skills/linchpin/SKILL.md

---
name: linchpin
description: Route PRD creation, upgrade, and execution requests through the linchpin intake contract.
---

# linchpin router

The `references/`, `scripts/`, and `skills/` directories all sit at the plugin
root, so from this file the plugin root is `../..`. Resolve every path in this
skill against that root — never against a path you assemble from the plugin
name and version. The installed layout nests the marketplace above the plugin
(`.../cache/<marketplace>/<plugin>/<version>/`), so a guessed absolute path is
wrong by one segment and the first read fails. If you do not already know this
file's absolute path, discover the root once:

```sh
find "${CODEX_HOME:-$HOME/.codex}/plugins" -type f -path '*/linchpin/*/references/intake.md' | head -1
```

Read `references/intake.md` before dispatch. This skill is a thin entry point;
the intake reference owns the rules. The runtime pins are in
`references/runtime.md`, and the manager uses `scripts/linchpin.sh` for the
machine-checkable preflight, contract, and mode decisions.

## Dispatch table

| Route id | User intent | Precondition | Dispatch |
|---|---|---|---|
| `ROUTE-WRITE-PRD` | "write/draft/author a PRD for X" | none | `prd-creator` |
| `ROUTE-BUILD-SMALL` | "build/implement X" | complexity score <= 2 | refuse pipeline; offer direct edit |
| `ROUTE-BUILD-LARGE` | "build/implement X" | complexity score >= 3 | `prd-creator`, then stop for confirmation |
| `ROUTE-EXECUTE-CONFORMING` | "run/execute/start/begin/launch/resume" | every supplied PRD path exists | `prd-swarm-coordinator` |
| `ROUTE-EXECUTE-UPGRADE` | user explicitly asks to standardize a PRD | any | `migrate`, then `prd-creator` upgrade mode |
| `ROUTE-EXECUTE-NONE` | "run/execute/start" | no PRD supplied, or a supplied path is not on disk | ask once for the PRD path |
| `ROUTE-AMBIGUOUS` | intent cannot be classified | any | ask one short question; never guess |

## Dispatch procedure

1. Run `scripts/linchpin.sh route "<intent>" <prd-path>...` **before** you plan
   or announce anything. `start`, `begin`, `launch`, and `resume` are execution
   verbs. A request naming PRDs that already exist is never an authoring
   request; do not draft a new PRD, a companion, or a corrected copy of one.
   Normalize the argv first: split quoted paths that ran together, and read a
   bare `.` or other directory as the target repository, not as a missing PRD.
   A path that is missing blocks itself, not the batch — route the survivors and
   ask once about the one that is gone.
2. Compute the complexity score for build/implement requests. Route scores 1–2
   to a direct edit refusal; route scores 3+ to creator and stop for explicit
   confirmation.
3. For execute requests, **run the PRDs the user pointed at, as written.** The
   `prd_contract: v1` standard applies to PRDs Linchpin authors, not to the
   user's own document. A missing marker, a legacy heading, a prose file list, or
   an absent ledger is an `ADVISORY` line — not a blocker, and not a reason to
   rewrite, migrate, or re-draft anything. Hand every supplied path to the
   coordinator. Only run `scripts/linchpin.sh migrate` when the user explicitly
   asks to standardize an artifact. The one real blocker is a path that is not on
   disk: report it and ask once. Never answer an execution request with a
   standards complaint.
4. For conforming inputs, invoke `prd-swarm-coordinator` with all PRDs. One
   input is still one coordinator lane; there is no separate single path.
5. Announce any sequential worktree or delivery fallback before it takes effect.

The direct creator and coordinator skills remain independently discoverable if
this router is removed. The router is not a gate.