Goals

What it does

This skill allows an AI agent to define, track, and maintain objectives using a system of goals documented in either GOALS.yaml or GOALS.md files. The agent can use command-line tools (ao goals) to manage these goals, measure fitness, identify regressions (goal drift), export data for continuous integration, and more. The skill helps ensure focused action and improved productivity by clarifying desired outcomes and tracking progress against them.

When to use it

• Tracking project objectives: Monitor the status of key goals within a development or operational context.
• Identifying areas for improvement: Detect regressions in goal achievement over time (goal drift).
• Establishing initial project direction: Bootstrap a new set of goals using the init command to create a foundational GOALS.md file.
• Managing directives and priorities: Define and track actions needed to address gaps or improve existing areas, particularly when using the GOALS.md format.
• Automating fitness reporting: Export goal status as JSON for integration into CI/CD pipelines.

Key capabilities

• Goal definition and management (add, remove, modify)
• Fitness measurement and scoring
• Directive gap assessment (when using GOALS.md)
• History tracking of goal measurements
• Exporting goal data in JSON format
• Validation of the goals file structure
• Migration between YAML and Markdown formats

Example prompts

• "/goals" - Check the current status of defined goals.
• "/goals add" - Add a new goal to the tracking system.
• "/goals init" - Create an initial GOALS.md file with default settings.

Tips & gotchas

• Workflow Execution: This skill requires executing specific commands (using ao goals) – it's not just about describing them.
• File Format Priority: If both GOALS.yaml and GOALS.md exist, the GOALS.md file takes precedence.
• Post-Initialization Enrichment: After using /goals init, manually enrich the generated GOALS.md with product-specific content that the CLI cannot automatically detect.