Create EpicsSAFE

Turn Claude Code into a full game dev studio — 49 AI agents, 72 workflow skills, and a complete coordination system mirroring real studio hierarchy.

The instruction file, verbatim from the audited commit — this is the text the model reads, and the surface the audit's instruction layer examines. Quoted here so you can judge it without cloning anything.

---
name: create-epics
description: "Turn GDDs plus architecture into epics — one per architectural module, with untraced requirements. Then /create-stories [epic-slug]."
argument-hint: "[system-name | layer: foundation|core|feature|presentation | all] [--review full|lean|solo]"
user-invocable: true
allowed-tools: Read, Glob, Grep, Write, Edit, Agent, AskUserQuestion, Bash(bash "*/.claude/skills/create-epics/../../hooks/yaml-helper.sh" resolve_config *)
model: sonnet
---

!`bash "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../hooks/yaml-helper.sh" resolve_config --keys review_mode,automation,workflow,docs.density,story_granularity,system_overrides`

Resolved above — use as-is; `--review` overrides `review_mode`. No block →
defaults in `.claude/docs/config-resolution.md`.


# Create Epics

An epic is a named, bounded body of work that maps to one architectural module.
It defines **what** needs to be built and **who owns it architecturally**. It
does not prescribe implementation steps — that is the job of stories.

**Run this skill once per layer** as you approach that layer in development.
Do not create Feature layer epics until Core is nearly complete — the design
will have changed.

**Output:** `production/epics/[epic-slug]/EPIC.md` + `production/epics/index.md`

**Next step after each epic:** `/create-stories [epic-slug]`

**When to run:** After `/create-control-manifest` and `/architecture-review` pass
(at `full`). At `standard`, critical ADRs suffice, and a control manifest is
read if present. At
`minimal`, this skill is **optional and not part of the path** — `/create-stories`
synthesizes the epic from `design/game-brief.md` itself (Option A). If run anyway,
it decomposes directly from the brief with no GDD/ADR/manifest prerequisite.

> **At `minimal`, this skill is optional — `/create-stories` synthesizes the epic**
> (Option A). At that tier `/create-stories` reads `design/game-brief.md`
> directly, writes a lightweight implicit `production/epics/<slug>/EPIC.md`, and
> generates stories from the MVP list — so the path is `/brainstorm` →
> `/create-stories` → `/dev-story`, with no separate `/create-epics` or
> `/sprint-plan` step. **At `standard`/`full` an epic IS required**:
> `/create-stories` reads `production/epics/[slug]/EPIC.md`, and skipping this
> skill there leaves `/dev-story` with no story to implement — a dead end, not a
> shortcut.

---

## 1. Parse Arguments


See `.claude/docs/director-gates.md` for the full check pattern. Individual gate definitions live in `.claude/docs/director-gates/[gate-id].md` — the spawned agent reads its own gate file; do not read it in the parent session.


Every `AskUserQuestion` call follows `.claude/docs/automation-modes.md`
(collaborative asks always · guided major-only · autonomous logs and proceeds;
`automation_always_ask` categories always prompt).

**`workflow`** (per `.claude/docs/workflow-modes.md`):

create-epics runs project-wide: it uses the project-level tier for its
prerequisite expectations and consults
`workflow_overrides.system_overrides.<system>` per-system when reading each
in-scope GDD. See "Workflow tier adjustment" in Step 2.

**`story_granularity`** — it sizes the
epic's story breakdown: expect **3–5** child stories per epic at `coarse` (the default, via `rigor: minimal`), **5–10**
at `balanced` (`rigor: standard`), **10–20** at `fine`.

**`docs.density`** — it controls the *depth* of each epic's written scope and
rationale, not the story count (that is `story_granularity`). `modes.rigor` sets
it alongside `workflow`; set `docs.density` explicitly to vary epic prose alone:
`terse` (the default, via `rigor: minimal`) = scope as bullets, one-line rationale; `balanced` = a scope paragraph
with light rationale (`rigor: standard`); `thorough` = full scope prose with governing-ADR
rationale and risk discussion. The EPIC.md tables (GDD requirements, governing
ADRs) are structural and stay whole at every density.

**Modes:**
- `/create-epics all` — process all systems in layer order
- `/create-epics layer: foundation` — Foundation layer only
- `/create-epics layer: core` — Core layer only
- `/create-epics layer: feature` — Feature layer only
- `/create-epics layer: presentation` — Presentation layer only
- `/create-epics [system-name]` — one specific system
- No argument — ask: "Which layer or system would you like to create epics for?"

---

## 2. Load Inputs

### Step 2a — Summary scan (fast, fail-open)

**At `minimal`, skip Steps 2a and 2b** — that tier decomposes from
`design/game-brief.md` and has no GDDs by design (see the tier note below). Read
the brief instead; if it is missing, report "No `design/game-brief.md` — run
`/start` or `/brainstorm` first" and stop.

**At `standard` and `full`, establish the denominator first.** Glob `design/gdd/*.md`, excluding the
non-system docs — `game-concept.md`, `systems-index.md`, `game-pillars.md`,
`gameplay-tags.md`, `entity-registry.md`, `fixture-swap-ledger.md`, any
`gdd-cross-review-*.md`, `sound-bible.md` — the set `gdd-structure-check.sh`
skips (the sound bible belongs in `design/audio/`; it is listed for projects
that still keep it at the earlier location). Call the
count **N**. If N is 0, there are no system GDDs — report "No system GDDs found
in `design/gdd/` — run `/design-system` first" and stop.

Scan for Summary sections:

```
Grep pattern="^## Summary" glob="design/gdd/*.md" output_mode="content" -A 5
```

Interpret the **M** matches against N. These are three different outcomes, and
a zero-match scan is **never** the same as "nothing in scope":

| Result | Meaning | Action |
|---|---|---|
| **M = N** | Every GDD has a Summary. | For `layer:`/`[system-name]` modes, use the Summary Quick-reference (Layer/Priority) to pick the in-scope set; skip full-reading the rest. |
| **0 < M < N** | Partial adoption — older GDDs predate `## Summary`. | Scope the M by their Summaries; determine the scope of the **N − M** unmatched from `systems-index.md` (layer/priority) and full-read those. |
| **0 m

SAFEgrade B · trust 89/100 Nothing in the source contradicts what it says it does. Grade A is reserved for packages that have also passed the behavioural sandbox.

What the source does

Filesystem

none-observed

Network

none-observed

Shell

none-observed

Dependencies

pinned

Secrets in source

none-found

Findings (0)

No findings outside the package's declared scope.

Gates applied: no_behavioural_pass.