work-queue

name	work-queue
description	Activate when user has a large task to break into smaller work items. Activate when user asks about work queue status or what remains to do. Activate when managing sequential or parallel execution. Creates and manages .agent/queue/ for cross-platform work tracking.

Work Queue Skill

Manage work items in .agent/queue/ for cross-platform agent compatibility.

When to Invoke (Automatic)

Trigger	Action
Large task detected	Break down into work items
Work item completed	Check for next item
User asks "what's left?"	List remaining items
Multiple tasks identified	Queue for sequential/parallel execution

Directory Structure

.agent/
└── queue/
    ├── 001-pending-implement-auth.md
    ├── 002-pending-write-tests.md
    └── 003-completed-setup-db.md

Setup (Automatic)

On first use, the skill ensures:

1. Create directory: mkdir -p .agent/queue
2. Add to .gitignore (if not present):

   # Agent work queue (local, not committed)
   .agent/
   

Work Item Format

Each work item is a simple markdown file:

# [Title]

**Status**: pending | in_progress | completed | blocked
**Priority**: high | medium | low
**Assignee**: @Developer | @Reviewer | etc.

## Description
What needs to be done.

## Success Criteria
- [ ] Criterion 1
- [ ] Criterion 2

## Notes
Any relevant context.

File Naming Convention

NNN-STATUS-short-description.md

Examples:

• 001-pending-implement-auth.md
• 002-in_progress-write-tests.md
• 003-completed-setup-database.md

Operations

Add Work Item

# Create new work item
echo "# Implement authentication" > .agent/queue/001-pending-implement-auth.md

Update Status

# Rename to reflect status change
mv .agent/queue/001-pending-implement-auth.md .agent/queue/001-in_progress-implement-auth.md

List Pending Work

ls .agent/queue/*-pending-*.md 2>/dev/null

List All Work

ls -la .agent/queue/

Complete Work Item

mv .agent/queue/001-in_progress-implement-auth.md .agent/queue/001-completed-implement-auth.md

Platform Behavior

Platform	Primary Tracking	.agent/queue/
Claude Code	TodoWrite (display)	Persistence
Gemini CLI	File-based	Primary
Codex CLI	File-based	Primary
Others	File-based	Primary

Workflow Integration

1. PM breaks down story → Creates work items in queue
2. Agent picks next item → Updates status to in_progress
3. Work completes → Updates status to completed
4. Autonomy skill checks → Continues to next pending item

Queue Commands

Check queue status:

What work is in the queue?
Show pending work items

Add to queue:

Add "implement login" to work queue
Queue these tasks: auth, tests, deploy

Process queue:

Work through the queue
Execute next work item

Integration

Works with:

• autonomy skill - Automatic continuation through queue
• process skill - Quality gates between items
• pm skill - Story breakdown into queue items