feat: add continuity engine, manuscript import, and PR automation templates

- New src/continuity.js: deterministic continuity checks wired into a new
  'story continuity' command and folded into doctor, report, and next.
  Catches dead characters appearing after their died-in chapter, payoffs
  before plants, questions resolved before introduced, unfired Chekhov
  promises, POV/cast mismatches, chapter numbering gaps, completion-state
  contradictions, and broken continuity/state.md references.
- New schema fields: optional character died-in, and chapter/scene mentions
  for posthumous or flashback references that should stay legal.
- New src/import.js: 'story import' splits an existing manuscript (file or
  directory) into a new project with accurate word counts and registries,
  and prints recurring proper-name candidates for bible building.
- New examples/the-unraveled-thread: deliberately broken project whose
  exact findings are asserted by check-examples.js, doubling as the README
  demo and a regression test. Harbor example enriched with populated
  continuity state, a planted promise, and an open question.
- New templates/github: story-checks.yml CI for story repos and
  draft-next-chapter.yml for writing a book via scheduled chapter PRs.
- CLI failure summaries now use a failure message instead of repeating the
  success message. Docs, skills, JSON schema updated; version 0.3.0.

https://claude.ai/code/session_01XVwAnE2xRMVd7CZR4MrSU1

Author: claude

.claude-plugin/plugin.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "story-skills",
-  "version": "0.2.1",
+  "version": "0.3.0",
   "description": "A suite of cross-referenced skills and CLI maintenance tools for end-to-end story writing powered by markdown. Covers story initialization, character management, worldbuilding, plot structure, chapter writing, revision, validation, reporting, indexing, word counts, and manuscript export.",
   "author": {
     "name": "Daniel Dewhurst"

.codex-plugin/plugin.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "story-skills",
-  "version": "0.2.1",
+  "version": "0.3.0",
   "description": "A suite of cross-referenced skills and CLI maintenance tools for end-to-end story writing powered by markdown. Covers story initialization, character management, worldbuilding, plot structure, chapter writing, revision, validation, reporting, indexing, word counts, and manuscript export.",
   "author": {
     "name": "Daniel Dewhurst",

README.md

@@ -6,6 +6,8 @@
 
 Story Skills gives agents a shared project format for fiction: a story bible, character files, worldbuilding notes, factions, artifacts, plot arcs, scene state, continuity questions, promises/payoffs, timelines, and chapter drafts. Everything is plain markdown with YAML frontmatter, packaged as standard Agent Skills with Codex and Claude Code plugin support.
 
+The companion CLI treats the story bible as a checkable contract: a **continuity engine** catches dead characters walking, payoffs that land before their setup, unfired Chekhov guns, and stale story state — deterministically, before a reader ever could.
+
 [![License: MIT](https://img.shields.io/badge/License-MIT-yellow.svg)](LICENSE)
 [![Agent Skills](https://img.shields.io/badge/Agent_Skills-SKILL.md-blue)](https://agentskills.io)
 [![Codex](https://img.shields.io/badge/Codex-plugin-10A37F)](https://developers.openai.com/codex)
@@ -40,6 +42,26 @@ bunx skills add danjdewhurst/story-skills
 
 Then ask **"Start a new story"** to scaffold the project.
 
+## 🔎 The Continuity Engine
+
+Long-range consistency is the thing language models are worst at and prompts cannot fix. Story Skills makes it deterministic: character deaths, promises/payoffs, open questions, scene casts, and durable knowledge/object state live in frontmatter, and `story continuity` treats contradictions like a compiler treats type errors.
+
+[`examples/the-unraveled-thread/`](examples/the-unraveled-thread/) is a deliberately broken mystery. It passes `story validate` and `story links` cleanly — every file is well-formed — but the story itself doesn't hold together:
+
+```text
+$ story continuity examples/the-unraveled-thread
+Continuity check failed: 4 errors, 3 warnings
+error: chapters/chapter-04.md lists edran-vale, who died in chapter-02; move posthumous appearances to mentions
+error: continuity/promises/the-broken-compass.md pays off in chapter-02 before it is planted in chapter-03
+error: continuity/questions/who-burned-the-mill.md resolves in chapter-02 before it is introduced in chapter-03
+error: continuity/state.md knowledge-state[0] references missing chapter chapter-05
+warning: chapters/chapter-03.md POV character nessa-thorn is not listed in characters
+warning: continuity/promises/the-sealed-letter.md was planted in chapter-01, 3 chapters ago, and has no payoff yet
+warning: continuity/state.md object-state[0] status active conflicts with worldbuilding/artifacts/vales-compass.md status destroyed
+```
+
+These findings are exact, file-addressed, and reproducible — CI asserts them on every commit. Intentional flashbacks and posthumous appearances stay legal via the chapter `mentions` field. `story doctor` and `story next` fold the same checks into prioritized repair actions.
+
 ## ✍️ Highly Recommended: Better Writing
 
 For stronger chapter drafts and revision passes, install [forjd/better-writing](https://github.com/forjd/better-writing) alongside Story Skills. It adds voice calibration, anti-generic writing checks, and a final prose-quality pass.
@@ -225,7 +247,7 @@ For non-agent use:
 | **plot-structure** | Plans arcs with structures like three-act, hero's journey, Save the Cat, and kishotenketsu | *"Create a plot arc"* |
 | **chapter-writing** | Drafts chapters through an outline-first workflow that pulls from story context | *"Write the next chapter"* |
 | **revision-continuity** | Revises drafts, audits continuity, and keeps character state, timeline, and arc changes consistent | *"Continuity-check chapter 3"* |
-| **story-maintenance** | Runs deterministic CLI checks for validation, reports, indexing, links, word counts, and export | *"Validate my story project"* |
+| **story-maintenance** | Runs deterministic CLI checks for validation, continuity, reports, indexing, links, word counts, import, and export | *"Validate my story project"* |
 
 For stronger prose, pair **chapter-writing** with [**better-writing**](https://github.com/forjd/better-writing).
 
@@ -253,6 +275,8 @@ The CLI is for deterministic maintenance only. Agents should write story content
 | `story reindex [path]` | Rebuild registry tables from the current markdown files |
 | `story wordcount [path] --write` | Count chapter prose and update chapter frontmatter plus the chapter registry |
 | `story links [path]` | Check character, location, chapter, and arc cross-references/backlinks |
+| `story continuity [path]` | Check deterministic continuity contracts: deaths, promises/payoffs, questions, casts, and durable state |
+| `story import draft.md --title "The Lost Coast"` | Split an existing manuscript into a new story project and suggest entity candidates |
 | `story report [path] --actionable` | Summarize inventory and optionally include next actions |
 | `story next [path]` | Recommend the next deterministic writing or maintenance actions |
 | `story doctor [path]` | Show health checks with actionable repair steps |
@@ -278,6 +302,25 @@ bun run check:fallback
 node skills/story-maintenance/scripts/story.js --help
 ```
 
+## 🤖 Write A Book Via Pull Requests
+
+A story project with deterministic checks is a story project an agent can advance unattended. The [`templates/github/`](templates/github/) workflows turn a story repository into a self-drafting book:
+
+- [`story-checks.yml`](templates/github/story-checks.yml) runs `story validate`, `story links`, and `story continuity` on every push and pull request, so a chapter PR cannot merge with a continuity contradiction.
+- [`draft-next-chapter.yml`](templates/github/draft-next-chapter.yml) runs [Claude Code](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code-action) on a schedule: it asks `story next` for the next deterministic action, drafts the next chapter with the chapter-writing skill, updates scene records and continuity state, runs the maintenance checks, and opens a pull request for review.
+
+Copy both files into `.github/workflows/` in the repository that holds your story project, add an `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY` secret, and review one chapter PR per morning.
+
+## 📥 Import An Existing Manuscript
+
+Most writers don't start from a blank page. `story import` reverse-engineers a Story Skills project from work in progress:
+
+```shell
+story import draft.md --title "The Lost Coast" --genre mystery
+```
+
+It splits the manuscript on chapter headings (or imports a directory of chapter files), creates the full project layout with accurate word counts and registries, and prints recurring proper-name candidates so an agent can follow up with `story add character` and `story add location` to build out the bible.
+
 ## 📁 Project Structure
 
 Running **story-init** creates this layout:
@@ -328,7 +371,8 @@ Every story element is a markdown file with YAML frontmatter. The skills cross-r
 
 - Read [**The Cormorant Tide**](https://github.com/danjdewhurst/the-cormorant-tide), a full story project generated with Story Skills.
 - Explore [`examples/the-last-ember/`](examples/the-last-ember/) for a complete fantasy example: three characters, two locations, a magic system, a plot arc with foreshadowing, and a drafted first chapter.
-- Explore [`examples/harbor-of-second-light/`](examples/harbor-of-second-light/) for a near-future coastal mystery example with memory technology, a posthumous witness arc, and a drafted first chapter.
+- Explore [`examples/harbor-of-second-light/`](examples/harbor-of-second-light/) for a near-future coastal mystery example with memory technology, a posthumous witness arc, populated continuity state, and a drafted first chapter.
+- Explore [`examples/the-unraveled-thread/`](examples/the-unraveled-thread/) for a deliberately broken project that demonstrates every class of finding the continuity engine reports.
 
 ## 🚢 Releasing
 

docs/first-20-minutes.md

@@ -63,11 +63,12 @@ story wordcount . --write
 story reindex .
 story links .
 story validate .
+story continuity .
 story next .
 story doctor .
 ```
 
-Use `story next .` before a drafting session. Use `story doctor .` when something feels inconsistent or stale.
+Use `story next .` before a drafting session. Use `story doctor .` when something feels inconsistent or stale. Use `story continuity .` after every chapter to catch contradictions - dead characters reappearing, payoffs landing before their setup, stale story state - before a reader does.
 
 ## 6. Build The Manuscript
 

docs/schema-v2.md

@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ glossary/terms/
 - Registries are deterministic and rebuilt with `story reindex .`.
 - Chapter prose word counts are recalculated with `story wordcount . --write`.
 - Cross-reference integrity is checked with `story links .`.
+- Continuity contracts (deaths, promises/payoffs, questions, casts, durable state) are checked with `story continuity .`.
 
 ## Entity Frontmatter
 
@@ -46,6 +47,8 @@ Required: `name`, `role`, `status`.
 
 Optional lists: `aliases`, `relationships`, `locations`, `tags`.
 
+Optional scalar: `died-in`, the chapter id in which the character dies on the page. Set it together with `status: deceased`; `story continuity` then errors on appearances in later chapters. Characters who died before chapter 1 should use `status: deceased` without `died-in`.
+
 ### Worldbuilding
 
 Locations require `name` and `type`. Systems require `name` and `type`.
@@ -60,14 +63,22 @@ Arcs require `name`, `type`, and `status`; they may list `characters`, `themes`,
 
 ### Chapters And Scenes
 
-Chapters require `title`, `number`, and `status`; optional reference lists are `locations`, `characters`, and `arcs-advanced`.
+Chapters require `title`, `number`, and `status`; optional reference lists are `locations`, `characters`, `mentions`, and `arcs-advanced`.
+
+Scenes require `title`, `chapter`, `scene`, and `status`. Scenes carry machine-readable continuity fields: `pov`, `location`, `characters`, `mentions`, `arcs-advanced`, and `state-changes`.
 
-Scenes require `title`, `chapter`, `scene`, and `status`. Scenes carry machine-readable continuity fields: `pov`, `location`, `characters`, `arcs-advanced`, and `state-changes`.
+`characters` means present in-scene. `mentions` means referenced, remembered, recorded, or seen in flashback; deceased characters may appear there without triggering continuity errors.
 
 ### Continuity
 
 `continuity/state.md` stores `current-chapter`, `character-state`, `object-state`, and `knowledge-state`.
 
+State entries are lists of mappings checked by `story continuity`:
+
+- `character-state` entries reference an existing `character` and optionally a `location`, plus free-form `physical`, `emotional`, and `knowledge` notes.
+- `object-state` entries reference an existing `artifact`, an optional `owner` (character or faction), an optional `location`, and a `status` that must agree with the artifact file.
+- `knowledge-state` entries reference an existing `character`, a non-empty `knows` fact, and an optional `learned-in` chapter id.
+
 Questions require `title` and `status`; optional chapter references are `introduced` and `resolved`.
 
 Promises require `title` and `status`; optional chapter references are `planted` and `payoff`.

examples/harbor-of-second-light/chapters/chapter-01.md

@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ locations:
   - port-kestrel
 characters:
   - mara-quill
+mentions:
   - theo-quill
 arcs-advanced:
   - the-drowned-witness

examples/harbor-of-second-light/continuity/promises/_index.md

@@ -9,4 +9,4 @@ story: harbor-of-second-light
 
 | Promise | Status | Planted | File |
 |---------|--------|---------|------|
-| *No promises yet* | | | |
+| The Bell Failsafe | planted | chapter-01 | [the-bell-failsafe](the-bell-failsafe.md) |

examples/harbor-of-second-light/continuity/promises/the-bell-failsafe.md

@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+---
+title: The Bell Failsafe
+status: planted
+planted: chapter-01
+payoff: ""
+arcs:
+  - the-drowned-witness
+characters:
+  - mara-quill
+  - theo-quill
+---
+
+# The Bell Failsafe
+
+## Setup
+
+The bell under Bellwether Reef rang on its own when the storm cracked the sealed chamber. Theo built it as a failsafe: if the bell rings, the archive is live again.
+
+## Payoff
+
+A later chapter must reveal what the failsafe was meant to summon - and who else heard the bell.
+
+## Tracking Notes
+
+Keep planted and payoff chapters current.

examples/harbor-of-second-light/continuity/questions/_index.md

@@ -9,4 +9,4 @@ story: harbor-of-second-light
 
 | Question | Status | Introduced | File |
 |----------|--------|------------|------|
-| *No questions yet* | | | |
+| What Happened On Blackout Night | open | chapter-01 | [what-happened-on-blackout-night](what-happened-on-blackout-night.md) |

examples/harbor-of-second-light/continuity/questions/what-happened-on-blackout-night.md

@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+---
+title: What Happened On Blackout Night
+status: open
+introduced: chapter-01
+resolved: ""
+characters:
+  - mara-quill
+  - theo-quill
+  - ilya-venn
+---
+
+# What Happened On Blackout Night
+
+## Question
+
+Theo's recording says the Afterimage Archive was active during the Blackout Night. Twelve residents died and Theo took the blame. What was the archive doing, and on whose orders?
+
+## Evidence
+
+- The sealed chamber under Bellwether Reef carries Harbor Authority plating.
+- Theo's recording was hidden before his death and addressed to Mara.
+- Councillor Venn controls the archive-keeper appointments.
+
+## Resolution Plan
+
+Resolve once Mara confronts Venn with the lantern's contents.