Agent skill · sammcj
to-tickets
Break a plan, spec, or the current conversation into independently-grabbable tickets on the project issue tracker using tracer-bullet vertical slices, each declaring the tickets that block it. Use when user wants to convert a plan or spec into tickets, create implementation tickets, or break down work into issues.
What it needs
About 4k tokens when loaded.
What this skill does
To Tickets Break a plan, spec, or conversation into tickets - tracer-bullet vertical slices, each declaring the tickets that block it. Process 1. Gather context Work from whatever is already in the conversation context. If the user passes a reference (a spec path, an issue number or URL) as an argument, fetch it and read its full body and comments. 2. Explore the codebase (optional) If you have not already explored the codebase, do so to understand the current state of the code. Ticket titles and descriptions should use the project's domain glossary vocabulary, and respect ADRs in the area you're touching. Look for opportunities to prefactor the code to make the implementation easier. "Make the change easy, then make the easy change." 3. Draft vertical slices Break the plan into tracer bullet tickets. Each ticket is a thin vertical slice that cuts through ALL integration layers end-to-end, NOT a horizontal slice of one layer. Slices may be 'HITL' or 'AFK'. HITL slices require human interaction, such as an architectural decision or a design review. AFK slices can be implemented and merged without human interaction. Prefer AFK over HITL where possible. <vertical-slice-rules> Each slice delivers a narrow but COMPLETE path through every layer (schema, API, UI, tests) A completed slice is demoable or verifiable on its own Each slice is sized to fit in a single fresh context window Prefer many thin slices over few thick ones Any prefactoring should be done first </vertical-slice-rules> Give each ticket its blocking edges - the other tickets that must complete before it can start. A ticket with no blockers can start immediately. Wide refactors are the exception to vertical slicing A wide refactor is one mechanical change - rename a column, retype a shared symbol - whose blast radius fans across the whole codebase, so a single edit breaks thousands of call sites at once and no vertical slice can land green. …
How to use it
Reference it in AdaL, Claude Code, Cursor or any coding agent — nothing to install:
@skills sammcj/to-tickets--11ecbb