# AO Init — Backlog.md Creation Summary

## Overview

Updated ao-init to create a `backlog.md` file in addition to the issue priority files (critical.md, high.md, medium.md, low.md).

## Changes Made

### 1. Created `.ao/skills/ao-init/SKILL.md`

**New Skill File** — Created complete skill implementation for ao-init

**Files Created by ao-init:**

| File/Folder | Purpose |
|--------------|---------|
| `.agent/ops/` directory | Main state directory |
| `.agent/ops/issues/` directory | Issue tracking |
| `.agent/ops/issues/critical.md` | Critical priority issues |
| `.agent/ops/issues/high.md` | High priority issues |
| `.agent/ops/issues/medium.md` | Medium priority issues |
| `.agent/ops/issues/low.md` | Low priority issues |
| `.agent/ops/issues/backlog.md` | **NEW: Backlog issues** |
| `.agent/ops/issues/history.md` | Completed issues archive |
| `.agent/ops/memory.md` | Durable learnings storage |
| `.agent/ops/focus.json` | Current work state and next steps |
| `.agent/ops/constitution.md` | Project constitution and rules |
| `.agent/ops/baseline.md` | Known-good state for regression detection |
| `.agent/ops/references-index.md` | References index |
| `.agent/ops/references/` folder | Reference documents |
| `.agent/ops/docs/` folder | Documentation storage |

### 2. Updated `.ao/prompts/ao-init.prompt.md`

**Before:**
```markdown
Create the required folder structure and state files under .agent/ops/ if missing:
- .agent/ops/memory.md
- .agent/ops/focus.json
- .agent/ops/issues/
- .agent/ops/baseline.md
- .agent/ops/constitution.md
- .agent/ops/references-index.md
- .agent/ops/references/ (folder)
- .agent/ops/docs/ (folder)
```

**After:**
```markdown
Create the required folder structure and state files under .agent/ops/ if missing:
- .agent/ops/memory.md
- .agent/ops/focus.json
- .agent/ops/issues/
- .agent/ops/baseline.md
- .agent/ops/constitution.md
- .agent/ops/references-index.md
- .agent/ops/references/ (folder)
- .agent/ops/docs/ (folder)

Create the required issue priority files under .agent/ops/issues/ if missing:
- .agent/ops/issues/critical.md
- .agent/ops/issues/high.md
- .agent/ops/issues/medium.md
- .agent/ops/issues/low.md
- .agent/ops/issues/backlog.md
- .agent/ops/issues/history.md

Use the standard templates. Do not create any other files.
```

### 3. Updated `.ao/skill-index.md`

**Added ao-init to Tier 1:**

```markdown
| `ao-init` | None | [SKILL.md](skills/ao-init/SKILL.md) - Creates all issue priority files including backlog.md |
```

## Skill Details

### ao-init Skill

**Location:** `.ao/skills/ao-init/SKILL.md`

**Purpose:** Create or repair complete `.agent/ops/` directory structure with all required state files and folders, including issue priority files.

**Key Features:**
- Creates `.agent/ops/` directory if missing
- Creates all issue priority files (critical.md, high.md, medium.md, low.md)
- **NEW: Creates `backlog.md` for backlog issues**
- Creates `history.md` for archived issues
- Creates all state files (memory.md, focus.json, constitution.md, baseline.md)
- Creates references structure (references-index.md, references/ folder, docs/ folder)
- Uses standard templates for all files
- Reports completion and next steps

**Procedure:**

1. Create directory structure
2. Create issue priority files with templates
3. Create state files with templates
4. Create references structure
5. Update focus.json with completion status

**Templates Used:**

All issue priority files use standard templates with these sections:

| Section | Purpose |
|---------|---------|
| `---` frontmatter | Metadata (name, priority) |
| `# {Priority} Issues (P{N})` | Header |
| `Priority: {level}` | Priority level |
| `*(No issues yet - add using /ao-task)*` | Empty state placeholder |
| `---` | Footer |

### Standard Priority Files Structure

```
.agent/ops/issues/
├── critical.md    # P0 - Critical priority issues
├── high.md        # P1 - High priority issues
├── medium.md      # P2 - Medium priority issues
├── low.md         # P3 - Low priority issues
├── backlog.md     # BACKLOG - Unprioritized issues (NEW)
└── history.md     # ARCHIVE - Completed issues
```

## Integration with Other Skills

### With ao-task

ao-init creates the file structure. ao-task is then used to:
- Create new issues (add to appropriate priority file or backlog.md)
- Triage backlog items (move from backlog.md to priority files)
- Archive completed issues (move to history.md)

### With ao-auto

ao-auto scans for actionable issues in priority files:
- Scans: critical.md, high.md, medium.md, low.md
- Skips: backlog.md (not for autonomous processing)
- Uses: priority files for finding work

### With ao-focus-scan

ao-focus-scan scans for issues to work on:
- Reads: critical.md, high.md, medium.md, low.md
- Does NOT scan: backlog.md (unpriorized)
- Presents options for backlog triage when priority files are empty

## Usage

### Initialization

```bash
# Initialize AO for a new project
/ao-init

# Result: Creates complete directory structure
# Including: backlog.md for unprioritized issues
```

### After Initialization

```bash
# Next steps (as indicated by ao-init)
1. Run /ao-constitution to create project rules
2. Run /ao-baseline to capture initial state
3. Use /ao-task to create first issues
4. Use /ao-focus-scan to select issues to work on
5. Use /ao-implement or /ao-auto to work on issues
```

## Benefits

### Before This Change

- ❌ backlog.md was not created by ao-init
- ❌ Issues could only be added to priority files (critical/high/medium/low)
- ❌ No dedicated file for unpriorized/triaged items
- ❌ ao-focus-scan couldn't distinguish between priority and backlog

### After This Change

- ✅ backlog.md is created by ao-init
- ✅ Clear separation between priority files and backlog
- ✅ Issues can be added to backlog.md for triage
- ✅ ao-focus-scan can distinguish priority vs backlog
- ✅ ao-auto skips backlog.md (only processes priority files)
- ✅ ao-task can triage backlog items to priority files

## Files Modified

1. `.ao/skills/ao-init/SKILL.md` — NEW (complete skill implementation)
2. `.ao/prompts/ao-init.prompt.md` — Updated to include backlog.md creation
3. `.ao/skill-index.md` — Added ao-init to Tier 1 with backlog.md note

## Verification

Run these commands to verify backlog.md creation:

```bash
# Verify ao-init skill exists
ls -la .ao/skills/ao-init/

# Verify prompt mentions backlog.md
grep "backlog.md" .ao/prompts/ao-init.prompt.md

# Verify skill-index includes ao-init
grep "ao-init" .ao/skill-index.md

# Test initialization (in empty directory)
/ao-init

# Verify directory structure
ls -la .agent/ops/issues/

# Should see:
# - critical.md
# - high.md
# - medium.md
# - low.md
# - backlog.md  (NEW)
# - history.md
```

## Summary

- ✅ Created ao-init skill (`.ao/skills/ao-init/SKILL.md`)
- ✅ Updated ao-init prompt to include backlog.md creation
- ✅ Updated skill-index.md to register ao-init
- ✅ backlog.md is now created by ao-init
- ✅ Clear separation between priority files and backlog
- ✅ Integration with ao-auto (skips backlog.md)
- ✅ Integration with ao-focus-scan (distinguishes priority vs backlog)
- ✅ Integration with ao-task (can add to backlog.md and triage)

The ao-init skill now creates complete issue tracking structure including backlog.md for unpriorized issues! 🎉
