improve-loop

Improve loop

One pass through the loop takes one story from todo to done:

pick story -> plan -> code -> ./build.sh -> snapshot -> compare -> fix -> commit -> update STORIES.md

Stop after the milestone the user named, or after the current milestone if they named none. Then report.

1. Pick

Open docs/STORIES.md. Take the first todo story in the current milestone whose dependencies are done. Set it to doing.

2. Plan

If the story adds a screen, an action, or words and has no UX: block yet, call the Skill tool with ux-design first.

Write two to five lines in your head or in the commit body: which files change, which model fields are new, which menu command and shortcut it adds, which snapshot page shows it. If the story needs a new SwiftData field, give it a default value so existing databases keep loading.

3. Code

Follow the swift-swiftui and mac-design skills, the story's UX: block, and design/DESIGN-SYSTEM.md if the app has one. System hooks follow os-integrations. Keep each view file under about 300 lines. Put new pages in the SidebarItem enum so snapshot mode visits them.

4. Build and snapshot

Follow the build-and-verify skill. If the story has logic, add a test or a self-test step (test-mac-app skill). Use seed data (APP_SEED=1) so pages show real content.

5. Compare

Open your snapshot and the story's reference screenshot side by side with the Read tool. Write down the differences that matter, in this order:

1. Missing or wrong behavior from the acceptance criteria.
2. Words and flow: names, surface, and states that differ from the UX:

block or docs/GLOSSARY.md.

1. Layout: wrong column, wrong order, missing element, and every FAIL from

the grid checks.

1. Hierarchy: what is biggest, boldest, first.
2. Spacing and alignment.
3. Color and details.

The goal is the same structure and behavior, built from Apple's own controls. It is not a pixel copy. When the reference uses a web-style custom control and macOS has a native one (a toolbar, a sidebar, a context menu, a date picker), use the native one.

No reference screenshot (no app was cloned)? Compare against the story's acceptance lines and the mac-design rules instead.

Snapshot only the pages a story touches (APP_SNAPSHOT_PAGES), and the full set at the end of each milestone.

Fix, rebuild, and compare again. Three rounds per story at most. If it still does not match, set the story to todo again with a note that says what is blocking, and move on.

6. Commit and record

git add -A
git commit -m "Complete tasks with Command-Return"

Set the story to done in docs/STORIES.md and commit that with the code. One story per commit, so any story can be reverted on its own. M1 may land as one commit when its stories share one skeleton (model, pages, list, persistence); from M2 on, one story per commit.

7. Report

At the end of the loop, report to the user:

• Stories done, with one line each and the snapshot paths that show them.
• Stories blocked, and why.
• Anything the user should try by hand (shortcuts, drag and drop).
• The next story in line.

Then ./build.sh --open so the user can try the new build.

Milestone check-in

When the last story of a milestone is done, call the Skill tool with improve-architecture before you start the next milestone. Unattended, do its top recommendation only if it is Strong, and leave the rest in the review file for the user.

When a story fixes a bug, add an entry to docs/FIXLOG.md: symptom, cause, fix, and a last line Rule: <what to always or never do>. The fix log outlives squashed history, and the check-in reads it.

Running it unattended

The loop works with no one watching, because every step checks itself: the build, the snapshots, the acceptance criteria. To let it run longer, start it with a clear limit ("finish M2, then stop"), make sure the tree is committed before you start, and never let it touch the user's real database. Each story is a separate commit, so the user can review the history in the morning and revert anything they do not like.

Done when every story in the milestone is done or named in the report as blocked with a reason, each done story has its own commit, and the user has the report.