/flow-next:strategy — repo-root STRATEGY.md anchor

/flow-next:strategy — repo-root STRATEGY.md anchor

flow-next-strategy produces and maintains STRATEGY.md — a short, durable anchor at the repo root (peer of README.md / GLOSSARY.md) that captures what the product is, who it serves, how it succeeds, and where the team is investing. Downstream skills (/flow-next:prospect, /flow-next:plan, /flow-next:interview, /flow-next:capture, /flow-next:sync) read it as grounding when sections_filled >= 1.

The document is short and structured on purpose. Good answers to a handful of sharp questions produce a better strategy than any amount of prose. This skill asks those questions, pushes back on weak answers, and writes the doc.

Note: The current year is 2026. Use this when dating the strategy document.

Preamble

flowctl is bundled — NOT installed globally. which flowctl will fail (expected). Define once; subsequent blocks use $FLOWCTL:

FLOWCTL="${CODEX_HOME:-$HOME/.codex}/scripts/flowctl"
[ -x "$FLOWCTL" ] || FLOWCTL="<plugin-root>/scripts/flowctl"   # <plugin-root> = the directory two levels above this skill's SKILL.md file (the harness gave you that file's absolute path when the skill loaded); substitute it literally
[ -x "$FLOWCTL" ] || FLOWCTL=".flow/bin/flowctl"

Interaction Method

Ask the user via plain text. Render the options below as a numbered list 1. … N., followed by a final option N+1. Other — type your own answer. Print the question, then the numbered list, then stop and wait for the user's next message before continuing. Parse the reply as: a bare number 1–N+1 → that option; the literal text of an option label → that option; free text after Other → custom answer.

Default to plain-text numbered prompt. Never silently skip the question.

Ask one question at a time. Free-form responses for the substantive sections (Target problem / Our approach / Who it's for / Key metrics / Tracks). Single-select with lead-with-recommendation only for routing decisions (which section to revisit, include this optional section, foreign-file resolution).

Focus Hint

<focus_hint> #$ARGUMENTS </focus_hint>

Interpret any argument as an optional focus: a section name to revisit (metrics, approach, tracks, problem, persona, milestones, not-working-on) or a scope hint. With no argument, proceed open-ended and let the file state decide the path.

Core Principles

1. Anchor, not plan. Strategy is what the product is and why. Features belong in /flow-next:prospect; tasks belong in specs and /flow-next:plan. Do not let either creep into the doc.
2. Rigor in the questions, not the headings. The section headers are plain English. The interview questions enforce strategy discipline (references/interview.md).
3. Short is a feature. The template is constrained. Adding sections costs more than it looks like. Push back on expansion.
4. Durable across runs. This skill is rerunnable. On a second run it updates in place, preserves what is working, and only challenges sections that look stale or weak.
5. Survives .flow/ wipe. STRATEGY.md lives at repo root, never under .flow/. The project's strategy belongs to the project, not flow-next (R18 invariant from the 0.39.0 glossary epic).