Spine turns any complex, multi-step request into a relationship-explicit tree map — not a flat to-do list. Explicit dependencies, verifiable completion criteria, and one file that stays the single source of truth.
On long tasks, agents forget a decision made twenty steps ago, miss that phase 12 actually depends on phase 5, or declare a phase complete while its real completion criterion was never met. Spine fixes this with an external, written map the agent re-reads before every step.
Early decisions get forgotten halfway through a long execution.
A step actually depends on another one far away in the numbering.
A phase gets marked "done" without its completion criterion holding true.
Side details pull the agent away from the original goal.
From structural understanding to execution discipline. Every step produces a specific output, all of which
converge into SPINE_MAP.md.
Relationship map of what already exists, or the conceptual domain
Small tasks, one verifiable completion criterion each
Numbered phases with four explicit relationship types
Goal + completion criterion + tasks + execution steps
One document — the single source of truth
No drift, no forgetting, no early closure
Sequential numbering is just a suggested reading order. The real, binding truth is the relationship graph — and it's machine-checkable.
Spine follows the open Agent Skills format — a folder with a SKILL.md file any compatible agent can load.
One command, any agent
Or copy the folder manually
| Agent | Personal (global) | Project-local |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Code | cp -R spine ~/.claude/skills/ | cp -R spine .claude/skills/ |
| Cursor | cp -R spine ~/.cursor/skills/ | cp -R spine .cursor/skills/ |
| Codex CLI | cp -R spine ~/.codex/skills/ | cp -R spine .agents/skills/ |
| Windsurf | cp -R spine ~/.windsurf/skills/ | cp -R spine .windsurf/skills/ |
| Cline (VS Code) | cp -R spine ~/.cline/skills/ | cp -R spine .cline/skills/ |
| Gemini CLI | cp -R spine ~/.gemini/skills/ | cp -R spine .gemini/skills/ |
| OpenCode | cp -R spine ~/.opencode/skills/ | cp -R spine .opencode/skills/ |
| Any AGENTS.md agent | — | cp -R spine .agents/skills/ |
Not listed? Copy spine/ into .agents/skills/ in your project root — the vendor-neutral fallback several agents already read — or check your agent's own skills documentation.
Then, in any prompt
Validate a map
The core runtime instructions the agent loads.
Blank template — copy it to SPINE_MAP.md.
A complete worked example: phone-number signup.
Checks for cycles, missing dependencies, premature closure.
Deep reference: cycles, parallel agents, context recovery.
Agent interface metadata.