tasks

name	tasks
description	View and manage the task stack and processing queue. Shows pending work, active tasks, completed items, and queue state. Triggers on "/tasks", "show tasks", "what's pending", "task list", "queue status".
version	1.0
generated_from	arscontexta-v1.6
user-invocable	true
context	fork
model	sonnet
allowed-tools	Read, Write, Edit, Grep, Glob, Bash
argument-hint	[add|done|drop|reorder|status] [description|number] — manage task stack and view queue

Runtime Configuration (Step 0 — before any processing)

Read these files to configure domain-specific behavior:

1. ops/derivation-manifest.md — vocabulary mapping

   • Use vocabulary.notes for the notes folder name
   • Use vocabulary.note / vocabulary.note_plural for note type references
   • Use vocabulary.topic_map for MOC references
   • Use vocabulary.cmd_reflect / vocabulary.cmd_reweave / vocabulary.cmd_verify for phase command names

2. ops/config.yaml — pipeline chaining mode, automation settings

If no derivation file exists, use universal terms.

---

EXECUTE NOW

Target: $ARGUMENTS

Parse the operation:

• No arguments or status: show task stack + queue state (combined view)
• add [description]: add a task to the stack
• done [task-number]: mark a task as completed
• drop [task-number]: remove a task without completing
• reorder [number] [position]: move a task to a different position in the stack
• discoveries: show only the Discoveries section

START NOW. Execute the requested operation.

---

Philosophy

Two systems, one view.

The task stack (ops/tasks.md) and the pipeline queue (ops/queue/queue.yaml or ops/queue/queue.json) serve different purposes:

System	Purpose	Managed By	Updated By
Task stack	Human priorities — what YOU want to work on	You (via /tasks)	Manual: /tasks add, /tasks done
Pipeline queue	Automated processing state — what the SYSTEM needs to process	Pipeline skills	Automatic: /reduce, /ralph, /reflect

/tasks shows BOTH so you always have a unified view of all pending work. The task stack is your working memory. The pipeline queue is the system's working memory. Together they answer: "What should I do next?"

---

Operations

/tasks (or /tasks status)

Show both the human task stack and the automated queue.

Step 1: Read task stack

# Read ops/tasks.md
cat ops/tasks.md 2>/dev/null

Parse the task stack into sections:

• Current (or Active): items marked - [ ]
• Completed: items marked - [x]
• Discoveries: items noted during work (plain text, no checkbox)

If ops/tasks.md does not exist, note: "No task stack found. Run /tasks add [description] to create one."

Step 2: Read queue state

# Check for queue file (YAML or JSON)
if [[ -f "ops/queue/queue.yaml" ]]; then
  QUEUE_FILE="ops/queue/queue.yaml"
  PENDING_TASKS=$(grep -c 'status: pending' "$QUEUE_FILE" 2>/dev/null || echo 0)
  DONE_TASKS=$(grep -c 'status: done' "$QUEUE_FILE" 2>/dev/null || echo 0)
elif [[ -f "ops/queue/queue.json" ]]; then
  QUEUE_FILE="ops/queue/queue.json"
  PENDING_TASKS=$(grep -c '"status": "pending"' "$QUEUE_FILE" 2>/dev/null || echo 0)
  DONE_TASKS=$(grep -c '"status": "done"' "$QUEUE_FILE" 2>/dev/null || echo 0)
else
  QUEUE_FILE=""
  PENDING_TASKS=0
  DONE_TASKS=0
fi

If a queue file exists, extract pending task details:

• Task ID
• Current phase
• Target (note title)
• Batch name

Step 3: Check for archivable batches

A batch is archivable when ALL its tasks have status: done:

# For each unique batch in the queue, check if all tasks are done
if [[ -n "$QUEUE_FILE" ]]; then
  # Extract unique batch names
  # Check each batch: are all tasks done?
  # Report archivable batches
fi

Step 4: Present combined view

--=={ tasks }==--

  Task Stack (ops/tasks.md)
  =========================
  Current:
    1. [ ] {task description}
    2. [ ] {task description}
    3. [ ] {task description}

  Completed:
    - [x] {task description} (2026-02-10)
    - [x] {task description} (2026-02-08)

  Discoveries:
    - {discovery noted during work}

  Pipeline Queue
  ==============
  Pending: {count} tasks
    - {task-id}: {current_phase} — {target title} (batch: {batch})
    - {task-id}: {current_phase} — {target title} (batch: {batch})
    ...

  Done: {count} tasks
  Archivable batches: {list of batch names where all tasks are done}

  Summary: {total current} tasks on stack, {queue pending} in pipeline

Interpretation notes:

Condition	Note
Task stack empty	"No tasks on stack. Use /tasks add [description] to add one, or /next for suggestions."
Pipeline has pending tasks	"Pipeline has {N} pending tasks. Run /ralph to process them."
Archivable batches exist	"Batch '{name}' is ready to archive. Run /archive-batch {name}."
Both empty	"All clear. Use /next to find what to work on."

/tasks add [description]

Add a new task to the task stack.

Step 1: Read current ops/tasks.md

If the file does not exist, create it with the standard structure:

# Task Stack

## Current

## Completed

## Discoveries

Step 2: Add to Current section

Append the new task as a checkbox item at the END of the Current section:

- [ ] {description}

Step 3: Write updated file

Use Edit tool to insert the new item at the end of the Current section, preserving existing content.

Step 4: Report

Added to task stack: {description}
Position: #{N} of {total}

Stack now has {total} current tasks.

/tasks done [number]

Mark a task as completed.

Step 1: Read current ops/tasks.md

Parse the Current section to find the Nth task.

Step 2: Validate

If the number is out of range (< 1 or > number of current tasks):

Error: Task #{number} does not exist. Current tasks: 1-{max}.

Step 3: Move to Completed

1. Remove the item from Current section
2. Add to Completed section with today's date:

   - [x] {description} ({YYYY-MM-DD})
   

3. Renumber remaining Current items (if display uses numbers)

Step 4: Write updated file

Step 5: Report

Completed: {description}

Remaining: {N} current tasks.

Integration with /next: If the completed task was the top-priority item, suggest: "Top task completed. Run /next for the next recommendation."

/tasks drop [number]

Remove a task without completing it.

Step 1: Read current ops/tasks.md

Parse the Current section to find the Nth task.

Step 2: Validate

Same range check as /tasks done.

Step 3: Remove from Current

Remove the item entirely. Do NOT move to Completed.

Step 4: Write updated file

Step 5: Report

Dropped: {description}

Remaining: {N} current tasks.

/tasks reorder [number] [position]

Move a task to a different position in the stack.

Step 1: Read current ops/tasks.md

Parse all Current items.

Step 2: Validate

Both [number] (source) and [position] (destination) must be within range.

Step 3: Reorder

1. Remove the task from position [number]
2. Insert at position [position]
3. Renumber remaining items

Step 4: Write updated file

Step 5: Report

Moved: {description}
  From position #{number} to #{position}

Current stack:
  1. [ ] {task 1}
  2. [ ] {task 2}
  ...

/tasks discoveries

Show only the Discoveries section from ops/tasks.md.

  Discoveries (process later):
    - {discovery 1}
    - {discovery 2}
    ...

  [If empty: "No discoveries captured. Discoveries are noted during work
   for processing in a future session."]

Discoveries are captured during pipeline work (e.g., /reduce notes a connection opportunity, /reflect notices a split candidate). They accumulate here until the user decides to convert them to tasks or discard them.

---

Queue Integration

The task stack (ops/tasks.md) and pipeline queue coexist but serve different audiences:

Aspect	Task Stack	Pipeline Queue
File	ops/tasks.md	ops/queue/queue.yaml (or .json)
Format	Markdown checklist	YAML/JSON with phase tracking
Managed by	User via /tasks	Pipeline skills automatically
Read by	/next (priority #1)	/ralph (phase routing)
Purpose	Human priorities	Automated processing state

/next reads the task stack first. If the stack has items, /next recommends from the stack (user-set priorities override automated recommendations). If the stack is empty, /next evaluates queue state and vault health to suggest actions.

Skills that generate pipeline work update BOTH:

• /reduce adds tasks to the queue AND notes discoveries in tasks.md
• /seed adds extract tasks to the queue
• /architect may add implementation tasks to the task stack

---

Task Stack Format Specification

The task stack is a simple markdown checklist, always present from day one. Format:

# Task Stack

## Current
- [ ] First priority task
- [ ] Second priority task
- [ ] Third priority task

## Completed
- [x] Something finished (2026-02-10)
- [x] Earlier task (2026-02-08)

## Discoveries
- Interesting connection between [[note A]] and [[note B]] found during /reduce
- MOC [[topic]] might need splitting (40+ notes observed during /reflect)

Current is ordered by priority. Position 1 is highest priority. /tasks reorder adjusts position.

Completed is ordered by completion date (most recent first). Provides history of what was accomplished.

Discoveries is unordered. Items accumulate during pipeline work. The user converts them to Current tasks or discards them.

---

Edge Cases

No ops/tasks.md

Create it with empty sections on first /tasks add. For /tasks status, report: "No task stack found. Use /tasks add [description] to create one."

No Queue File

Skip the Pipeline Queue section entirely in the status display. Do not show an error.

Task Number Out of Range

Report the error with the valid range: "Task #{N} does not exist. Current tasks: 1-{max}."

Empty Task Stack (Current section empty)

  Task Stack (ops/tasks.md)
  =========================
  Current:
    (empty)

  Use `/tasks add [description]` to add a task,
  or `/next` for automated suggestions.

No ops/derivation-manifest.md

Use universal vocabulary. All operations work identically.

Concurrent Modification

If multiple agents modify ops/tasks.md simultaneously, last write wins. The file is small enough that conflicts are unlikely, but if detected, report: "Task stack may have been modified by another session. Please review."

Discovery Promotion

When a user wants to convert a discovery to a task:

1. Show the discovery
2. Ask for confirmation and priority position
3. Add to Current section
4. Remove from Discoveries section

This is a manual workflow — discoveries do not auto-promote.