By Phase​

Phase 1: Planning​

Commands/Skills:

  • /sw:increment "feature" - Create increment
  • /sw:pm - Product management
  • /sw:architect - Architecture design
  • /sw:role-orchestrator - Multi-agent coordination

Phase 2: Implementation​

Commands/Skills:

  • /sw:auto - Autonomous execution
  • /sw:do - Manual execution
  • /sw-frontend:* - Frontend skills
  • /sw-backend:* - Backend skills

Phase 3: Quality​

Commands/Skills:

  • /sw:validate - Rule-based checks
  • /sw:qa --gate - AI quality gate
  • /sw:grill - Deep audit
  • /sw:code-reviewer - Code review

Phase 4: Completion​

Commands/Skills:

  • /sw:next - Complete and suggest next
  • /sw:done - Close increment
  • /sw-github:sync - Sync to GitHub

Common Workflows​

Start to Finish (Autonomous)​

# 1. Create increment
/sw:increment "User authentication with JWT"

# 2. Let it run (go grab coffee, lunch, or sleep)
/sw:auto

# 3. Check from another terminal (optional)
/sw:auto-status

# 4. Complete when done
/sw:next

# 5. Sync to GitHub (optional)
/sw-github:sync 0007

TDD Workflow​

# 1. Create increment
/sw:increment "Payment processing"

# 2. TDD cycle
/sw:tdd-orchestrator

# OR step by step:
/sw:tdd-red        # Write failing tests
/sw:tdd-green      # Minimal implementation
/sw:tdd-refactor   # Clean up

# 3. Quality gate
/sw:qa --gate

# 4. Complete
/sw:next

Quality-First Release​

# 1. Quick validation
/sw:validate 0007

# 2. Deep audit
/sw:grill 0007 --full

# 3. AI quality gate
/sw:qa 0007 --gate

# 4. Code review
/sw:code-reviewer

# 5. Security check
/sw:security

# 6. Complete
/sw:done 0007

Multi-Repo Project​

# 1. Detect repo structure
/sw:umbrella-repo-detector

# 2. Create coordinated increment
/sw:increment "Feature spanning FE + BE"

# 3. Parallel execution
/sw:auto-parallel

# 4. Sync all to GitHub
/sw-github:github-multi-project

Decision Trees​

Which Execution Mode?​

Start Implementation
        │
        ▼
┌───────────────────┐
│ Do I need to make │
│ decisions during  │──Yes──▶ /sw:do (manual)
│ implementation?   │
└───────────────────┘
        │No
        ▼
┌───────────────────┐
│ Are there isolated│
│ parallel work     │──Yes──▶ /sw:auto-parallel
│ streams (FE/BE)?  │
└───────────────────┘
        │No
        ▼
    /sw:auto (autonomous)

Which Quality Check?​

Want Quality Check
        │
        ▼
┌───────────────────┐
│ Quick validation  │
│ (rules only)?     │──Yes──▶ /sw:validate
└───────────────────┘
        │No
        ▼
┌───────────────────┐
│ Deep code audit   │
│ with parallel     │──Yes──▶ /sw:grill
│ analysis?         │
└───────────────────┘
        │No
        ▼
    /sw:qa --gate (AI quality)

Which Sync Command?​

Sync to External Tool
        │
        ▼
┌───────────────────┐
│ Which tool?       │
└───────────────────┘
        │
    ┌───┴───┬───────┐
    ▼       ▼       ▼
 GitHub   JIRA    ADO
    │       │       │
    ▼       ▼       ▼
/sw-github /sw-jira /sw-ado
  :sync     :sync    :sync

Skill Auto-Activation Keywords​

Skills activate automatically when you mention these keywords:

KeywordsSkill Activated
"user story", "acceptance criteria", "requirements"sw:pm
"architecture", "ADR", "design decision"sw:architect
"React", "Vue", "Angular", "frontend"sw-frontend:frontend-architect
"Node.js", "Express", "API endpoint"sw-backend:nodejs-backend
"database", "SQL", "query optimization"sw-backend:database-optimizer
"Kubernetes", "K8s", "pods", "deployment"sw-kubernetes:*
"Kafka", "events", "streaming"sw-kafka:kafka-architect
"test", "TDD", "unit test", "E2E"sw:tdd-orchestrator
"security", "OWASP", "vulnerability"sw:security
"compliance", "SOC 2", "HIPAA", "GDPR"sw:compliance-architecture

Next Steps​