Phase Kickoff

Scaffold a new development phase: branch, test shell, and roadmap entry as one atomic operation. Enforces the invariant that implementation never starts without a branch and verification shell.

Do NOT load when

• phase already exists and now needs execution rather than setup
• task is a one-off fix with no roadmap or branch scaffolding
• user only wants planning, not repository changes

NEVER

• Never begin implementation before the branch and test shell exist — retroactively creating scaffolding after code is written means the test shell describes code that already exists rather than driving its design. The TDD shell's value is forcing you to name behavior before writing it.
• Never create a phase entry without a concrete goal and verification criteria — vague roadmap entries ("improve auth") become unmergeable because nobody can agree what "done" means. The verification field must be a runnable command or an unambiguous observable outcome.
• Never mix unrelated cleanup into the kickoff commit — the kickoff commit is the reference point for the phase. Mixed concerns make git bisect and phase diffing unreliable.
• Never use a generic branch name like feature/phase3 — include the title slug so git branch -a is readable without cross-referencing the roadmap.

Expert decision points