flow-next-deps

name	flow-next-deps
description	Show epic dependency graph and execution order. Use when asking 'what's blocking what', 'execution order', 'dependency graph', 'what order should epics run', 'critical path', 'which epics can run in parallel'. Use when this capability is needed.
metadata	{"author":"gmickel"}

Flow-Next Dependency Graph

Visualize epic dependencies, blocking chains, and execution phases.

Setup

FLOWCTL="${DROID_PLUGIN_ROOT:-${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}}/scripts/flowctl"
$FLOWCTL detect --json | jq -e '.exists' >/dev/null && echo "OK: .flow/ exists" || echo "ERROR: run $FLOWCTL init"
command -v jq >/dev/null 2>&1 && echo "OK: jq installed" || echo "ERROR: brew install jq"

Step 1: Gather Epic Data

Build a consolidated view of all epics with their dependencies:

FLOWCTL="${DROID_PLUGIN_ROOT:-${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}}/scripts/flowctl"

# Get all epic IDs
epic_ids=$($FLOWCTL epics --json | jq -r '.epics[].id')

# For each epic, get full details including dependencies
for id in $epic_ids; do
  $FLOWCTL show "$id" --json | jq -c '{
    id: .id,
    title: .title,
    status: .status,
    plan_review: .plan_review_status,
    deps: (.depends_on_epics // [])
  }'
done

Step 2: Identify Blocking Chains

Determine which epics are ready vs blocked (pure jq, works on any shell):

FLOWCTL="${DROID_PLUGIN_ROOT:-${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}}/scripts/flowctl"

# Collect all epic data with deps
epics_json=$($FLOWCTL epics --json | jq -r '.epics[].id' | while read id; do
  $FLOWCTL show "$id" --json | jq -c '{id: .id, title: .title, status: .status, deps: (.depends_on_epics // [])}'
done | jq -s '.')

# Compute blocking status
echo "$epics_json" | jq -r '
  # Build status lookup
  (map({(.id): .status}) | add // {}) as $status |

  # Check each non-done epic
  .[] | select(.status != "done") |
  .id as $id | .title as $title |

  # Find deps that are not done
  ([.deps[] | select($status[.] != "done")] | join(", ")) as $blocked_by |

  if ($blocked_by | length) == 0 then
    "READY: \($id) - \($title)"
  else
    "BLOCKED: \($id) - \($title) (by: \($blocked_by))"
  end
'

Step 3: Compute Execution Phases

Group epics into parallel execution phases:

FLOWCTL="${DROID_PLUGIN_ROOT:-${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}}/scripts/flowctl"

# Collect all epic data
epics_json=$($FLOWCTL epics --json | jq -r '.epics[].id' | while read id; do
  $FLOWCTL show "$id" --json | jq -c '{id: .id, title: .title, status: .status, deps: (.depends_on_epics // [])}'
done | jq -s '.')

# Phase assignment algorithm (run in jq for reliability)
echo "$epics_json" | jq '
  # Build status lookup
  (map({(.id): .status}) | add // {}) as $status |

  # Filter to non-done epics
  [.[] | select(.status != "done")] as $open |

  # Assign phases iteratively
  reduce range(10) as $phase (
    {assigned: [], result: [], open: $open};

    .assigned as $assigned |
    .open as $remaining |

    # Find epics not yet assigned whose deps are all done or in earlier phases
    ([.open[] | select(
      ([.id] | inside($assigned) | not) and
      ((.deps // []) | all(. as $d | $status[$d] == "done" or ($assigned | index($d))))
    )] | map(.id)) as $ready |

    if ($ready | length) > 0 then
      .result += [{phase: ($phase + 1), epics: [.open[] | select(.id | IN($ready[]))]}] |
      .assigned += $ready
    else . end
  ) |
  .result
'

Output Format

Present results as:

## Epic Dependency Graph

### Status Overview

| Epic | Title | Status | Dependencies | Blocked By |
|------|-------|--------|--------------|------------|
| **fn-1-add-auth** | Add Authentication | **READY** | - | - |
| fn-2-add-oauth | Add OAuth Login | blocked | fn-1-add-auth | fn-1-add-auth |
| fn-3-user-profile | User Profile Page | blocked | fn-1-add-auth, fn-2-add-oauth | fn-2-add-oauth |

### Execution Phases

| Phase | Epics | Can Start |
|-------|-------|-----------|
| **1** | fn-1-add-auth | **NOW** |
| 2 | fn-2-add-oauth | After Phase 1 |
| 3 | fn-3-user-profile | After Phase 2 |

### Critical Path

fn-1-add-auth → fn-2-add-oauth → fn-3-user-profile (3 phases)

Quick One-Liner

For a fast dependency check:

FLOWCTL="${DROID_PLUGIN_ROOT:-${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}}/scripts/flowctl"
$FLOWCTL epics --json | jq -r '.epics[] | select(.status != "done") | "\(.id): \(.title) [\(.status)]"'

When to Use

• "What's the execution order for epics?"
• "What's blocking progress?"
• "Show me the dependency graph"
• "What's the critical path?"
• "Which epics can run in parallel?"
• "Why is Ralph working on X?"
• "What should I work on next?"

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