atomizer

name	atomizer
description	Turn a rambling task dump into the single next concrete action and write it to the herdmates focus file (~/.local/share/herdmates/focus.md). Use when the user brain-dumps a task, a scattered list of TODOs, or half-formed context and wants one clear next step captured for the herdmates focus pane — not a full plan, not a TODO list.

Atomizer

Modeled on the human-harness ADHD pattern (dhasson04/human-harness) — copied, not depended on (same rule as ADR-0005: port the pattern by hand, don't add it as a dependency). A task dump usually contains many possible next steps; this skill's job is finding the one that is truly next and concrete enough to start on immediately, not producing a plan or a TODO list.

What "atomize" means here

• Read the user's dump (a message, a pasted note, a stream of half-formed thoughts — whatever they gave you).
• Pick the single smallest next physical, concrete step that moves the task forward right now. Not "figure out the approach," not "look into X" — an actual verb + object someone could start doing in the next five minutes.
• State it as one sentence, imperative mood, no hedging, no "maybe" or "consider."
• If the dump also names the broader task (not just the next step), capture that too — it becomes ## Task, distinct from the one ## Next Action.

Writing it to the focus file

Never hand-edit ~/.local/share/herdmates/focus.md for this — the focus file's ## Decisions section is owned by other writers (the focus pane, a human), and hand-editing risks clobbering it. Use the script; it preserves the existing ## Task and ## Decisions sections untouched and only replaces ## Next Action:

${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT:-.}/skills/atomizer/atomize.sh "<the one next action, one sentence>"

Pass a second argument to also update ## Task:

${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT:-.}/skills/atomizer/atomize.sh "<next action>" "<broader task>"

The script is self-contained POSIX sh (no dependency on the herdmates Rust crate or binary, and no other tool dependency) — it reads the existing file (if any), keeps ## Task (unless overridden) and ## Decisions verbatim, and writes the canonical three-section format that src/focusfile.rs parses (see docs/focus-file.md).

After writing, tell the user in one line what got extracted (the next action, and the task if you set one) so they can correct it before opening the focus pane — this skill makes a call, it doesn't ask first, because re-atomizing is a one-command retry.