Opus Vault

Template Review & Creation

3 min read

Decisions

  • Which templates are needed? → 10 total (see Phase 1 table) · Phase 1 · done
  • Should templates have a version field? → No · Phase 1 · done
  • Are thoughts a separate type? → No, type: knowledge · Phase 1 · done
  • Briefing template needed now? → No, deferred to FR-037 · Phase 1 · done
  • Decision template needed? → No, inline in dashboards · Phase 1 · done

User Tasks

  • Review all templates for quality and consistency · Phase 1 · done

Summary

Review all existing templates for quality and consistency, create missing templates, and ensure they’re used correctly throughout the system.

Problem / Motivation

Templates drive consistency across the vault. The original templates were created early, some are overcomplicated, some document types have no template, and the feature-request template doesn’t account for user vs system task ownership.

Proposed Solution

Audit all templates against actual usage, simplify where needed, create templates for recurring document types, and align all templates with the system’s vision (autonomous agency with user-driven gates).

Open Questions

No open questions.

Phase Overview

PhaseDescriptionStatus
Phase 1Review and update all templatesdone
Phase 2Ensure templates are used at the right points in the workflowdone

Phase 1: Review & Update Existing Templates — done

Goal: Audit each template against actual usage. Simplify overcomplicated ones, add missing fields.

TemplateDetailsOwnerStatus
feature-request.mdReviewmvdone
change-proposal.mdReviewmvdone
knowledge.mdReviewmvdone
idea.mdReviewmvdone
dashboard.mdReviewmvdone
design.mdReviewmvdone
doc.mdReviewmvdone
log.mdReviewmvdone
extern.mdReviewmvdone
scratchpad.mdReviewmvdone

Phase 2: Workflow Integration — done

Goal: Ensure every template is actually used at the right point — skills, rules, and docs should reference the correct template.

TaskDetailsOwnerStatus
Update skills/idea now references _templates/idea.mdopusdone
Update 00_systemworkflow.md template table updated to match actual templatesopusdone

Test

Manual tests

TestExpectedActualLast
Fill in each template to create a new documentClear structure, no confusing fields, usable resultpass2026-03-14
Review frontmatter fields per templateFields match what’s needed for that type, no unnecessary fieldspass2026-03-14

AI-verified tests

ScenarioExpected behaviorVerification method
/idea skill produces output matching templateGenerated file has type: idea + all required fieldsRun skill via CLI, parse output frontmatter
/new-feature skill produces output matching templateGenerated file has type: feature-request + all required fieldsRun skill via CLI, parse output frontmatter

E2E tests — tests/test_templates.py

ScenarioAssertion
Every type: in vault has a matching _templates/<type>.mdNo orphan types
Every _templates/*.md is used by at least one vault fileNo unused templates
All vault files with frontmatter have a type: fieldtype: present and non-empty
Each template has valid frontmatter (type matches filename, protection: locked)Frontmatter parses, type equals stem, protection equals locked
Skills that create vault files reference templatesAny skill with file-creation keywords in SKILL.md also references _templates/

Integration tests — tests/test_templates.py::TestIntegration*

ComponentCoverage
Template inventoryExactly 10 templates: feature-request, change-proposal, idea, knowledge, dashboard, design, doc, log, extern, scratchpad
workflow.md completenessLists all 10 templates, no phantom references to non-existent templates

Unit tests — tests/test_templates.py

ComponentCoverage
(none — helpers are implicitly covered by E2E/integration tests)

History

DateEventDetails
2026-03-04CreatedInitial template review FR
2026-03-13Phase 1 completeTemplates reviewed, updated, and created
2026-03-13Phase 2 complete/idea skill + workflow.md updated to reference correct templates

References

  • FR-036 (Proposal Categories) — proposal template category field aligned
  • FR-037 (Daily Briefings) — briefing template deferred to this FR

Graph View

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