Genesis Northstar

---
name: "North Star"
description: Write the perfect-world vision for the feature — no-compromise narrative, weighted quality dimensions, and the Compass. The qualitative reference every audit measures against.
argument-hint: "<feature-name> [--update|--fresh]"
---

# North Star — The Perfect World

Write the **North Star**: a first-person, no-compromise vision of the feature in a perfect world, plus weighted **Quality Dimensions** and **The Compass** (decision filters for subjective choices). It is the qualitative reference every later audit — especially A4 and the F-pass — measures against.

**Gate:** the **specify phase must be accepted**. Requires the spec and design docs.

## Inputs

- `.genesis/project-state.md` (mode)
- `.genesis/features/<feature>/spec.md` (required), `design.md` (required), `brainstorm-log.md`
- The constitution
- `approvals/master.json` (verify specify accepted)

## Process

1. Resolve the feature name; handle an existing North Star (revise in place, or archive to `northstar-v{N}.md` and write fresh) and partial-file resumption.
2. Deep-read the entire master spec — every FR, AC, user story, NFR.
3. Write `northstar.md` from `north-star-template.md`, in first person, four sections:
   - **The Perfect World** — narrative of the feature when every requirement is perfectly met; experience, not mechanism; mode-aware.
   - **Quality Dimensions** — feature-specific dimensions, each weighted **Critical / Important / Nice**, each with what it means, a concrete and testable "what perfect looks like," and one test question. Always include **Zero-Tolerance Quality (Critical)**.
   - **The Emotional Quality** — "for the user" and "for the builder," mode-aware.
   - **The Compass** — decision filters phrased as questions, mode-aware.
4. **No-compromise validator** (up to 3 iterations): strip implementation detail, timeline language ("in v1", "for now", "later"), compromise language ("MVP", "good enough", "adequate"), and vague quality terms; fill missing perspectives; rewrite product-brochure voice into a grounded one. Concrete is allowed ("sub-100ms"); naming implementation is not ("Redis cache").
5. Constitution-compliance check; present; commit.

## Mode differences

- **Greenfield:** the perfect technical system.
- **Brownfield:** perfect integration (no regression, clean boundaries); add the compass question "Does this respect what exists?"
- **Lowfield:** perfect content pipeline (every stage and artifact earns its place); add "Does this serve the domain or just the process?"

## Output

- `.genesis/features/<feature>/northstar.md` — the perfect-world vision + weighted quality dimensions + compass.

## Next step

Brainstorm the first group at the micro boundary (`/genesis-brainstorm --boundary micro`), then `/genesis-micro 0`.

## Natural language triggers

```
- "write the north star"
- "perfect world vision"
- "quality dimensions for X"
```