review

Audit

Cross-repo backlog review encoded as a repeatable 5-phase workflow. Replaces the manual process of scanning repos, reading briefs, checking codebase state, and deciding what to close.

Core principle: Verify against code, not briefs. A brief says what was planned. The codebase says what happened. Always check.

When to Use

• Monthly or fortnightly backlog review (GTD review cadence)
• After a burst of work across multiple repos
• When bon item count is growing and needs pruning
• When starting a new focus period — shed stale commitments first

When NOT to Use

• Single-repo triage — just read bon list directly
• Active session work — use bon draw-down instead
• First encounter with a repo's items — read briefs with bon show first

Prerequisites

• Bon skill must be loaded — audit uses bon done for closures
• uv in PATH — audit_survey.py runs via uv run --script

Workflow: 5 Phases

Phase 1: Survey (Gather)

Run the audit survey to get structured data on all open items:

uv run --script ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/audit_survey.py

Or filter to specific repos:

uv run --script ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/audit_survey.py --repos trousse passe gueridon

Output: JSON with full briefs, created_at timestamps, and age flags (old = 30d+, very_old = 60d+).

Present the landscape to the user:

Scanned {N} open items across {M} repos. Top repos: {repo1} ({count}), {repo2} ({count}), ... {X} items flagged as old (30d+), {Y} as very old (60d+).

Which repos should I audit? (default: all with open items)

STOP here. Wait for user to confirm scope before proceeding.

Phase 2: Verify (the hard part)

For each repo in scope, dispatch a read-only subagent (Task tool, Opus) to verify items against the actual codebase.

Parallelism strategy:

• Repos with <5 open items: batch up to 3 repos per subagent
• Repos with 5+ items: one subagent per repo
• Max 5 concurrent subagents

Subagent prompt template:

You are auditing bon items in the repo at {repo_path}.

For each item below, verify whether the work described has been done,
is stale (references things that no longer exist), or is still active.

Verification methods — check these in order:
1. File/path existence: do referenced files still exist?
2. Code grep: are referenced functions/classes/patterns present?
3. Git log: any related commits since {created_at}?
4. Done criteria: can you verify the --done conditions are met?

See references/verification-patterns.md for detailed patterns.

Classify each item:
- DONE: --done criteria verifiably met
- STALE: brief references things that no longer exist or codebase has diverged
- ACTIVE: brief is current, work not yet done
- BLOCKED: has waiting_for set or depends on external factor
- UNCLEAR: cannot determine programmatically, needs human judgment

Items to verify:
{json_items}

Return a JSON array:
[
  {{
    "id": "bon-xyz",
    "title": "item title",
    "classification": "DONE|STALE|ACTIVE|BLOCKED|UNCLEAR",
    "reasoning": "one line explanation",
    "evidence": "what you checked that led to this conclusion"
  }}
]

IMPORTANT: You are READ-ONLY. Do not modify any files or run bon commands.

Critical constraint: Subagents verify and classify only. All mutations happen in Phase 4.

Phase 3: Summarize (Orient)

Collect subagent results and present a clear, actionable summary. Output as text in your response, not via Bash (Bash output collapses behind Ctrl+O).

Format:

## Audit Summary — {date}

Scanned {N} open items across {M} repos.

### Ready to Close ({count})

| Repo | Item | Title | Reasoning |
|------|------|-------|-----------|
| ... | ... | ... | ... |

### Stale — Brief Outdated ({count})

| Repo | Item | Title | Reasoning |
|------|------|-------|-----------|
| ... | ... | ... | ... |

### Active — Still Relevant ({count})

| Repo | Item | Title |
|------|------|-------|
| ... | ... | ... |

### Blocked ({count})

| Repo | Item | Title | Waiting For |
|------|------|-------|-------------|
| ... | ... | ... | ... |

### Unclear — Needs Human ({count})

| Repo | Item | Title | Question |
|------|------|-------|----------|
| ... | ... | ... | ... |

Which items should I close? (Say "close all ready", name specific IDs,
or move items between categories.)

STOP here. This is a hard gate — no action without user approval.

Phase 4: Act (Triage)

Execute the user's decisions:

For items approved for closure:

cd {repo_path}
bon done {id}

Commit strategy: After all closures in a repo:

cd {repo_path}
git add .bon/items.jsonl
git commit -m "bon: audit — close {count} completed/stale items"

Do NOT push unless user explicitly asks.

For stale items the user wants updated: Note for a future session. Audit is triage, not rework.

Phase 5: Snapshot (Remember)

After all closures, re-run the survey and report the delta:

uv run --script ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/audit_survey.py

Audit complete. Closed {N} items. Open items: {before} → {after} across {repos} repos.

Anti-Patterns

Anti-Pattern	Problem	Fix
Closing without verification	Work may not be done	Always verify against codebase in Phase 2
Trusting briefs at face value	Codebase may have diverged	Verify, especially items >30 days old
Auto-closing stale items	Stale brief ≠ stale intent	Flag stale, let human decide
Mixing audit with active work	Context thrashing	Audit is a dedicated session activity
Editing briefs during audit	Scope creep	Note needed updates, do them later
Skipping Phase 5 snapshot	Loses the before/after delta	Always report the delta
Bash output for summary	User can't see it (Ctrl+O collapse)	Output as text in response

Integration

Skill	Relationship
bon	Audit uses bon CLI for closures. Does not duplicate draw-down teaching. Assumes bon is loaded.
close	Audit's Phase 3→4 mirrors close's Decide→Act. But audit is cross-repo; close is single-session.
open	After review, /open re-orients to whatever's next.

References

• references/verification-patterns.md — How to verify different brief types
• scripts/audit_survey.py — Cross-repo survey with JSON output and age flags