Chief

PRD Schema Reference ​

Complete schema documentation for prd.json.

Top-Level Schema ​

typescript
interface PRD {
  project: string;          // Project name
  description: string;      // Brief description
  userStories: UserStory[]; // Array of user stories
}

UserStory Object ​

typescript
interface UserStory {
  id: string;                    // Unique identifier
  title: string;                 // Short title
  description: string;           // Full description
  acceptanceCriteria: string[];  // What must be true
  priority: number;              // Lower = higher priority
  passes: boolean;               // Is this complete?
  inProgress: boolean;           // Being worked on?
}

Full Example ​

json
{
  "project": "User Authentication",
  "description": "Complete auth system with login, registration, and password reset",
  "userStories": [
    {
      "id": "US-001",
      "title": "User Registration",
      "description": "As a new user, I want to register an account so that I can access the application.",
      "acceptanceCriteria": [
        "Registration form with email and password fields",
        "Email format validation",
        "Password minimum 8 characters",
        "Confirmation email sent on registration",
        "User redirected to login after registration"
      ],
      "priority": 1,
      "passes": false,
      "inProgress": false
    },
    {
      "id": "US-002",
      "title": "User Login",
      "description": "As a registered user, I want to log in so that I can access my account.",
      "acceptanceCriteria": [
        "Login form with email and password fields",
        "Error message for invalid credentials",
        "Remember me checkbox",
        "Redirect to dashboard on success"
      ],
      "priority": 2,
      "passes": false,
      "inProgress": false
    }
  ]
}

Field Details ​

id ​

A unique identifier for the story. Appears in commit messages.

Format: Any string, but US-XXX pattern recommended.

Example: "US-001", "US-042", "AUTH-001"

title ​

Short, descriptive title. Should fit in a commit message.

Length: Keep under 50 characters

Example: "User Registration", "Password Reset Flow"

description ​

Full description of the story. User story format recommended but not required.

Format: "As a [user], I want [feature] so that [benefit]."

acceptanceCriteria ​

Array of strings, each describing a requirement. Claude uses these to know when the story is complete.

Guidelines:

  • Specific and testable
  • One requirement per item
  • 3-7 items per story

priority ​

Lower numbers = higher priority. Chief always picks the lowest-priority incomplete story.

Range: Positive integers, typically 1-100

passes ​

Boolean indicating if the story is complete. Chief updates this automatically.

Default: false

inProgress ​

Boolean indicating if Claude is currently working on this story.

Default: false

Validation ​

Chief validates prd.json on startup:

  • All required fields must be present
  • userStories must be non-empty
  • Each story must have unique id
  • priority must be a positive number

Invalid PRDs cause Chief to exit with an error message.