Getting it into your agent
One page per mod, every tool's command on it. A separate URL per tool would split the same page into five that compete with each other.
npx agentmods add skills/microsoft/hve-core/backlog-executenpx skills add microsoft/hve-core --skill backlog-executegit clone --depth 1 https://github.com/microsoft/hve-coreWhat it costs to keep this loaded
Counted locally with the o200k_base tokenizer, which is exact for GPT models; Claude uses its own tokenizer and its counts differ. Treat this as one consistent yardstick across the catalogue rather than a bill. Prices are per million input tokens.
| Model | Per session | Once invoked |
|---|---|---|
| Fable 5 | $0.00036 | $0.02781 |
| Opus 5 | $0.00018 | $0.01391 |
| Sonnet 5 | $0.00007 | $0.00556 |
| Haiku 4.5 | $0.00004 | $0.00278 |
Grade A, and why
backlog-execute scanned grade A with 0 findings against 26 rules in 11 categories — prompt injection, anti-refusal, data exfiltration, privilege escalation, supply chain, agent snooping, system-prompt leakage, SSRF and excessive agency — measured 2d ago.
A static scan of the body, not an audit. Every finding is printed with the line that produced it so you can judge whether it matters here. A mod is markdown that instructs an agent; that is exactly why what it instructs is worth reading.
Nothing flagged
None of the 26 patterns this scan looks for appear in this file: no shell pipes, no recursive deletes, no credential paths, no hidden text, no instruction-override or anti-refusal phrasing, no agent-config snooping. That is not a guarantee, it is the absence of the things that are checkable.
How it starts
The opening of the file, as written. The whole thing — 176 lines — stays where its author put it; the contents beside it link to each section on GitHub.
Backlog Execute
Mutating backlog execution for Azure DevOps, GitHub, and Jira. This command resolves the backing tracker at runtime and applies changes through the shared conventions and reference structure of the backlog-management skill.
Every operation this command runs is externally visible. The five safety protocols below are not optional refinements; they are the reason a single command can be trusted with write access to three trackers.
When to Use
- Create a single work item through guided field collection.
- Process a reviewed handoff file into sequential create, update, link, transition, close, and comment operations.
- Resume an interrupted execution without duplicating completed work.
Use backlog-plan instead for discovery, triage, sprint planning, or any read-only analysis. A handoff file is normally produced there and reviewed by a human before it reaches this command.
Direct Invocation
This command is user-invocable. When a user runs it directly, build the missing context collaboratively rather than demanding a fully formed request. The bar for entry is low; the bar for mutating is not.
Infer what can be inferred safely, from the live conversation, an item key or URL the user names, the tracking root already present under .copilot-tracking/, the repository remote, and which platform credentials and tools are actually available. Confirm an inference before acting on it. Ask only for what is missing and mutation-critical, one focused question at a time rather than as an intake form.
Four things must hold before the first mutating call. Everything else can be discovered, inferred, or deferred:
- One platform, resolved and, if inferred, confirmed by the user.
- One destination, named and confirmed: an ADO project, a GitHub repository, or a Jira project key.
- A compatible write surface actually reachable in the active context.
- Any confirmation the autonomy tier requires for the operations at hand.
Supported direct-invocation contexts
What this file has done since we first saw it
Hashed on every crawl. A supply-chain change to an agent config is a question of when, not whether, so the history is kept rather than the latest state alone.
- 2d ago First seen · 176 lines · 36 tokens per session scan A b0a7685540fb
backlog-execute is a skill published in the GitHub repository microsoft/hve-core (1,405 stars, last pushed 2d ago), licensed MIT. It adds 36 tokens to every session and 2,781 once invoked, about $0.0002 per session on Opus 5. A static security scan graded it A with 0 findings. No closer match exists in the catalogue, so it is treated as the original; first seen 2026-08-30.
Other skills, from other repositories
wayfinder
Plan a huge chunk of work (more than one agent session can hold) as a shared map of decision tickets on your issue tracker, and resolve them one at a time until the way to the destination is clear.
setup-matt-pocock-skills
Configure this repo for the engineering skills: set up its issue tracker, triage label vocabulary, and domain doc layout. Run once before first use of the other engineering skills.
release-notes
Generate user-facing release notes from tickets, PRDs, or changelogs. Creates clear, engaging summaries organized by category (new features, improvements, fixes). Use when writing release notes, creating changelogs, announcing product updates, or summarizing what shipped.
retro
Facilitate a structured sprint retrospective — what went well, what didn't, and prioritized action items with owners and deadlines. Use when running a retrospective, reflecting on a sprint, creating action items from team feedback, or learning how to run effective retros.
bug-triage
Read all open bugs in production/qa/bugs/, re-evaluate priority vs. severity, assign to sprints, surface systemic trends, and produce a triage report. Run at sprint start or when the bug count grows enough to need re-prioritization.
flow-next-tracker-sync
Project a flow-next spec to a tracker issue (Linear, GitHub, GitLab, Jira) and reconcile two-way. Use when asked to sync to a tracker. NOT plan-sync.