task-from-template

name	task-from-template
description	Creates a Ready-status backlog task from a pre-approved template, bypassing the full review cycle. Performs a single LLM freshness check against recent git changes; if FRESH creates the task immediately, if STALE explains why and prompts the user to regenerate via task-to-backlog.
argument-hint	<template-slug>
allowed-tools	Read, Glob, Grep, Bash, Agent
contracts	[{"grep":"FRESH","target":"self"},{"grep":"STALE","target":"self"},{"grep":"templates","target":"self"}]

λ(slug) → taskFromTemplate(slug)

Spec

Template :: { slug : String, -- kebab-case identifier; matches filename title : String, -- human-readable task name lastUsed : Date, -- ISO date of most recent use applicableWhen: String, -- one-sentence precondition summary body : String -- plan text (front-matter stripped) }

data FreshnessVerdict = FRESH | STALE Reason

-- Main entry point taskFromTemplate :: Slug → BacklogTask | Stopped taskFromTemplate(slug) = { repo: repoRoot(), tmpl: loadTemplate(repo, slug), changes: recentChanges(tmpl.lastUsed), verdict: freshnessCheck(tmpl, changes), if (verdict == STALE r): print("Template is STALE: " + r), print("Re-generate with: /task-to-backlog"), return: Stopped, task: createTask(tmpl), _: updateLastUsed(repo, slug), return: task -- status: Ready }

loadTemplate :: (RepoRoot, Slug) → Template loadTemplate(root, slug) = | exists(root + "/backlog/templates/" + slug + ".md") → parse(read(root + "/backlog/templates/" + slug + ".md")) | otherwise → error("Template not found: " + slug)

recentChanges :: Date → String recentChanges(since) = eval("git log --oneline --since=" + since + " HEAD | head -20")

-- Single LLM call; first output line must be FRESH or STALE: freshnessCheck :: (Template, Changes) → FreshnessVerdict freshnessCheck(tmpl, changes) = { prompt: freshnessPrompt(tmpl, changes), result: llm(prompt), return: parseVerdict(result.lines[0]) }

createTask :: Template → BacklogTask createTask(tmpl) = eval("backlog task create " + quote(tmpl.title) + " --status Ready" + " --description " + quote(tmpl.body))

updateLastUsed :: (RepoRoot, Slug) → () updateLastUsed(root, slug) = { path: root + "/backlog/templates/" + slug + ".md", _: eval("sed -i 's/^last-used: .*/last-used: " + today() + "/' " + path), _: eval("git add " + path), _: eval("git commit -m 'chore(templates): update last-used for " + slug + "'") }

Implementation

Step 1: locate template

REPO_ROOT=$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)
SLUG="${1:-}"

if [ -z "$SLUG" ]; then
  echo "Usage: /task-from-template <template-slug>"
  echo ""
  echo "Available templates:"
  ls "${REPO_ROOT}/backlog/templates/"*.md 2>/dev/null \
    | xargs -I{} basename {} .md | grep -v README || echo "  (none)"
  exit 1
fi

TEMPLATE_FILE="${REPO_ROOT}/backlog/templates/${SLUG}.md"
if [ ! -f "$TEMPLATE_FILE" ]; then
  echo "Error: template not found: $TEMPLATE_FILE"
  echo ""
  echo "Available templates:"
  ls "${REPO_ROOT}/backlog/templates/"*.md 2>/dev/null \
    | xargs -I{} basename {} .md | grep -v README || echo "  (none)"
  exit 1
fi

---

Step 2: parse front-matter and extract body

# Extract front-matter fields
TMPL_TITLE=$(grep -oP '(?<=^title: ).+' "$TEMPLATE_FILE" | head -1)
TMPL_LAST_USED=$(grep -oP '(?<=^last-used: ).+' "$TEMPLATE_FILE" | head -1)
TMPL_APPLICABLE_WHEN=$(grep -oP '(?<=^applicable-when: ).+' "$TEMPLATE_FILE" | head -1)

# Extract body (everything after the closing ---)
TMPL_BODY=$(awk '/^---$/{n++; if(n==2){found=1; next}} found{print}' "$TEMPLATE_FILE")

echo "Template: $SLUG"
echo "Title: $TMPL_TITLE"
echo "Last used: $TMPL_LAST_USED"
echo "Applicable when: $TMPL_APPLICABLE_WHEN"

---

Step 3: gather recent git changes

GIT_CHANGES=$(git -C "$REPO_ROOT" log --oneline --since="$TMPL_LAST_USED" HEAD | head -20)

if [ -z "$GIT_CHANGES" ]; then
  GIT_CHANGES="(no commits since $TMPL_LAST_USED)"
fi

echo "Recent changes since $TMPL_LAST_USED:"
echo "$GIT_CHANGES"

---

Step 4: freshness check (single LLM call via Task agent)

Spawn a Task agent with the following prompt (substitute literal values for all <VARIABLE> placeholders):

You are performing a freshness check on a task template.

Template slug: <SLUG> Last used: <TMPL_LAST_USED> Applicable when: <TMPL_APPLICABLE_WHEN> Today's date: <TODAY>

Template body:

<TMPL_BODY>

Git changes since last use (git log --oneline --since=<TMPL_LAST_USED>):

<GIT_CHANGES>

Decide whether the template is still valid for its stated purpose. Consider:

• Do the Phase steps and DoD commands still match the current project structure?
• Have any scripts or tools that the template directly invokes (e.g. in Phase bash blocks or DoD commands) been renamed or removed? Check only what the executor runs, not what those scripts do internally.
• Do the git changes suggest the overall workflow has fundamentally changed?

Important: do NOT check files that are only mentioned in descriptive text, or files that a script modifies internally. Only the script/tool entry points matter.

Your output MUST begin with exactly one of:

• FRESH — template is still valid; no changes required
• STALE:<one-line reason> — template needs updating

After the first line, you may write a brief explanation (optional).

Write only the verdict line to $TMPDIR/tft-verdict.txt:

echo "FRESH" > $TMPDIR/tft-verdict.txt
# or
echo "STALE: <reason>" > $TMPDIR/tft-verdict.txt

After the agent completes, read the verdict:

VERDICT=$(cat "$TMPDIR/tft-verdict.txt" | head -1)

if echo "$VERDICT" | grep -q '^STALE'; then
  STALE_REASON=$(echo "$VERDICT" | sed 's/^STALE[: ]*//')
  echo ""
  echo "⚠️  Template '$SLUG' is STALE: $STALE_REASON"
  echo ""
  echo "The template was last used $TMPL_LAST_USED and recent changes make it unreliable."
  echo "Please regenerate it with:"
  echo "  /task-to-backlog $TMPL_APPLICABLE_WHEN"
  exit 0
fi

echo "✅ Template '$SLUG' is FRESH — creating task..."

---

Step 5: create backlog task

TASK_OUTPUT=$(backlog task create "$TMPL_TITLE" \
  --status "Basic: Ready" \
  --label "kind:basic" \
  --description "$TMPL_BODY" \
  --plain)

TASK_ID=$(echo "$TASK_OUTPUT" | grep -oP 'TASK-\d+' | head -1)
echo "Created task: $TASK_ID — $TMPL_TITLE"

---

Step 6: update last-used and commit

TODAY=$(date +%Y-%m-%d)
sed -i "s/^last-used: .*/last-used: ${TODAY}/" "$TEMPLATE_FILE"

git -C "$REPO_ROOT" add "$TEMPLATE_FILE"
git -C "$REPO_ROOT" commit -m "chore(templates): update last-used for ${SLUG} (${TASK_ID})"

echo ""
echo "✅ Task $TASK_ID created with status Ready."
echo "   Template last-used updated to $TODAY."
echo ""
echo "Run /loop-backlog to execute, or check status with:"
echo "  backlog task view $TASK_ID"

---

Constraints

• This skill does NOT walk through a full proposal/plan review cycle — that is intentional
• The freshness check is a single LLM call; it does not iterate
• If freshness check returns STALE, the skill exits without creating a task
• last-used is updated only after a task is successfully created
• Templates must live in backlog/templates/ and be committed to the repository
• This skill must be run from the project root of a git repository
• $TMPDIR files are ephemeral; do not reference them after the skill completes