sase-changespecs

name	sase_changespecs
description	Analyze and work with SASE ChangeSpecs. Use when inspecting PR status, dependencies, commits, hooks, comments, mentors, or `.sase` project files.

Before doing anything else, run this command to record that you are using this skill:

sase skill use sase_changespecs --reason "<one-line reason for using this skill>"

Quick reference for inspecting and reasoning about SASE ChangeSpecs.

Current ChangeSpec

When the task concerns the current PR or checkout, start with:

sase changespec current -f markdown

This resolves by current PR URL first, then by branch/bookmark name, and prints the matching ChangeSpec with its project, status, parent, PR, and file location. Use -f json when a script or automation step needs structured fields.

Primary command

sase changespec search '<query>' -f markdown

This prints agent-friendly markdown with each ChangeSpec's name, project, status, parent, PR, and the file/line where it lives.

Exact lookup

sase changespec search '&<changespec_name>' -f markdown

&name (alias name:name) is an exact-name match — prefer it over substring search when you know the name.

When you need raw detail

sase changespec search '&<changespec_name>' -f plain

-f plain exposes file paths, line numbers, drawer entries (COMMITS, HOOKS, COMMENTS, MENTORS), and full descriptions. Use it when markdown is too summarized.

Query shortcuts

• &name / name:name — exact ChangeSpec lookup.
• +project / project:project — filter by project.
• ^parent / ancestor:parent — filter by parent chain (returns descendants of parent).
• ~name / sibling:name — sibling / reverted-family filtering.
• %w, %d, %y, %m, %s, %r — status filters (WIP, Draft, Ready, Mailed, Submitted, Reverted).
• !!!, @@@, $$$, * — error suffixes, running agents, running processes, any of those.
• !!, !@, !$ — negations of !!!, @@@, $$$ (no errors / no running agents / no running processes).

Boolean queries work too: '"feature" AND %r', '+myproject AND (!!! OR @@@)'.

How to summarize

• Lead with name, project, status, parent, PR, and the file location when available.
• Call out blockers explicitly: non-terminal parent, failed hooks, unresolved comments, running agents/processes, rejected or new proposals.
• For multi-result queries, group by project and status, and surface the most relevant ChangeSpecs first.
• If the result set is empty, say so plainly — do not fabricate ChangeSpecs.

Common workflows

What is blocking this ChangeSpec?

sase changespec search '&<name>' -f plain

Inspect for: a non-terminal PARENT, error suffixes (- (!: ...)) under HOOKS / COMMENTS / MENTORS, running agents (@@@), or running processes ($$$). To scan the whole subtree for any blocking state:

sase changespec search '^<name> AND *' -f markdown

What changed in the latest commit/proposal?

sase changespec search '&<name>' -f plain

The COMMITS drawer lists every commit/proposal with its CHAT and DIFF paths; the highest-numbered entry is the most recent.

Find children/descendants of a ChangeSpec

sase changespec search '^<name>' -f markdown

^name returns every ChangeSpec whose parent chain contains <name>. There is no inverse children: operator — descendants are reached via this ancestor query.

Is it ready to mail / submit?

A spec is ready when STATUS is Ready (or Mailed for submit) with no errors and no running agents/processes. Confirm against one spec, or scan a subtree:

sase changespec search '&<name>' -f markdown
sase changespec search '^<name> AND %y AND !! AND !@ AND !$' -f markdown

Inspect failed hooks, review comments, and mentor state

sase changespec search '&<name>' -f plain

• HOOKS lines ending in - (!: ...) are failed hook attempts.
• COMMENTS lines ending in - (!: ...) are unresolved review comments.
• MENTORS lines ending in - (!: ...) flag mentor errors.

For mentor-profile diagnostics (which profile matched, why, and any errors):

sase config mentor-match <name>

Lifecycle

WIP -> Draft -> Ready -> Mailed -> Submitted. Submitted, Archived, and Reverted are terminal — terminal specs live in <project>-archive.sase; active specs live in <project>.sase under ~/.sase/projects/<project>/. Legacy .gp files from earlier releases remain readable until migrated via sase changespec migrate-extension.

Safe modification rules

• Do not manually edit COMMITS or TIMESTAMPS drawers — they are managed by sase commit and lifecycle operations.
• Do not set PARENT to a VCS ref like origin/main, origin/master, or p4head. PARENT must be another ChangeSpec name, or omitted.
• Prefer sase commit, sase revert <name>, and sase restore <name> over direct .sase surgery for tracked workflow changes.
• If you must edit a .sase file directly, preserve two blank lines between ChangeSpecs and 2-space indentation for multiline fields.

Other useful forms

• sase ace — interactive ChangeSpec browser (terminal use, not for machine consumption).
• sase commit — make commits / proposals / PRs and update COMMITS automatically.
• sase revert <name> / sase restore <name> — lifecycle-level destructive / recovery operations.
• sase config mentor-match <name> — diagnose mentor-profile matching for a ChangeSpec.

Implementation notes

ChangeSpec sections: NAME, DESCRIPTION, PARENT, PR, BUG, STATUS, COMMITS, TIMESTAMPS, HOOKS, COMMENTS, MENTORS. Legacy CL: fields are readable during the compatibility window. Search reads both <project>.sase and <project>-archive.sase (and their legacy .gp siblings during the migration window), so submitted and archived specs are reachable via the same queries.