Ship

Turn an unblocked task into verified code. The implement skill owns this loop. Load the router first if the session just started:

pb instructions overview
pb skill implement
pb profile --json
pb next
pb brief TASK-001
pb verify TASK-001
pb lint
pb board

pb profile calibrates: in a mature repo, linked BR-/ADR- files win over improvisation. If the user describes a new demand mid-session, stop implementing and load discover (Explore).

1. Pick work

pb next

Prints unblocked epic/story/task rows, ordered by a fixed ladder, then phase (ascending), then priority (P0 before P3), then estimate, then id.

Ladder	Status
resume	in-progress
review	review
ready	todo
backlog	backlog

Cancelled and rejected items are out. An item whose depends_on are not done or cancelled is blocked and will not appear.

Set status: in-progress on the file you will finish (edit frontmatter, or MCP update_item). Do not move the file.

See why something is stuck:

pb status TASK-001
pb explain TASK-001

status shows requires, missingDeps, and unlocks. explain adds parent, children, and a short note.

2. Load the brief

pb brief TASK-001

You should see sections ordered by authority: business rules, ADRs, the target, parents, then dependencies. Linked rules and accepted ADRs are binding. If a section is marked SUPERSEDED or DEPRECATED, do not follow it.

pb brief TASK-001 --budget 4000
pb brief TASK-001 --format json

Details: The brief.

3. Implement

Work against the acceptance criteria. Do not invent IDs. Do not contradict an accepted ADR. One area of change per task (backend, frontend, db, infra, docs).

If the story is too large, architect runs pb ground "<story title>", then pb split US-NNN --dry-run, then pb split US-NNN. That is not the ship loop's first move.

4. Verify

pb verify TASK-001

Runs every command in checks.commands, then stamps a verified block on the task (hash of the item). --force sets bypassed: true — only with a written reason.

If checks.commands is empty, verify still stamps a hash so the PR shows evidence.

Trust: those commands run at the same level as package.json scripts. They are not sandboxed. See SECURITY.md and Verify.

Then set status: done (or review).

5. Lint and board

pb lint
pb board

pb lint must exit 0. If checks are configured, a done task without a fresh verified block is unverified-done. Changing the task after verify is stale-verified.

pb board regenerates docs/backlog/BOARD.md. Commit the item file together with the board.

pb board --dry-run

Reports in_sync, added, and orphans without writing.

Coverage

After a story ships, or during grooming:

pb analyze
pb converge US-001 --dry-run

analyze exits 1 when active rules lack covering tasks, or done stories have open children. converge appends tasks for uncovered acceptance criteria. See Verify.