Ideas Workflow
Use the ideas workflow when you need a place to think, sketch, or explore before you are ready to commit to full project artifacts.
Ideas are intentionally lighter than projects: they are usually gitignored, personal, and optimized for brainstorming rather than traceable delivery.
Contents
- Lifecycle - Capture, ideate, refine, and summarize an idea before promotion or discard.
When Ideas Fit Better Than Projects
- the problem is still fuzzy
- you want conversational exploration before writing a plan
- the work may never become a tracked deliverable
- you want local-only brainstorming that should not be committed yet
Key Differences from Projects
| Aspect | Projects | Ideas |
|---|---|---|
| Location | .oat/projects/shared/ or configured project roots | .oat/ideas/ or ~/.oat/ideas/ |
| State model | multi-phase lifecycle with task pointers and reviews | lightweight brainstorming and summarization state |
| Output | tracked requirements, plans, implementation logs, and reviews | scratchpad-style ideation plus optional summary |
| Best fit | committed delivery work | exploratory thinking and early shaping |
Promotion Path
When an idea becomes concrete, summarize it and then start a tracked OAT project in quick or spec-driven mode depending on design risk.