Backlog Planning

Updated on Oct 5, 2026

frg backlog analyzes the open work in your issue tracker to create a strategic roadmap, review backlog health, rank items, and answer strategy questions. Use it for product-level planning across many issues; use frg issue plan for the technical plan of a single issue.

Prerequisites

A valid Telerik license. See Licensing.
A supported coding agent, installed and authenticated. Check it with frg status.
An issue tracker configured in .forge/config/toolchain.toml. See Toolchain Configuration.
No Issue ID, PR ID, or Ticket ID is required.

Subcommands at a glance

All files are written to .forge/work/backlog/.

Subcommand	What it does	Typical inputs	Outputs	Default role
`create`	Creates a strategic backlog and roadmap	Open issues in the tracker	`roadmap.md`	`product_manager`
`review`	Reviews backlog health and quality	`roadmap.md` (or the tracker if missing)	`review.md`	`product_manager`
`rank`	Ranks backlog items by priority	`roadmap.md` (or the tracker if missing)	`ranked_backlog.md`	`product_manager`
`ask`	Answers a question about backlog strategy	Question, `roadmap.md`	`answer.md`	`product_manager`
`plan`	Converts `roadmap.md` into a structured JSON plan	`roadmap.md`	JSON plan file	None

Typical flow

text

create ──► review ──► create --edit ──► rank ──► ask
 │ │
 └──────────────► roadmap.md ◄────────────────────┘ (read by review, rank, ask)

Create the roadmap from open issues:

bash

frg backlog create

Check the roadmap's health:

bash

frg backlog review

Apply the review findings to the roadmap:

bash

frg backlog create --edit "Add the dependencies and risks flagged in review.md"

Rank the items:

bash

frg backlog rank

Ask focused questions before planning the next release:

bash

frg backlog ask "Which items block the next release goal?"

Options shared by all subcommands

Every agent-driven frg backlog subcommand (create, review, rank, ask) accepts these options.

Option	Description	Default
`-a, --agent <NAME>`	Coding agent for this run: `claude_code`, `github_copilot`, or `opencode`.	Agent in `agents.toml`
`-r, --role <ROLE>`	Overrides the default role: `product_manager`, `software_engineer`, `software_architect`, `technical_writer`, `security_analyst`, `sre`. Cannot be combined with `--custom-agent`.	`product_manager`
`--custom-agent <NAME>`	Selects a custom agent configuration inside your coding agent. Cannot be combined with `--role`.	None
`-m, --model <MODEL>`	Overrides the model configured in `agents.toml`.	Model in `agents.toml`
`-c, --context-file <FILE>`	Adds a file path as context. Repeatable.	None
`--context-dir <DIR>`	Adds a directory as context. Repeatable. Up to 100 files per directory and 1 MB per file.	None
`--clear`	Clears the existing agent session and starts fresh.	Off
`--retry [<INSTRUCTIONS>]`	Continues the previous session to complete missing outputs. Requires an existing session; cannot be combined with `--clear`.	Off
`--auto-retry`	Retries once automatically when expected outputs are missing. Cannot be combined with `--clear`.	Off
`--print-prompt`	Prints the compiled prompt without running the agent.	Off
`--bypass-safety-checks`	Skips prompt-injection validation. Bypasses are logged.	Off
`-q, --quiet`	Suppresses all output except errors.	Off

frg backlog create

Analyzes open issues and creates a strategic backlog and delivery roadmap: themes or epics, priorities, dependencies, risks, and a high-level timeline.

text

frg backlog create [OPTIONS]

Option	Description
`--edit [<INSTRUCTIONS>]`	Refines the existing `roadmap.md` with your instructions, given inline or in `edit.md`.

bash

frg backlog create
frg backlog create --edit "Update the priorities to reflect the Q3 product strategy"

Output: .forge/work/backlog/roadmap.md.

frg backlog review

Assesses the coherence, composition, quality, and sustainability of the backlog and roadmap. It does not change the backlog.

text

frg backlog review [OPTIONS]

Option	Description
`--edit [<INSTRUCTIONS>]`	Refines the existing review with your instructions, given inline or in `edit.md`.

bash

frg backlog review
frg backlog review --edit "Focus on dependencies and risks"

Output: .forge/work/backlog/review.md. If roadmap.md is missing, the agent retrieves the current backlog from the issue tracker.

frg backlog rank

Prioritizes backlog items and documents the reasoning for the order.

text

frg backlog rank [OPTIONS]

Option	Description
`--edit [<INSTRUCTIONS>]`	Re-ranks using your instructions, given inline or in `edit.md`.

bash

frg backlog rank
frg backlog rank --edit "Move security work ahead of feature work and explain why"

Output: .forge/work/backlog/ranked_backlog.md.

frg backlog ask

Answers a strategic question about the current backlog or roadmap. It does not rewrite either.

text

frg backlog ask [OPTIONS] [QUESTION]

No additional options.

bash

frg backlog ask "Which features align with the current release goals?"

Output: .forge/work/backlog/answer.md. For a long question, omit QUESTION and write it to question.md in the same directory.

frg backlog plan

frg backlog plan converts the Markdown roadmap in .forge/work/backlog/roadmap.md into a structured JSON plan that other tooling can consume. It:

Parses the roadmap Markdown and converts it to JSON.
Assigns stable IDs to work items, so IDs do not change between runs.
Resolves dependencies between items.
Assesses complexity and effort.
Validates the generated plan.
Supports --dispatch-format, which writes a flat plan with the fields needed for dispatch integration instead of the default grouped shape.

bash

frg backlog plan
frg backlog plan --dispatch-format

These options are also available:

Option	Described behavior
`--input <PATH>`	Roadmap to read. Default: `.forge/work/backlog/roadmap.md`.
`--output <PATH>`	Plan file to write. Default: `.forge/work/backlog/plan.json`.
`--force`	Overwrites an existing output file.
`--validate`	Validates an existing plan file without regenerating it.
`--no-validate`	Skips post-generation validation.
`--summary`	Prints a summary of an existing plan; add `--graph` for an ASCII dependency graph.