---
name: next
description: "Use when the user says 'work the backlog', 'clean the queue', invokes /next, or sets a /goal over open beads — the autonomous backlog loop. Thin wrapper over the bro CLI: `bro flow next` is the scheduler as code — it claims the top ready bead and emits the work order. Requires `bro` (npx -y @broject/bro@0) and bd."
---

# /next (bro)

**All mechanics live in the `bro` CLI.** This skill is policy only.
`bro flow next` computes the queue from `bd ready`, claims the top item
atomically, and surfaces what it deliberately skipped.

Prereq: `bro` on PATH or `npx -y @broject/bro@0`, `bd init` done.

## The loop

```text
bro flow next          → claims the top ready bead, prints the work order
   implement      → branch, code, tests — verify like CI
   PR             → gh pr create (ready — /next owns the merge; drafts are for merge=human flows) → bro review act status → bro review act merge
   bd close <id>  → reason = the PR that landed it
   bro flow next       → repeat until "backlog empty"
```

If the backlog exists, it was already confirmed — **never ask "should I
continue?" between items.** The queue is the approval.

## What `next` never claims

- **Human gates** — beads titled `HUMAN GATE …` surface as `gate:` lines.
  Ask the user once per gate; their verdict is the result. Everything
  else proceeds without waiting on the gate.
- **Epics** — surface as `epic:` lines. Decompose into beads first
  (`bd create` children), don't implement an epic directly.
- **Molecule steps** — beads whose `parent` is a molecule belong to
  `bro flow convoy`; the flat queue doesn't steal them. Epic children carry
  a `parent` too but stay claimable — `bro flow next` checks the parent's
  type, not just the field.
- **Foreign-scope beads** — ids outside this checkout's `issue_prefix`
  are never claimed; they surface as `foreign: N` when the shared db
  carries other projects' work. `scope = "all"` in a plan opts out.
- **Global beads** — user-level beads live in a separate store
  (`bro store init --global`, `bro task list --global`).
  `bro flow next --global` runs the same pipeline against that store
  explicitly; project output never mixes them in.
- **Coordination primitives** — `gt:slot`-labeled beads (merge-queue
  semaphores) are excluded inside `bd ready` itself; a semaphore is
  never work.

## Plans

`bro plan run next.toml` drives the same selection from a validated plan —
`limit` (batch size), `order` (priority|oldest|newest), `[filters]`
(types, max_priority, title match, `labels` — the declared scope: only
beads carrying one of those labels are claimable, unlabeled and
other-labeled work stays untouched), `claim = false` for a dry run,
`gates = "allow"` to pre-authorize claiming HUMAN GATE beads,
`scope = "all"` to lift project scoping, and `scope = "global"` (or
`bro flow next --global`) to schedule from the user-level store. Batching
is for parallel execution (one claimed bead per worktree/agent); a
claimed gate still means a human decides — the plan was the go-ahead,
not the verdict.

## Policy

- **One bead, one PR** — unless several items are trivially the same
  change. Debt batches are the exception, not the rule.
- **The gate decides done** — `bro review act status` green before merge,
  `bro review act merge` to land it, branches deleted after.
- **Stuck ≠ skipped** — if an item can't proceed, say why (blocker,
  missing access, ambiguity), leave it open, and move to the next bead.
  Never silently drop it: `bd update <id> --notes "<why>"` records it.
- **`idle` vs `gated`** — `state: idle` means the backlog is truly
  empty: report and stop. `state: gated` means open items remain but
  none are claimable (gates/epics/mol steps) — report what's blocking
  and stop for the human, don't call it done. Don't manufacture work.