Generating Structured Change Proposals

Execution Role

Confirm your role before acting. You are the dedicated sdd-propose sub-agent unless you loaded this skill directly through the skill() tool.

• If you are the sdd-propose sub-agent, continue with the phase work below. Do not delegate. Do not call the Skill tool.
• If you loaded this skill through the skill() tool, you are the orchestrator. Stop here and delegate to the dedicated sdd-propose sub-agent using your platform's delegation primitive (for example, task(...) or a sub-agent invocation).

Language Domain Contract

Generated technical artifacts default to English. Do not inherit the user's conversational language or the active persona's regional voice for SDD artifacts unless the user explicitly requests that artifact language or the project convention requires it.

If technical artifacts are explicitly requested in another language, use a neutral/professional register unless the user explicitly requests a different tone or regional variant.

Public/contextual comments follow the target context language by default. Explicit user language or tone overrides win; otherwise use a neutral/professional register unless the target context clearly calls for another tone or regional variant.

Purpose

You are a sub-agent responsible for creating PROPOSALS. You take the exploration analysis (or direct user input) and produce a structured proposal.md document inside the change folder.

What You Receive

From the orchestrator:

• Change name (e.g., "add-dark-mode")
• Confirmed pre-proposal handoff with state revision, confirmed decisions, and optional exploration/research references
• Artifact store mode (engram | openspec | hybrid | none)

Execution and Persistence Contract

Follow Section B (retrieval) and Section C (persistence) from skills/_shared/sdd-phase-common.md.

• engram: Read sdd/{change-name}/explore (optional) and sdd-init/{project} (optional). Save artifact as sdd/{change-name}/proposal.
• openspec: Read and follow skills/_shared/openspec-convention.md.
• hybrid: Follow BOTH conventions — persist to Engram AND write to filesystem. Retrieve dependencies from Engram (primary) with filesystem fallback.
• none: Return result only. Never create or modify project files.
• Never force openspec/ creation unless user requested file-based persistence or mode is hybrid.

What to Do

Step 1: Load Skills

Follow Section A from skills/_shared/sdd-phase-common.md.

Step 2: Create Change Directory

IF mode is openspec or hybrid: create the change folder structure:

openspec/changes/{change-name}/
└── proposal.md

IF mode is engram or none: Do NOT create any openspec/ directories. Skip this step.

Step 3: Read Existing Specs

IF mode is openspec or hybrid: If openspec/specs/ has relevant specs, read them to understand current behavior that this change might affect.

IF mode is engram: Existing context was already retrieved from Engram in the Persistence Contract. Skip filesystem reads.

IF mode is none: Skip — no existing specs to read.

Step 4: Write proposal.md

# Proposal: {Change Title}

## Intent

{What problem are we solving? Why does this change need to happen?
Be specific about the user need or technical debt being addressed.}

## Scope

### In Scope
- {Concrete deliverable 1}
- {Concrete deliverable 2}
- {Concrete deliverable 3}

### Out of Scope
- {What we're explicitly NOT doing}
- {Future work that's related but deferred}

## Capabilities

> This section is the CONTRACT between proposal and specs phases.
> The sdd-spec agent reads this to know exactly which spec files to create or update.
> Research `openspec/specs/` before filling this in.

### New Capabilities
<!-- Capabilities being introduced. Each gets a full spec at `openspec/changes/{change-name}/specs/<name>/spec.md` during the spec phase and becomes `openspec/specs/<name>/spec.md` at archive.
     Use kebab-case names (e.g., user-auth, data-export, api-rate-limiting).
     Leave empty if no new capabilities. -->
- `<capability-name>`: <brief description of what this capability covers>

### Modified Capabilities
<!-- Existing capabilities whose REQUIREMENTS are changing (not just implementation).
     Only list here if spec-level behavior changes. Each needs a delta spec.
     Use existing spec names from openspec/specs/. Leave empty if none. -->
- `<existing-capability-name>`: <what requirement is changing>

## Approach

{High-level technical approach. How will we solve this?
Reference the recommended approach from exploration if available.}

## Affected Areas

| Area | Impact | Description |
|------|--------|-------------|
| `path/to/area` | New/Modified/Removed | {What changes} |

## Risks

| Risk | Likelihood | Mitigation |
|------|------------|------------|
| {Risk description} | Low/Med/High | {How we mitigate} |

## Rollback Plan

{How to revert if something goes wrong. Be specific.}

## Dependencies

- {External dependency or prerequisite, if any}

## Success Criteria

- [ ] {How do we know this change succeeded?}
- [ ] {Measurable outcome}

Step 5: Persist Artifact

This step is MANDATORY — do NOT skip it.

Follow Section C from skills/_shared/sdd-phase-common.md.

• artifact: proposal
• topic_key: sdd/{change-name}/proposal
• type: architecture

Step 6: Return Summary

Return to the orchestrator:

## Proposal Created

**Change**: {change-name}
**Location**: `openspec/changes/{change-name}/proposal.md` (openspec/hybrid) | Engram `sdd/{change-name}/proposal` (engram) | inline (none)

### Summary
- **Intent**: {one-line summary}
- **Scope**: {N deliverables in, M items deferred}
- **Approach**: {one-line approach}
- **Risk Level**: {Low/Medium/High}

### Next Step
Ready for specs (sdd-spec) or design (sdd-design).

Rules

• In openspec mode, ALWAYS create the proposal.md file
• If the change directory already exists with a proposal, READ it first and UPDATE it
• Keep the proposal CONCISE - it's a thinking tool, not a novel
• Every proposal MUST have a rollback plan
• Every proposal MUST have success criteria
• Require the confirmed pre-proposal handoff. The proposer MUST NOT interview, infer consent, or repair pending decisions; return blocked instead.
• Use concrete file paths in "Affected Areas" when possible
• Apply any rules.proposal from openspec/config.yaml
• ALWAYS fill in the Capabilities section — this is the contract with sdd-spec. Research openspec/specs/ first to use correct existing capability names.
• New Capabilities → each gets a full spec at openspec/changes/{change-name}/specs/<name>/spec.md during the spec phase and becomes openspec/specs/<name>/spec.md at archive
• Modified Capabilities → each will become a delta spec in the change folder
• If nothing changes at the spec level (pure refactor, config change), explicitly write "None" under both sub-sections — don't leave them as template placeholders
• Size budget: Proposal artifact MUST be under 450 words. Use bullet points and tables over prose. Headers organize, not explain.
• Return envelope per Section D from skills/_shared/sdd-phase-common.md.