shepherd vendors optional stage engines under .claude/skills/_vendored/ so a fresh
clone, plugin install, or claude.ai/code attachment works without installing additional
plugins.
Engines are opt-in: the default config assigns engines only to the reviewer stages;
the single stages (verify, architect, implementer, success_criteria,
fulfillment) run built-in unless a config assigns them a use. The
vendored files are treated as upstream instruction text. shepherd-specific behavior
lives in .claude/skills/shepherd/registry.base.json, where each use entry supplies a
scope for the engine, and every dispatched stage runs non-interactively (open questions
go into the output file, never to the human).
Vendored skills are named ENGINE.md instead of SKILL.md so Claude Code does not
auto-register them as slash commands; feature-dev.md and code-review.md keep their
upstream filenames, which never auto-register anyway.
use |
Path | Upstream | Shepherd adaptation |
|---|---|---|---|
brainstorming |
_vendored/brainstorming/ENGINE.md |
superpowers 6.0.3 | optional architect engine: clarifying-question discipline shapes the draft's open questions; shepherd owns the chat iteration and gates |
writing-plans |
_vendored/writing-plans/ENGINE.md |
superpowers 6.0.3 | optional architect engine: writes the short design; shepherd owns execution and gates |
feature-dev |
_vendored/feature-dev/feature-dev.md |
claude-plugins-official | optional implementer engine: implements against approved shepherd files |
staff-review |
_vendored/staff-review/ENGINE.md |
apify/agent-skills-internal 1.1.1 | reviews the pasted diff, blind to claim.md |
thermonuclear |
_vendored/thermonuclear/ENGINE.md |
local personal skill | runs a strict maintainability review on the pasted diff |
code-review |
_vendored/code-review/code-review.md |
claude-plugins-official | reviews the shepherd diff/working tree instead of a PR diff; registry-only, off the default roster |
ponytail-review |
_vendored/ponytail-review/ENGINE.md |
local personal skill | final reviewer: line-level deletion/leanness lens, design-aware, clarity-guarded |
Support files from feature-dev are also vendored. Two agents are re-registered as
project agents with shepherd-specific name: fields:
.claude/agents/shepherd-code-explorer.md(also used as theexplorerrole for medium/large design drafts).claude/agents/shepherd-code-architect.md
- Re-copy upstream files into
_vendored/. - Re-apply renamed project-agent
name:values. - Update the table if versions, paths, or scopes changed.
- Run
pytest -q.