Guide · Agent skill
How to use the Sprint Retrospective Writer agent skill
Updated · written with AI from the project's own documentation and checked against our catalogue data
The Sprint Retrospective Writer is an agent skill (a SKILL.md instruction package) that makes Claude Code write a structured retrospective for a sprint or milestone. It is built for teams using the Claude Code Game Studios production folder layout. After this guide you will know what the skill reads, how to install it, how to ask for a retrospective in plain language, and where it will stop instead of guessing.
Sprint Retrospective WriterDonchitos/Claude-Code-Game-Studios · MIT Download the skill Quick start
- 1Download the ZIP. Get the retrospective ZIP from this skill's page on the directory.
- 2Unzip into a skills folder. Extract it into ~/.claude/skills/ for all projects, or into your project's .claude/skills/ for one project.
- 3Or upload in the Claude apps. In the Claude apps, open Settings → Capabilities → Skills and upload the ZIP.
- 4Check the prerequisites. Make sure Git is installed, your project has production/ sprint files, and hooks/yaml-helper.sh and .claude/docs/automation-modes.md exist.
- 5Ask for a retrospective. Request a retrospective by sprint or milestone, for example sprint-4 or a milestone name.
- 6Answer any prompts. If an earlier retrospective exists, choose whether to update it or start fresh with the old one archived.
- 7Review the report. Read the metrics, blockers and action items, and note any NOT ASSESSED sections and what data was missing.
What the skill makes the agent do
When you ask for a retrospective, the agent first looks for your sprint or milestone plan, a sprint status file, recent git commits and any earlier retrospectives. It then writes a review covering what was finished, what slipped, blockers, TODO/FIXME trends and action items for the next iteration.
The skill is strict about missing inputs. If a required file is absent, the report marks that section NOT ASSESSED rather than inventing numbers. Before writing anything, it also checks for an existing retrospective and asks you before overwriting or archiving one.
- Metrics table comparing planned and actual tasks, with completion rate and commits
- Velocity trend across earlier sprints, when earlier sprints exist
- Blockers encountered, taken from blocked stories in the sprint status file
- Action items for the next iteration, traced back to blocked stories
Install the retrospective skill
Download the ZIP from the skill's page on this directory and unzip it. The skill package is a single file, SKILL.md, inside a retrospective folder. Place that folder in one of two locations:
- Personal use across projects: ~/.claude/skills/
- Single project: the .claude/skills/ folder inside your project
- Claude apps: upload the ZIP under Settings → Capabilities → Skills
Prepare the inputs the skill reads
The skill works best when your project follows the Claude Code Game Studios layout. Sprint plans live under production/sprints/, milestone definitions under production/milestones/, and the authoritative completion status in production/sprint-status.yaml. Story files are read from production/epics/ with Status: Complete for closed work.
Git must be installed. On Windows, the skill's Bash commands run through Git Bash. The skill also needs the parent project's hooks/yaml-helper.sh script and .claude/docs/automation-modes.md. Sprint files are optional, but without them the output is not a full report.
- Sprint or milestone plans under production/
- production/sprint-status.yaml for actual completion status
- Git repository history
- Bash shell (Git Bash on Windows)
- hooks/yaml-helper.sh and .claude/docs/automation-modes.md in the parent project
Trigger the skill with natural requests
The skill accepts an optional argument in the form sprint-N or a milestone name. You can also ask in plain language, and the agent will match the request to the retrospective skill. Naming the sprint or milestone helps it find the right files.
- Write a retrospective for sprint-4
- Create a milestone retrospective for the vertical-slice milestone
- Review what we finished this sprint, what slipped and what is blocked
- Update the existing retrospective with this week's commits
/retrospective sprint-4Read the output and check what was not assessed
Each section of the report is backed by a named input. Read the NOT ASSESSED markers as useful information: they show which data was missing, not that the project is fine. With no earlier sprints, the velocity trend keeps only the current sprint and says NOT ASSESSED — NO DATA.
- Check whether the sprint status file was found before trusting completion numbers
- Expect TODO/FIXME trends to need earlier retrospectives for comparison
- Blocked stories appear under Blockers Encountered with their blocker text
Safety notes: scripts, git history and network
The skill runs scripts. It calls the yaml-helper.sh config helper and runs git log to read commit messages. It reads repository content, so do not use it on repositories whose history or notes should not be sent to an AI tool. The skill is listed as not using the network.
- Runs scripts: yes (config helper and git log)
- Uses network: no
- Reads repository files, commit messages and previous retrospectives
- Asks before overwriting or archiving an existing retrospective
What people use it for
- Closing a sprint in a game studio project and turning blocked stories into action items for the next sprint
- Solo developers reviewing a week of closed stories and git activity
- Project leads tracing recurring blockers across several retrospectives
- Milestone reviews that compare planned and completed work against the milestone definition
Frequently asked questions
Is the Sprint Retrospective Writer skill free to use?
The skill is published under the MIT licence, as listed on its page. Check the licence file in the source repository for the full terms before redistributing it.
What do I need to run the retrospective skill?
You need Claude Code or a compatible SKILL.md agent, Git installed, and a Bash shell (Git Bash on Windows). For a full report you also need sprint or milestone files under production/, plus the parent project's hooks/yaml-helper.sh and .claude/docs/automation-modes.md.
Where do I install the skill folder?
Put it in ~/.claude/skills/ to use it across projects, or in the .claude/skills/ folder of a single project. In the Claude apps you can instead upload the ZIP under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.
Why does the report say NOT ASSESSED?
The skill marks a section NOT ASSESSED when a required input file is missing, instead of inventing numbers. Add the missing sprint plan, sprint status file or earlier retrospectives and run it again.
Does it work without sprint plans or story files?
Not for a full report. Without sprint data the skill stops with BLOCKED or offers to look back over stories marked Status: Complete, and sections needing sprint data stay NOT ASSESSED.
Does it send my project data over the network?
The skill is listed as not using the network, but it does read repository content and git commit messages, which are passed to the AI tool you use. Avoid it for repositories whose history should not be shared with an AI tool.
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Our verdict
Use this skill if your team follows the Claude Code Game Studios production layout, or you are a solo developer who wants a written review of closed stories and git activity. Pick something else if your project has no sprint plans or story files, or if you want an automatic metrics dashboard with long velocity history.
Download the skill