| name | para-status |
| description | Display the current state of PARA context and workflow progress. Detects no-context, idle, planning, executing, and summarized states with next-step guidance. |
| model | haiku |
| effort | low |
Display the current state of PARA context and workflow progress.
Usage
para-status
para-status --verbose # Include file contents preview
para-status --files # List all context files
What It Does
- Reads and parses
context/context.md
- Displays current work summary, active plans, and completed summaries
- Shows worktree status: path, branch, and existence
- Detects stale and orphaned worktrees
- Detects workflow state and suggests the next step
See ../para-init/references/context-schema.md for field meanings.
If ../para-init/references/context-schema.md is not available in this install, the minimal fields needed are: active_context, completed_summaries, research_docs, worktree_path, phased_execution, and last_updated.
Output Format
PARA Status
Current Work:
Implementing user authentication system
Active Plans:
context/plans/2025-11-24-user-auth.md
Worktree:
Path: .para-worktrees/user-auth
Branch: para/user-auth
Status: active
Completed Summaries:
context/summaries/2025-11-23-api-setup-summary.md
Last Updated: 2025-11-24T14:30:00Z
Next Action:
Continue executing the plan, or use the `para-summarize` skill when complete
State Detection
| State | Detection | Next step |
|---|
| No context | context/context.md does not exist | Use the para-init skill |
| Idle | Context exists, no active plans, no active worktree | Use the para-plan skill with <task> or use the para-check skill |
| Planning | active_context contains plan or research docs, no worktree path | Review plan, then use the para-review skill with --plan or use the para-execute skill |
| Executing | worktree_path is set and worktree exists | Continue todos, then use the para-review skill with --pr and the para-summarize skill |
| Summarized | Completed summary exists and no active work remains | Use the para-archive skill |
Worktree Health Checks
- Active:
worktree_path in metadata, directory exists, branch is valid
- Stale reference:
worktree_path in metadata but directory does not exist -- warn: "Worktree referenced in context.md but directory missing. Use the para-execute skill to recreate it or update context.md."
- Orphaned worktree: Directory exists in
.para-worktrees/ but is not referenced in context/context.md -- warn: "Orphaned worktree found at .para-worktrees/{name}. Run git worktree remove to clean up or update context.md."
- No worktree: No
worktree_path in metadata -- normal for No context, Idle, Planning, or legacy --no-worktree execution
Implementation
- Check if
context/context.md exists
- Parse JSON metadata from the fenced block
- Read the human-readable summary section
- Check worktree state against metadata
- Check git status for uncommitted changes
- Determine state and print next-step guidance
