Reference
Skills Catalog
Complete catalog of all 31 pair skills organized by type — process, capability, and meta.
pair ships with 31 skills organized into three types: process (workflow orchestration), capability (atomic operations), and meta (navigation). Each skill is a SKILL.md file invoked as a slash command by your AI coding assistant.
Last updated: 2026-02-21. Source:
packages/knowledge-hub/dataset/.skills/
Meta Skills
| Skill | Command | Description |
|---|---|---|
| next | /pair-next | Determines the most relevant next action by reading adoption files and PM tool state. Suggests which skill to invoke. |
Process Skills
Process skills orchestrate multi-step workflows by composing capability skills.
| Skill | Command | Description | Composes |
|---|---|---|---|
| specify-prd | /pair-process-specify-prd | Creates or updates a Product Requirements Document through structured template analysis and iterative review. | — |
| bootstrap | /pair-process-bootstrap | Orchestrates full project setup: PRD verification, project categorization, checklist completion, standards generation, quality gate setup, and PM tool configuration. | /pair-process-specify-prd, /pair-capability-setup-pm, /pair-capability-record-decision, assess-* (optional) |
| map-subdomains | /pair-process-map-subdomains | Defines DDD subdomains from PRD and initiatives. Classifies as core/supporting/generic, produces subdomain files. | — |
| map-contexts | /pair-process-map-contexts | Defines DDD bounded contexts from subdomain catalog. Maps subdomains to contexts with integration patterns. | — |
| plan-initiatives | /pair-process-plan-initiatives | Creates strategic initiatives from PRD analysis. Prioritizes by business impact (P0/P1/P2). | /pair-capability-write-issue |
| plan-epics | /pair-process-plan-epics | Breaks initiatives into epics through structured analysis and collaborative validation. Includes Epic 0 assessment. | /pair-capability-write-issue |
| plan-stories | /pair-process-plan-stories | Breaks epics into user stories using vertical slicing and INVEST validation. | /pair-capability-write-issue |
| refine-story | /pair-process-refine-story | Refines a user story from Todo to Refined state: requirements analysis (Given-When-Then), technical analysis, sprint readiness. | /pair-capability-write-issue |
| plan-tasks | /pair-process-plan-tasks | Breaks a refined user story into implementation tasks. Appends Technical Analysis + Task Breakdown to the story body. | /pair-capability-write-issue |
| implement | /pair-process-implement | Implements a user story by iterating through its tasks one at a time following a 5-step cycle per task. Creates a PR at story completion. | /pair-capability-verify-quality, /pair-capability-record-decision |
| review | /pair-process-review | Reviews a pull request through a structured 6-phase process: validation, technical review, adoption compliance, completeness, decision, and optional merge. | /pair-capability-verify-quality, /pair-capability-verify-done, /pair-capability-record-decision, /pair-capability-assess-debt (required); /pair-capability-verify-adoption, /pair-capability-assess-stack (optional) |
Capability Skills
Capability skills are atomic operations invoked independently or composed by process skills.
Assessment Capabilities
| Skill | Command | Description |
|---|---|---|
| assess-ai | /pair-capability-assess-ai | Assess AI development tools using resolution cascade (Argument > Adoption > Assessment). |
| assess-architecture | /pair-capability-assess-architecture | Assess architecture pattern using resolution cascade. |
| assess-code-quality | /pair-capability-assess-code-quality | Assess code quality using quality score formula from code-metrics guidelines. |
| assess-debt | /pair-capability-assess-debt | Assess technical debt. Categorizes debt (code, design, test, documentation, infrastructure), applies prioritization formula. |
| assess-infrastructure | /pair-capability-assess-infrastructure | Assess infrastructure strategy: cloud, CI/CD, deployment choices. |
| assess-methodology | /pair-capability-assess-methodology | Assess development methodology: Scrum, Kanban, Lean, etc. |
| assess-observability | /pair-capability-assess-observability | Assess observability strategy: monitoring, logging, tracing. |
| assess-pm | /pair-capability-assess-pm | Assess project management tool choice. Delegates setup to /pair-capability-setup-pm. |
| assess-stack | /pair-capability-assess-stack | Assess tech stack with version tracking. Lifecycle-spanning: bootstrap (full eval), implementation (add dependency), review (detect unlisted). |
| assess-testing | /pair-capability-assess-testing | Assess testing framework and strategy. |
Verification Capabilities
| Skill | Command | Description |
|---|---|---|
| verify-adoption | /pair-capability-verify-adoption | Checks code against adoption files for a given scope. Detection-only: returns conformity/non-conformity list. |
| verify-done | /pair-capability-verify-done | Checks Definition of Done criteria against a PR or work item. |
| verify-quality | /pair-capability-verify-quality | Checks quality gates against the current codebase. |
Setup and Management Capabilities
| Skill | Command | Description |
|---|---|---|
| setup-pm | /pair-capability-setup-pm | Configures the project management tool: selection, implementation guide, adoption update. |
| setup-gates | /pair-capability-setup-gates | Configures CI/CD quality gates per quality-assurance guidelines. |
| manage-flags | /pair-capability-manage-flags | Manages feature flag lifecycle: creation, activation, deactivation, cleanup. |
Recording and Writing Capabilities
| Skill | Command | Description |
|---|---|---|
| record-decision | /pair-capability-record-decision | Records an architectural (ADR) or non-architectural (ADL) decision. Updates adoption files. |
| write-issue | /pair-capability-write-issue | Creates or updates issues in the adopted PM tool using template-driven formatting. |
| estimate | /pair-capability-estimate | Estimates a refined user story using the adopted estimation methodology. |
Skill Properties
All skills share these properties:
- Idempotent: Re-invocation is safe and resumes from the last incomplete step
- Composable: Process skills compose capability skills; capability skills can be invoked independently
- Adoption-aware: Skills read
.pair/adoption/files for project-specific decisions - Template-driven: Output follows templates from
.pair/knowledge/guidelines/
How to Use Skills
Skills are invoked as slash commands in your AI coding assistant:
For details on how skills are resolved and transformed, see the Skill Management Reference.