Pipeline Overview

The Feature Forge pipeline is a fixed, resumable sequence of stages. You drive each one with a slash command; each consumes the previous stage’s output and produces the next. State lives in .pipeline-state.json, so you can stop and pick up later.

Before the pipeline: setup

• Existing project → run forge-init once to create forge.config.json.
• Empty repo → run forge-bootstrap to scaffold a green baseline first.
• Change too large for one feature → start with an optional epic (Stage 0) to break it into member features.

The six stages

Stage	Command	What it does	Produces
1 · PRD	forge-1-prd	Capture requirements (what)	PRD.md
2 · Tech Spec	forge-2-tech	Technical design (how)	tech-spec.md
3 · Specs	forge-3-specs	Build-ready detail	00-…NN-*.md, TRACEABILITY.md
4 · Backlog	forge-4-backlog	Queue of work items	backlog.json
5 · Loop	forge-5-loop	Implement autonomously	committed code
6 · Docs	forge-6-docs	Document the result	docs/architecture/<feature>/

Each stage runs as /feature-forge:<command> <feature-name>.

The verification gate

After any stage you can run the Verify & Fix gate: forge-verify analyzes the stage’s artifacts and writes a findings document; forge-fix applies the fixes. It’s strongly recommended — especially before Stages 4 and 5 — and since it runs in a fresh, read-only subagent, the recommended way to run it is to let it run automatically: set autoVerify: true and each stage is verified for you with no prompt. Fixing stays human-gated unless you also enable autoFix.

Resuming and re-running a stage

The pipeline is resumable: state lives in .pipeline-state.json, so you can stop, clear context, and come back later. If you re-run an authoring stage (Stages 1–4) you already started, it detects the re-entry instead of blindly restarting the interview — it inventories what’s already on disk and offers to resume where you left off (after an interrupted run) or start a new version (when the stage was already complete). Pass --force to skip the gate and restart from scratch.

Tracking progress

Run /feature-forge:forge <feature-name> anytime to see which stage you’re at and what command comes next. New to the terms used here? See Key Concepts & Glossary.