desk-flip

Desk Flip

Autopsy a stuck project, extract salvageable artifacts (lessons, valid specs, non-code assets), and route the user to a fresh start either in a new repo or by resetting the existing repo with /bootstrap-repo (repo-maintenance pack) --reset-existing.

Always desk-flip. If the user invoked it, the decision to restart is already made — do not offer incremental migration or attempt to fix the old project in place.

Process

1. Identify the stuck project.

   • Accept an optional project path from $ARGUMENTS; default to the current working directory.
   • Verify the target is a git repo with existing code (not an empty repo).
   • If the project appears to already use the new workflow (file-backed specs, prototype-first artifacts, healthy structure), warn the user and confirm before proceeding.

2. Survey the project.

   • Read CLAUDE.md, README.md, package.json or equivalent manifest, and directory structure.
   • Read tasks/, specs/, docs/ directories if they exist.
   • Scan recent git history (last ~50 commits) for commit patterns and timeline.
   • Read any existing tasks/lessons.md or post-mortem docs.

3. Run the autopsy using subagents in parallel:

   • Lessons extraction: What went wrong? Look for evidence of failure modes — infrastructure before prototype, late testing, chat-driven alignment drift, scope creep, untestable architecture. Cite specific commits, files, or timeline evidence.
   • Spec/design extraction: Identify specs, designs, research docs, interview logs, and product briefs that capture valid domain knowledge or user needs — regardless of whether the implementation matched. Mark each as valid, partially valid, or stale with a one-line rationale.
   • Asset inventory: Find non-code assets worth preserving — icons, images, copy, API contracts, design tokens, brand assets, research documents.

   Do NOT extract code, dependencies, database schemas, or infrastructure config.

4. Write the autopsy report.

   • Produce desk-flip-report.md in the project root with these sections:

   ## Project Summary
   What the project was and what state it's in now.
   
   ## What Went Wrong
   Specific failure modes with evidence (commits, files, timeline).
   
   ## Salvageable Specs & Designs
   List with file paths, validity status, and one-line descriptions.
   
   ## Salvageable Assets
   Non-code assets with file paths.
   
   ## Lessons for the Fresh Start
   Actionable guidance for the new project to avoid the same mistakes.
   
   ## Recommended Bootstrap Input
   A condensed brief suitable as input to /bootstrap-repo.
   

5. Choose the fresh-start path.

   • If the user explicitly wants a new repository, route to /bootstrap-repo (repo-maintenance pack) <condensed brief>.
   • If the user wants to keep the existing repository, or the current repo name, remotes, issues, deployment linkage, or local tooling are valuable, route to /bootstrap-repo (repo-maintenance pack) --reset-existing <condensed brief>.
   • For in-place reset, state that /bootstrap-repo --reset-existing (repo-maintenance pack) must archive the old implementation under archive/ before writing the fresh bootstrap docs. It must not delete the old code outright.
   • The archive should preserve old implementation and documentation evidence without treating it as reusable foundation code or active source-of-truth docs. The fresh start should continue only from a high-level concept seed derived from the report, plus lessons captured in the report.

6. Present and route.

   • Show the user a terminal summary of the report.
   • Recommend the appropriate /bootstrap-repo (repo-maintenance pack) command with the recommended bootstrap input from the report.
   • Do NOT create the new repo or run /bootstrap-repo — the user does this.
   • After bootstrap, route product/app restarts into the research-first alignment workflow using the high-level concept seed as input: /customer-discovery to define who this is for, /competitive-analysis to map the market, /journey-map to map lifecycle and task flow, /positioning to lock the product direction, /user-flow-map to map screen flow, /ux-variations [specific-user-flow] to explore progression branches, /ui-interview [specific-ux-variation] to render and approve/reject a branch mockup, then prototype work, /uat --variant-evaluation, and /consolidate-prototypes before /spec-interview or /roadmap. Use /ui-interview --requirements-only and /ux-variations --layout-mode only when the user explicitly needs a fixed content contract and layout-only alternatives.
   • If the business-discovery or customer-lifecycle packs are not enabled in the fresh repo, recommend npx skillpacks install business-discovery and npx skillpacks install customer-lifecycle before the research sequence.

Output

Desk-flipped: <project name>
- Report: desk-flip-report.md written to <project-path>
- Specs extracted: <count> (<valid>/<partial>/<stale>)
- Assets found: <count>
- Lessons captured: <count>

**Next work:** Reset the existing repo by archiving old implementation files, or create a new repo if the user prefers a separate fresh start
**Recommended next command:** /bootstrap-repo (repo-maintenance pack) --reset-existing <condensed brief from report>

Constraints

• Read-only during desk-flip — no modifications to existing files, no archival, no branch creation. The only file written by this skill is desk-flip-report.md.
• Do not carry forward code, dependencies, infrastructure, old research, old specs, or old task docs from the old project as active files.
• Do not create the new repo or invoke /bootstrap-repo — the user handles that transition.
• Do not commit or push (the report is informational, not a meaningful mutation to ship).
• Do not delete, archive, or rename anything in the old repo during desk-flip. Only the downstream /bootstrap-repo --reset-existing step may perform archival after the user chooses that route.
• If the project has no specs, docs, or meaningful git history, produce the report anyway but note the thin evidence in each section.
• When recommending a skill from another pack, verify the pack is installed via .agents/project.json enabled_packs. If not installed, prepend npx skillpacks install <pack-name> to the recommendation.

Alignment Page

When this skill produces durable deliverables (research, specs, plans, reports, prototypes, or any document output), build a full-depth HTML alignment page following ALIGNMENT-PAGE.md in this skill's directory. Output: alignment/desk-flip-{topic}.html.

Default Shipping Contract

• Do NOT commit or push. The only side effect is desk-flip-report.md written to the project root.
• Default next-step routing: when reporting completion, include the two-line pair **Next work:** <specific task> and **Recommended next command:** /bootstrap-repo (repo-maintenance pack) --reset-existing <brief> for in-place restarts, or /bootstrap-repo (repo-maintenance pack) <brief> only when a separate new repo is explicitly the right path.
• Post-bootstrap route: include in the report that the fresh project should proceed from the high-level concept seed to /customer-discovery, then /competitive-analysis, /journey-map, /positioning, /user-flow-map, /ux-variations [specific-user-flow], /ui-interview [specific-ux-variation], and prototype work. Mention npx skillpacks install business-discovery, npx skillpacks install customer-lifecycle, or npx skillpacks install product-design first if those packs are not enabled.