| name | backlog |
| description | Manage the backlog — plan, track, navigate phases and streams. Use when planning phases, viewing roadmaps, or restructuring work. |
| effort | medium |
| model | sonnet |
| keywords | ["tasks","planning","roadmap","milestones","phases","tracking","priority"] |
| task_strategies | ["feature","refactor"] |
| stream_affinity | ["roadmap","tech-debt"] |
| argument-hint | [status|add|start|done|next|roadmap|plan|triage|tags|context|theme|sync] [args] |
| group | brana |
| allowed-tools | ["Read","Write","Edit","Glob","Grep","Bash","AskUserQuestion","Task","mcp__ruflo__memory_search","mcp__ruflo__claims_claim","mcp__ruflo__claims_release","mcp__ruflo__claims_list","mcp__ruflo__agent_spawn","mcp__ruflo__swarm_init","mcp__ruflo__claims_mark-stealable","mcp__ruflo__coordination_orchestrate","mcp__ruflo__agent_pool","TaskCreate","TaskList","TaskUpdate","ToolSearch"] |
| status | stable |
| growth_stage | evergreen |
Backlog
Manage the project backlog — plan, track, and navigate work across phases,
milestones, and streams. Natural language is the primary interface;
these commands are shortcuts for complex operations.
When to use
When explicitly managing the backlog: planning phases, viewing roadmaps,
restructuring work. Daily task interaction happens through natural
language guided by the task-convention rule — no skill invocation needed.
CLI Integration — MANDATORY
NEVER read or write tasks.json directly.
Prefer MCP tools (brana server) when available — structured JSON, 65% fewer tokens:
Initiative Model (v3)
Tasks have two new optional fields:
| Field | Values | Purpose |
|---|
epic | slug string (e.g. "cc-alignment") | Groups tasks under a named epic |
work_type | implement / research / design / infra / review / chore | Cognitive mode — what kind of work this is. Note: kind: refactor tasks use work_type: implement. |
Active epic is set in ~/.claude/tasks-config.json → active_epic. When set, backlog_focus / brana backlog focus shows ★-marked tasks from that epic first, then P0/P1 overflow from others.
Stream taxonomy (v3 — 3 values):
| Value | Covers |
|---|
dev | code, features, bugs, tech-debt, architecture |
ops | maintenance, docs, config, deploy |
research | spikes, evaluations, knowledge, experiments |
MCP tools (preferred)
| Operation | MCP tool |
|---|
| Get task | backlog_get(task_id: "t-123") |
| Get field | backlog_get(task_id: "t-123", field: "status") |
| Query tasks | backlog_query(status: "pending", stream: "dev") or backlog_query(kind: "fix") |
| Filter by epic | backlog_query(epic: "cc-alignment") |
| Filter by work type | backlog_query(work_type: "implement", status: "pending") |
| Multi-tag AND | backlog_query(tag: "dx,cli") |
| Filter by parent | backlog_query(parent: "ph-001", task_type: "task") |
| Search | backlog_search(query: "enforcement") |
| Aggregate stats | backlog_stats() |
| Set field | backlog_set(task_id: "t-123", field: "status", value: "in_progress") |
| Set epic | backlog_set(task_id: "t-123", field: "epic", value: "cc-alignment") |
| Add/remove tag | backlog_set(task_id: "t-123", field: "tags", value: "+newtag") |
| Append text | backlog_set(task_id: "t-123", field: "context", value: "note", append: true) |
| Create task | backlog_add(subject: "...", kind: "feature", task_type: "task") |
| Create with epic | backlog_add(subject: "...", epic: "cc-alignment", work_type: "implement") |
| Focus (top tasks) | backlog_focus(top: 5) or backlog_focus(work_type: "research") |
CLI fallback (when MCP unavailable)
| Operation | CLI command |
|---|
| Project status | brana backlog status |
| Cross-client status | brana backlog status --all --json |
| Full roadmap tree | brana backlog roadmap --json |
| Subtree of phase | brana backlog tree <id> --json |
| Aggregate stats | brana backlog stats |
| Tag inventory | brana backlog tags --output json |
| Tag filter (AND) | brana backlog tags --filter "a,b" --output json |
| Next unblocked task | brana backlog next --kind feature --tag Y |
| Next by stream | brana backlog next --stream dev |
| Query tasks | brana backlog query --status pending --kind fix --output json |
| Filter by epic | brana backlog query --epic cc-alignment |
| Filter by work type | brana backlog query --work-type implement --status pending |
| Multi-tag AND query | brana backlog query --tag "dx,cli" --count |
| Filter by parent | brana backlog query --parent ph-001 --type task |
| Get full task | brana backlog get <id> |
| Get single field | brana backlog get <id> --field status |
| Focus (active epic) | brana backlog focus |
| Focus by work type | brana backlog focus --work-type research |
| Focus override epic | brana backlog focus --epic cc-alignment |
Write operations
| Operation | CLI command |
|---|
| Set any field | brana backlog set <id> <field> <value> |
| Set epic | brana backlog set <id> epic cc-alignment |
| Set work type | brana backlog set <id> work_type implement |
| Set active epic | brana backlog set-active <slug> (per-repo — writes project-local .claude/tasks-config.json, t-2155) |
| Set to null | brana backlog set <id> priority null |
| Append to text | brana backlog set <id> context --append "note" |
| Add/remove tag | brana backlog set <id> tags +newtag / tags -oldtag |
| Add blocked_by | brana backlog set <id> blocked_by +t-100 |
| Create task (JSON) | brana backlog add --json '{"subject":"...","kind":"feature","type":"task"}' |
| Create task (shorthand) | brana backlog add --subject "..." --kind feature --type task --tags "a,b" --effort S |
| Create with epic | brana backlog add --subject "..." --epic cc-alignment --work-type implement |
| Create in another project | brana backlog add --subject "..." --project <slug> (cross-project via portfolio; default = current project, t-2155) |
| Create initiative | brana backlog add --subject "..." --kind feature --type initiative |
| Create task (from file) | brana backlog add --json @/tmp/task.json |
| Create task (stdin) | echo '{"subject":"..."}' | brana backlog add --json - |
| Rollup parents | brana backlog rollup |
Rules
- Prefer MCP tools (
backlog_query, backlog_get, backlog_set, backlog_add, backlog_search, backlog_stats) when available. Fall back to CLI if MCP server is not running.
- Every "Read tasks.json" instruction below → call MCP tool or CLI command.
- Every "Write tasks.json" instruction below → call
backlog_set/backlog_add (MCP) or brana backlog set/brana backlog add (CLI).
- For batch creates (plan command), call
backlog_add once per task.
- All operations return JSON. MCP returns structured data natively; CLI returns JSON on stdout.
- All writes are atomic — no need to read-modify-write.
- Both MCP and CLI auto-detect tasks.json from git root.
Phase Protocol — how to execute this skill
The subcommand procedures live in per-phase files under phases/ (this skill's base directory). Never execute a subcommand from memory. Three rules:
- On invocation: parse the subcommand from the arguments, then Read its phase file from the PHASES registry below BEFORE doing any of its work. A phase you have not Read this session does not exist — do not improvise its steps.
- When a subcommand chains into another (e.g.
start proposing execute, done after start): Read the new subcommand's phase file at that boundary.
- On resume after compression: identify the active subcommand (CC TaskList
/brana:backlog — {STEP} entries, or the conversation), then Read its phase file before continuing. Previously loaded phase content did NOT survive compression.
| Subcommand(s) | File | Load when |
|---|
| plan | phases/plan.md | /brana:backlog plan invoked |
| status, roadmap, next | phases/views.md | Any view subcommand invoked |
start (+ /brana:do freeform routing) | phases/start.md | /brana:backlog start or /brana:do invoked |
| done, add, replan, archive, migrate | phases/done-and-add.md | Any of these subcommands invoked |
| tags, context, theme | phases/tags-context-theme.md | Any of these subcommands invoked |
| execute | phases/execute.md | /brana:backlog execute invoked |
| triage, sync | phases/triage-sync.md | Either subcommand invoked |
| Display themes + task-line/wide templates | phases/display-themes.md | Before rendering any themed view (status, roadmap, next, tags) |
In the deployed-plugin layout the same relative paths apply: {base-dir}/phases/{file}. If a path doesn't resolve, use Glob: **/skills/backlog/phases/{file}.
Commands
/brana:backlog plan [project] "[phase-title]" — plan a phase interactively/brana:backlog status [project] [--all] [--unified] [--wide] — progress overview (--all = cross-client task drill-down, --unified = priority-sorted flat list)/brana:backlog roadmap [project] [--wide] — full tree view with all levels/brana:backlog next [project] [--stream X] [--wide] — next unblocked task by priority/brana:backlog start <id> — begin work on a task/brana:backlog done [id] — complete current task/brana:backlog add "[description]" — quick-add a task/brana:backlog replan [project] [phase-id] — restructure a phase/brana:backlog archive [project] — move completed phases to archive/brana:backlog migrate <file> — import tasks from a markdown backlog/brana:backlog execute [scope] [--dry-run] [--max-parallel N] [--retry] — execute tasks via subagents/brana:backlog tags [project] — tag inventory, filtering, and bulk tag management/brana:backlog context <id> [text] — view or set rich context on a task/brana:backlog theme [name] — view or set display theme (classic, emoji, minimal)/brana:backlog triage [project] [--reresearch] [--scope P2+] — research-informed priority reassessment/brana:backlog sync [--dry-run] [--force] — sync tasks.json with GitHub Issues
Step Registry (plan and execute subcommands)
For the plan and execute subcommands, create a CC Task step registry on entry. Follow the guided-execution protocol. Other subcommands (status, roadmap, next, add, etc.) are single-step and don't need a registry.
plan steps: DETECT, READ, MILESTONES, TASKS, DEPS, PROPOSE, CHALLENGE, WRITE
execute steps: READ, FILTER, WAVES, CONFIRM, EXECUTE, WRITEBACK, REPORT
Resume After Compression
If context was compressed during a plan or execute flow:
- Call
TaskList — find CC Tasks matching /brana:backlog — {STEP}
- The
in_progress task is your current step — resume from there
Field Notes
2026-06-10: deleted is not a valid task status — use cancelled
brana backlog set <id> status deleted returns {"ok":false,"error":"invalid status \"deleted\" — must be pending/in_progress/completed/cancelled or null"}. The correct status for superseded, extracted, or migrated tasks is cancelled. When marking tasks cancelled, add a context note explaining why: brana backlog set <id> context --append "[t-NNN] cancelled: moved to clients/proyecto-anita/...". There is no deleted status in the CLI schema (E2026-06-10-6).
Source: t-1950 client migration 2026-06-10
