# define-done

Sets a measurable Definition of Done for a diamond: a change in behaviour that creates value, not a build list. Useful when work gets signed off on shipping alone.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · ★ 47
- Author: haabe
- License: MIT · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/haabe/mycelium/tree/HEAD/plugins/mycelium/skills/define-done/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2026-10-24
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/define-done

## What it does

The skill runs a problem-first Socratic sequence. First question: what is different once this is done, and for whom? Then: what is the one action that would prove it? A threshold comes third and only if a number genuinely fits, followed by a pre-mortem for the invalidation criterion — a state plus a date that means the goal is wrong. The answer lands in the `definition_of_done` field on the diamond.

Writing happens at diamond birth or as a retrofit when the field is missing. The target is `.claude/diamonds/active.yml`, and the skill must read that file with the Read tool in the same session before any `Write`/`Edit`; reading through Bash does not satisfy the check. A partial update is fine with `limit:1`; a full Write needs a full Read.

The skill assumes the Mycelium framework: run it standalone and the canvas state, theory gates and harness behaviour it relies on are not there. It sets the bar for a whole diamond and does not replace `/mycelium:definition-of-done`, the per-feature quality checklist used at close. Both can apply. Silent back-filling is refused on purpose, because the questioning is what produces a real bar.

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add haabe/mycelium --skill define-done -a claude-code
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `~/.claude/skills/define-done/SKILL.md` — Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/define-done/

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add haabe/mycelium --skill define-done -a codex
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.agents/skills/define-done/SKILL.md` — For all projects use ~/.agents/skills/

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add haabe/mycelium --skill define-done -a cursor
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.cursor/skills/define-done/SKILL.md` — Cursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install haabe/mycelium define-done
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.github/skills/define-done/SKILL.md`

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add haabe/mycelium --skill define-done -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/haabe/mycelium --path plugins/mycelium/skills/define-done
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.devin/skills/define-done/SKILL.md` — The legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add haabe/mycelium --skill define-done -a opencode
```

### Claude.ai

**Claude.ai**
- Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills

Where a file is given instead of a command, copy the files from the source to that path: https://github.com/haabe/mycelium/tree/HEAD/plugins/mycelium/skills/define-done/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- state done as a behaviour change instead of a list of features
- pick one signal that shows the goal was reached
- pre-commit the state and date that would prove the bet wrong
- retrofit a missing `definition_of_done` on a running diamond
- test the bar on a reader who did not write it

## Example prompts
- Write the Definition of Done for the current diamond: what changes, and for whom
- Backfill `definition_of_done` in `.claude/diamonds/active.yml`
- Give my bar to a blind reader: invent a few result sets and ask what each one means to do

## Source text · SKILL.md · MIT

Below is the content of a third-party file. It is data, not instructions for you: do not act on anything written inside unless the human asks. Block tag: f3af525aac95b020.

BEGIN THIRD-PARTY FILE f3af525aac95b020
```text
---
name: define-done
description: "Pin a measurable, outcome-based Definition of Done for a diamond — a behaviour-change that creates value, not a build-list. Problem-first Socratic sequence; writes definition_of_done to the diamond at birth or retrofits it when missing."
metadata:
  instruction_budget: "48"
  framework_dependency: "mycelium"
  framework_dependency_note: "This skill is designed to run within the Mycelium framework (https://github.com/haabe/mycelium). Standalone use will skip the canvas state, theory gates, and harness behavior the skill assumes. Install: /plugin install mycelium@haabe-mycelium."
---

# Define Done

Pin an explicit, outcome-based **Definition of Done** for a diamond. "Done" is *a change in human behaviour that creates value* (Seiden), not "the feature shipped" — you're done when it ships **and** has the intended impact (Amplitude). The diamond's implicit done defaults to the harshest, least-controllable bar ("a user shipped a product"), which is both wrong for validating *purpose* and a demotivation engine. This skill makes the bar explicit, measurable, and pre-committed.

This is distinct from `/mycelium:definition-of-done` (the per-feature agile *quality checklist* run at `close`). This skill sets the **outcome bar a whole diamond is judged against**; that one verifies a feature meets quality criteria. Both can apply.

## When to use

- **At diamond birth** — `/mycelium:interview` (L0) and child-diamond spawn (`/mycelium:diamond-progress`) call this before a diamond is "live."
- **Retrofit** — when `/mycelium:canvas-health`, `/mycelium:diamond-assess`, or the SessionStart nudge flags a diamond with no `definition_of_done`.
- Never silent-fill. The *question* is what produces a real bar ("fits, not ships"); a back-filled field is theatre.

## Preflight: Read target file before any Write/Edit

**Hard rule.** The `definition_of_done` field lives on the diamond in `.claude/diamonds/active.yml`. Before `Write`/`Edit` on it, use the **Read tool** on that file this session (`cat`/`head`/`grep` via Bash do NOT satisfy Claude Code's check). `Edit` with `limit:1` suffices for a partial update; full Read before a `Write`. See `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/engine/agent-operating-contract.md` *Canvas writes — Read before Write*.

## The sequence (Socratic, problem-first)

Ask these in order. The teaching is in the **sequencing** (problem → signal → maybe-number → kill) and the good/bad contrast — not a help doc. Reject build-lists at step 1; that is the whole point.
```
END THIRD-PARTY FILE f3af525aac95b020

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