User Stories - Codebase Analysis & Story Breakdown

Analyze a codebase and break down a goal into small, atomic, implementable user stories. Do NOT implement anything — only analyze and plan.

Input

If $ARGUMENTS is empty, ask: "What goal would you like to break down into user stories? You can optionally add --format=gherkin for BDD-style output."

Otherwise, extract the goal and optional format flag (--format=json default, or --format=gherkin). If the format is invalid: "Invalid format. Use --format=json (default) or --format=gherkin for BDD-style output."

Workflow

1. Explore the codebase with Glob/Grep/Read: architecture, patterns, frameworks, similar existing features
2. Decompose the goal into 3–10 atomic user stories, each completable in one coding session (2–4 hours max)
3. Sequence stories by technical and logical dependency — earlier stories enable later ones
4. Estimate complexity per story: XS (<1h, single file), S (1–2h), M (2–4h), L (4–8h), XL (break it down further)
5. Generate filename from the goal (see naming rules)
6. Write the plan to .context/[slug]-plan.md using JSON or Gherkin format
7. Verify all stories have clear acceptance criteria and reasonable scope