managing-tasks

name	managing-tasks
description	Creates, updates, deletes, and queries tasks in the configured data source. Handles task creation with required confirmations, state transitions, "next task" recommendations, and personal task dashboard. Use this skill for ANY task-related request — create, update, delete, query, list, filter by status/priority/assignee, mark done, block, assign to self, change priority, view personal dashboards, or ask "what's next". Also handles task dependencies and links: block, unblock, blocked by, blocking, dependency/dependencies, parent task, subtask, child task, link tasks, relation, connect tasks. Also scoped queries such as "tasks for <store/project>" or "filter tasks by store/project". If the user mentions tasks in any way, use this skill. Invoke this skill for any Tasks DB write — do not call `notion-create-pages`, `notion-update-page`, or `notion-update-relation` on task pages directly, even for single-field edits. Direct writes are blocked by a PreToolUse hook and skip quality gates (AC/EP rubric, executor invariants, Acknowledged At auto-set, subtask cascading).
user-invocable	true

Waggle — Task Management

You are managing tasks in the configured data source. Use the provider-specific tools for all data operations.

Session Bootstrap

Invoke the bootstrap-session skill to establish the active provider and current user. Skip if active_provider and current_user are already set in this conversation.

Schema and State Transitions

For the full task schema (15 Core + 8 Extended fields) and state transition rules including validation, see references/schema-and-transitions.md in this directory. Always run validation before status changes — never skip it.

"Next Task" Logic

When the user asks "what should I do next?" or "next task":

1. Query tasks where Status = "Ready" using the active provider's query tools
2. Filter out tasks where Blocked By contains any non-Done task (unresolved dependencies)
3. Sort by Priority: Urgent > High > Medium > Low
4. Within same priority, sort by Due Date (earliest first)
5. Present the top task with its full context

Task Creation

For the full task creation flow — assignee resolution, required confirmations, executor choice, questioning flow, pre-creation checklist, and status auto-determination — follow references/task-creation-flow.md in this directory.

Before starting the flow, invoke the loading-custom-instructions skill with key task-creation to populate custom_task_creation_instructions. If the returned value is non-null, the task-creation flow uses it as authoritative guidance for business-logic-dependent defaults (Tags, Priority, Assignee selection, AC/Execution Plan phrasing) on top of the standard questioning. If null, the flow proceeds with the normal defaults. See references/task-creation-flow.md Step 0.

Human → Agent Re-assignment

When the user wants to change an Executor=human task to an agent:

• AskUserQuestion: "Execute '{task title}' with an agent? [cli / claude-desktop / cowork / keep human]"
• When cli, claude-desktop, or cowork is selected:
  1. Confirm Working Directory (required)
  2. Confirm Branch (optional)
  3. Update Executor, Working Directory, Branch
  4. Push data to the View Server

Bulk Operations

For requests like "show me all blocked tasks" or "mark all Done tasks as archived":

1. Query tasks using the active provider's query tools with appropriate filters
2. Present results to user for confirmation
3. Execute updates in sequence using the provider's update tools

Subtask Status Cascading

After any task status change or subtask creation, check and apply automatic status cascading.

Trigger Conditions

Cascading runs when:

1. A task's Status is updated AND the task has a non-null parentTask
2. A new subtask is created (has parentTask set)
3. A task's parentTask field is set or cleared

Cascading Rules

Rule A — All subtasks Done → Parent auto-transitions to Done:

1. After updating a subtask to Done, fetch all sibling tasks (tasks sharing the same parentTask)
2. If every sibling's Status is Done, update the parent's Status to Done
3. Append to parent's Context: [Auto] Status set to Done — all subtasks completed

Rule B — Subtask added to Done parent → Parent reverts to In Progress:

1. When creating a subtask whose parent's current Status is Done, update parent Status to In Progress
2. Append to parent's Context: [Auto] Status reverted to In Progress — new subtask added

Rule C — Subtask re-opened → Parent reverts if it was Done:

1. After updating a subtask from Done to any other status, check the parent's Status
2. If parent is Done, update parent to In Progress
3. Append to parent's Context: [Auto] Status reverted to In Progress — subtask re-opened

Cascading Pseudocode

After updating task T's status:
  1. If T.parentTask is null → no cascading, return
  2. Fetch parent P = get_task(T.parentTask)
  3. If T.status == "Done":
     a. Fetch all subtasks S = query_tasks(parentTask == P.id)
     b. If ALL tasks in S have status "Done" → update P.status = "Done", log in P.context
  4. Else if T.status != "Done" AND P.status == "Done":
     → update P.status = "In Progress", log in P.context
  5. Push updated data to view server

These auto-transitions are system-initiated and bypass normal validation (no user confirmation needed).

Auto-Acknowledge on Task Interaction

When the user updates a specific task (status change, field edit, etc.) and the task's Assignee includes current_user.id: if Acknowledged At exists in the schema and is null, set it to the current ISO 8601 timestamp as part of the update. Silent operation — no user prompt.

After Any Task Operation

After creating, updating, or deleting tasks, push fresh data to the view server as described in the active provider's SKILL.md (Pushing Data to View Server section).

My Tasks View

When the user asks "my tasks", "assigned to me", "show my tasks", or similar:

Step 1: Fetch My Tasks

Use the active provider SKILL.md's "Querying Tasks" section to fetch tasks filtered by Assignee = current_user.id. The provider determines the optimal query path.

Step 1b: Auto-Acknowledge

After fetching, check each returned task: if the Acknowledged At field exists in the schema and is null/empty, update the task to set Acknowledged At to the current ISO 8601 timestamp. This is a silent background operation — do not prompt the user. Batch multiple updates if possible.

Step 2: Display by Status Group

Group tasks by Status and display in the following order:

In Progress

For each task, show:

• Title, Priority
• Executor / Session Reference (display as-is if present: whether tmux session name or scheduled:xxx)
• Dispatched At (if set)

Ready

Group by Executor:

• cli: ready for autonomous execution in Terminal CLI
• claude-desktop: ready for Claude Desktop Scheduled Task
• cowork: ready for Cowork Scheduled Task
• human: waiting for manual action

Blocked

For each task, show the blocking task titles (from Blocked By relation).

In Review

List tasks awaiting review.

Backlog

List titles only (collapsed to keep output concise).

Step 3: Next Actions

After displaying the task list, suggest next actions:

Next actions:
- Execute tasks: /executing-tasks
- Manage tasks (reassign, change status, etc.): /managing-tasks
- Delegate tasks: /delegating-tasks