[Bug] /feature-dev workflow phases skipped due to TodoWrite overwrite behavior

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
• [x] This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
• [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

Description

When using the /feature-dev command, multiple workflow phases are skipped or incomplete:

1. Phase 6 (Quality Review) is ALWAYS skipped - code-reviewer agents are never launched
2. Phase 4 (Architecture Design) is sometimes incomplete - doesn't always propose 2-3 architecture approaches as specified

The root cause appears to be that TodoWrite updates overwrite the entire todo list instead of modifying existing items, causing earlier phase todos to be lost.

### Expected Behavior

According to feature-dev.md:

Phase 4 should:

• Launch 2-3 code-architect agents with different focuses
• Present multiple approaches with trade-offs comparison

Phase 6 should:

1. Launch 3 code-reviewer agents in parallel with different focuses:

• simplicity/DRY/elegance
• bugs/functional correctness
• project conventions/abstractions

1. Consolidate findings and identify highest severity issues
2. Present findings to user and ask what they want to do

### Actual Behavior

1. Phase 1 creates a todo list with all 7 phases
2. During implementation (Phase 5), when updating task-level todos, the entire phase-level todo list gets overwritten
3. Phases 6 and 7 "disappear" from the todo list
4. The workflow considers itself complete after Phase 5, skipping Quality Review entirely

### Suspected Cause

The TodoWrite tool appears to replace the entire todo list rather than update specific items. When the workflow or agents call TodoWrite to track implementation progress, they inadvertently overwrite the phase-tracking todos created in Phase 1.

From feature-dev.md:

• Phase 1: "Create todo list with all phases"
• Phase 5: "Update todos as you progress"

These instructions conflict when TodoWrite replaces rather than updates.

What Should Happen?

### Suggested Fixes

Option 1: Fix TodoWrite usage in the prompt

Modify commands/feature-dev.md to explicitly preserve phase todos when updating:

```markdown
## Phase 5: Implementation
...

1. Update todos as you progress (IMPORTANT: preserve the phase-level todos, only update task-level items)

Option 2: Add explicit phase completion checks

Add explicit checks before moving to next phase:

## After Phase 5: Implementation

Before proceeding to Phase 6, verify the todo list contains entries for Phase 6 and Phase 7.
If missing, recreate them.

Option 3: Use separate todo tracking

• Use phase-level todos with a prefix like [PHASE]
• Use task-level todos with a prefix like [TASK]
• Ensure agents only modify their respective category

Environment

• Claude Code version: latest
• Plugin: feature-dev v1.0.0
• OS: macOS

Additional Context

The Core Principles in feature-dev.md state "Use TodoWrite: Track all progress throughout". However, the current implementation causes TodoWrite updates to destroy the workflow structure rather than track it.

This bug significantly impacts the value of the /feature-dev command, as the Quality Review phase (launching code-reviewer agents) is one of its key differentiating features.

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

### Steps to Reproduce

1. Run /feature-dev <feature description> (e.g., /feature-dev Add a user profile page)
2. Observe Phase 1 creates todos for all 7 phases
3. Proceed through Phase 2-4
4. When Phase 5 (Implementation) starts, observe the todo list
5. Notice that after task-level todos are created, the original phase todos are gone
6. After implementation completes, workflow jumps to Summary or ends
7. Phase 6 (Quality Review) never executes - no code-reviewer agents are launched

Claude Model

None

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

2.1.15

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

Terminal.app (macOS)

Additional Information

_No response_