speckit-tasks
Break down implementation plans into actionable task lists. Use after planning to create a structured task breakdown. Generates tasks.md with ordered, dependency-aware tasks.
Best use case
speckit-tasks is best used when you need a repeatable AI agent workflow instead of a one-off prompt.
Break down implementation plans into actionable task lists. Use after planning to create a structured task breakdown. Generates tasks.md with ordered, dependency-aware tasks.
Teams using speckit-tasks should expect a more consistent output, faster repeated execution, less prompt rewriting.
When to use this skill
- You want a reusable workflow that can be run more than once with consistent structure.
When not to use this skill
- You only need a quick one-off answer and do not need a reusable workflow.
- You cannot install or maintain the underlying files, dependencies, or repository context.
Installation
Claude Code / Cursor / Codex
Manual Installation
- Download SKILL.md from GitHub
- Place it in
.claude/skills/speckit-tasks/SKILL.mdinside your project - Restart your AI agent — it will auto-discover the skill
How speckit-tasks Compares
| Feature / Agent | speckit-tasks | Standard Approach |
|---|---|---|
| Platform Support | Not specified | Limited / Varies |
| Context Awareness | High | Baseline |
| Installation Complexity | Unknown | N/A |
Frequently Asked Questions
What does this skill do?
Break down implementation plans into actionable task lists. Use after planning to create a structured task breakdown. Generates tasks.md with ordered, dependency-aware tasks.
Where can I find the source code?
You can find the source code on GitHub using the link provided at the top of the page.
Related Guides
SKILL.md Source
# Speckit Tasks Skill
## User Input
```text
$ARGUMENTS
```
You **MUST** consider the user input before proceeding (if not empty).
## Outline
1. **Setup**: Run `.specify/scripts/powershell/check-prerequisites.ps1 -Json` from repo root and parse FEATURE_DIR and AVAILABLE_DOCS list. All paths must be absolute. For single quotes in args like "I'm Groot", use escape syntax: e.g 'I'\''m Groot' (or double-quote if possible: "I'm Groot").
2. **Load design documents**: Read from FEATURE_DIR:
- **Required**: plan.md (tech stack, libraries, structure), spec.md (user stories with priorities)
- **Optional**: data-model.md (entities), contracts/ (interface contracts), research.md (decisions), quickstart.md (test scenarios)
- Note: Not all projects have all documents. Generate tasks based on what's available.
3. **Execute task generation workflow**:
- Load plan.md and extract tech stack, libraries, project structure
- Load spec.md and extract user stories with their priorities (P1, P2, P3, etc.)
- If data-model.md exists: Extract entities and map to user stories
- If contracts/ exists: Map interface contracts to user stories
- If research.md exists: Extract decisions for setup tasks
- Generate tasks organized by user story (see Task Generation Rules below)
- Generate dependency graph showing user story completion order
- Create parallel execution examples per user story
- Validate task completeness (each user story has all needed tasks, independently testable)
4. **Generate tasks.md**: Use `.specify/templates/tasks-template.md` as structure, fill with:
- Correct feature name from plan.md
- Phase 1: Setup tasks (project initialization)
- Phase 2: Foundational tasks (blocking prerequisites for all user stories)
- Phase 3+: One phase per user story (in priority order from spec.md)
- Each phase includes: story goal, independent test criteria, tests (if requested), implementation tasks
- Final Phase: Polish & cross-cutting concerns
- All tasks must follow the strict checklist format (see Task Generation Rules below)
- Clear file paths for each task
- Dependencies section showing story completion order
- Parallel execution examples per story
- Implementation strategy section (MVP first, incremental delivery)
5. **Report**: Output path to generated tasks.md and summary:
- Total task count
- Task count per user story
- Parallel opportunities identified
- Independent test criteria for each story
- Suggested MVP scope (typically just User Story 1)
- Format validation: Confirm ALL tasks follow the checklist format (checkbox, ID, labels, file paths)
Context for task generation: $ARGUMENTS
The tasks.md should be immediately executable - each task must be specific enough that an LLM can complete it without additional context.
## Task Generation Rules
**CRITICAL**: Tasks MUST be organized by user story to enable independent implementation and testing.
**Tests are OPTIONAL**: Only generate test tasks if explicitly requested in the feature specification or if user requests TDD approach.
### Checklist Format (REQUIRED)
Every task MUST strictly follow this format:
```text
- [ ] [TaskID] [P?] [Story?] Description with file path
```
**Format Components**:
1. **Checkbox**: ALWAYS start with `- [ ]` (markdown checkbox)
2. **Task ID**: Sequential number (T001, T002, T003...) in execution order
3. **[P] marker**: Include ONLY if task is parallelizable (different files, no dependencies on incomplete tasks)
4. **[Story] label**: REQUIRED for user story phase tasks only
- Format: [US1], [US2], [US3], etc. (maps to user stories from spec.md)
- Setup phase: NO story label
- Foundational phase: NO story label
- User Story phases: MUST have story label
- Polish phase: NO story label
5. **Description**: Clear action with exact file path
**Examples**:
- ✅ CORRECT: `- [ ] T001 Create project structure per implementation plan`
- ✅ CORRECT: `- [ ] T005 [P] Implement authentication middleware in src/middleware/auth.py`
- ✅ CORRECT: `- [ ] T012 [P] [US1] Create User model in src/models/user.py`
- ✅ CORRECT: `- [ ] T014 [US1] Implement UserService in src/services/user_service.py`
- ❌ WRONG: `- [ ] Create User model` (missing ID and Story label)
- ❌ WRONG: `T001 [US1] Create model` (missing checkbox)
- ❌ WRONG: `- [ ] [US1] Create User model` (missing Task ID)
- ❌ WRONG: `- [ ] T001 [US1] Create model` (missing file path)
### Task Organization
1. **From User Stories (spec.md)** - PRIMARY ORGANIZATION:
- Each user story (P1, P2, P3...) gets its own phase
- Map all related components to their story:
- Models needed for that story
- Services needed for that story
- Interfaces/UI needed for that story
- If tests requested: Tests specific to that story
- Mark story dependencies (most stories should be independent)
2. **From Contracts**:
- Map each interface contract → to the user story it serves
- If tests requested: Each interface contract → contract test task [P] before implementation in that story's phase
3. **From Data Model**:
- Map each entity to the user story(ies) that need it
- If entity serves multiple stories: Put in earliest story or Setup phase
- Relationships → service layer tasks in appropriate story phase
4. **From Setup/Infrastructure**:
- Shared infrastructure → Setup phase (Phase 1)
- Foundational/blocking tasks → Foundational phase (Phase 2)
- Story-specific setup → within that story's phase
### Phase Structure
- **Phase 1**: Setup (project initialization)
- **Phase 2**: Foundational (blocking prerequisites - MUST complete before user stories)
- **Phase 3+**: User Stories in priority order (P1, P2, P3...)
- Within each story: Tests (if requested) → Models → Services → Endpoints → Integration
- Each phase should be a complete, independently testable increment
- **Final Phase**: Polish & Cross-Cutting ConcernsRelated Skills
speckit-taskstoissues
Convert tasks from tasks.md into GitHub issues. Use after task breakdown to track work items in GitHub project management.
speckit-specify
Create or update feature specifications from natural language descriptions. Use when starting new features or refining requirements. Generates spec.md with user stories, functional requirements, and acceptance criteria following spec-driven development methodology.
speckit-plan
Generate technical implementation plans from feature specifications. Use after creating a spec to define architecture, tech stack, and implementation phases. Creates plan.md with detailed technical design.
speckit-implement
Execute all tasks from the task breakdown to build the feature. Use after task generation to systematically implement the planned solution following TDD approach where applicable.
speckit-constitution
Create or update project governing principles and development guidelines. Use at project start to establish code quality, testing standards, and architectural constraints that guide all development.
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Structured clarification workflow for underspecified requirements. Use before planning to resolve ambiguities through coverage-based questioning. Records answers in spec clarifications section.
speckit-checklist
Generate custom quality checklists for validating requirements completeness and clarity. Use to create unit tests for English that ensure spec quality before implementation.
speckit-analyze
Perform cross-artifact consistency analysis across spec.md, plan.md, and tasks.md. Use after task generation to identify gaps, duplications, and inconsistencies before implementation.
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