before

name	before
description	Insert before a queued task.
user-invocable	true
allowed-tools	[]

before

/before <target> <instructions> inserts <instructions> into the queue immediately before <target> — an existing queued task — instead of at a fixed position. It is the positional member of the queue family:

• /first — head of queue; may pause in-progress work to run now.
• /next — immediately after the current (in-progress) task.
• /before <target> — immediately before the referenced queued task.
• /also — tail of queue.
• /last — sticky tail; stays last even as new /also tasks arrive.

Resolving <target>

The word(s) right after /before name the task to insert ahead of:

• that — the most recently added/queued task (the common case: /before that <instructions>).
• A short description — match it against the queued tasks ("/before the render", "/before the spellcheck"). Pick the best match; if two are equally plausible, ask which.
• If no target resolves (nothing queued, or no match), treat it like /next — do it right after the current task — and say so.

How to handle it

1. Locate the target task in your working queue (the todo list).
2. Insert the new task immediately before it, pushing the target and everything after it back one slot. Do not preempt the in-progress task (that is /first).
3. Finish the current task, then work the queue in the new order — the inserted task now runs just before its target.
4. Report the placement — note that you slotted it in before <target>.

Edge cases

• Target is the in-progress task. "Before" something already running means interrupting it — that is /first, not /before. Point the user there, or treat it as /first if they clearly mean "do this now."
• Multiple /before that in a row. Each that refers to the most recently added task at the moment it is issued, so they chain naturally in front of it.
• Target already done. If the referenced task has completed, there is nothing to go before — fall back to /next and say so.

What this is not

• Not head-of-queue (/first) or tail (/also / /last) — it is relative positioning before a named task.
• Not an interrupt — the current in-progress task still finishes first.