run-tasks

name	run-tasks
description	Orchestrate task execution via beads and sub-agents. Gets ready work from beads, spawns appropriate agents based on labels, monitors completion, and updates status. Use after /approve-spec has created tasks.

Run Tasks Skill

Purpose

Execute implementation tasks through coordinated sub-agents with optional TDD workflow:

1. Get ready work from beads (no blockers)
2. Check TDD configuration and enforce test-first gating if enabled
3. Group tasks for parallel execution (with git worktree isolation)
4. Spawn agents based on agent:* labels
5. Monitor completion and run verification
6. Handle failures with debug loop (TDD mode) or blocking
7. Update beads status and merge completed work
8. Repeat until truly done (stop hook prevents premature exit)
9. Present "What's next?" prompt to guide user to next workflow step

Key guarantee: The stop hook ensures ALL tasks complete before exit. Claude queries beads state each cycle rather than tracking in context, enabling token-efficient persistence.

Telemetry Capture

Required after each agent completes:

1. Parse agent output JSON (last line): {"s":"s","t":1200,"m":[...],"c":[...]}
2. Insert into agent_telemetry table immediately
3. Continue even if telemetry insert fails (log warning, don't block)

This enables retrospective analysis via /retro. Telemetry MUST be captured after EACH agent completes, not just at the end of the batch.

When to Use

• After /approve-spec has created tasks
• User says "run tasks", "start implementation", "execute"
• There are open tasks in beads

Arguments

/run-tasks [epic-id]       # Run tasks for specific epic
/run-tasks                  # Run all ready tasks

---

Process Overview

Step 0a: Path Detection

Determine the location of discovery.db to support both new .parade/ structure and legacy project root:

# Path detection for .parade/ structure
if [ -f ".parade/discovery.db" ]; then
  DISCOVERY_DB=".parade/discovery.db"
else
  DISCOVERY_DB="./discovery.db"
fi

All subsequent database operations in this skill use $DISCOVERY_DB instead of hardcoded discovery.db.

Step 0b: Check TDD Configuration

Before starting task execution, check if TDD is enabled:

cat project.yaml | grep -A 1 "workflow:"

If tdd_enabled: true, enforce test-first gating workflow (see TDD Protocol). If tdd_enabled: false, use standard workflow without gating.

Step 0a: Git Setup (Epic Branch)

Create an epic integration branch to isolate all work for this epic:

# Ensure main is up to date
git checkout main
git pull origin main

# Create epic branch
git checkout -b epic/<epic-id>
git push -u origin epic/<epic-id>

All task branches will be created from this epic branch, enabling:

• Clean parallel execution without affecting main
• Atomic epic-level rollback if needed
• Single merge commit when epic completes

See Git Strategy for complete branching and commit workflow.

Step 1: Get Ready Work

bd ready --json

This returns tasks that:

• Have status open
• Have no blocking dependencies (or all blockers are closed)

If epic-id is provided, filter:

bd list --parent <epic-id> --status open --json

Step 1a: Apply TDD Gating (if tdd_enabled)

For each ready task, check metadata and labels:

bd show <task-id> --json

TDD Gating Rules:

• If task has skip_tests label → ALLOW immediately (no TDD gating)
• If task has test_task_id metadata and test task is NOT closed → EXCLUDE from ready batch
• Test tasks (those without test_task_id) can run immediately
• Implementation tasks wait for their test tasks to close (RED phase verified)

See TDD Protocol for complete gating details.

Step 2: Identify Parallel Batches

Tasks can run in parallel if they don't depend on each other.

CRITICAL: Apply batch size limit to prevent context overflow.

# Check project config for max parallel tasks (default: 3)
MAX_PARALLEL=$(grep -A1 "workflow:" project.yaml | grep "max_parallel_tasks:" | awk '{print $2}')
MAX_PARALLEL=${MAX_PARALLEL:-3}

From the ready work, group tasks with size limit:

• Sub-batch 1: First MAX_PARALLEL ready tasks
• Sub-batch 2: Next MAX_PARALLEL ready tasks
• Continue until all ready tasks are batched

Why this matters: Each agent returns ~2-3K tokens. Running 8+ agents in parallel returns 16-24K tokens simultaneously, overwhelming context and preventing compaction.

Example with MAX_PARALLEL=3:

Ready now (8 tasks):
- bd-x7y8.1 [agent:sql]
- bd-x7y8.2 [agent:swift]
- bd-x7y8.3 [agent:typescript]
- bd-x7y8.4 [agent:typescript]
- bd-x7y8.5 [agent:sql]
- bd-x7y8.6 [agent:swift]
- bd-x7y8.7 [agent:typescript]
- bd-x7y8.8 [agent:test]

Split into sub-batches:
- Sub-batch 1: [.1, .2, .3] → execute, wait, collect telemetry
- Sub-batch 2: [.4, .5, .6] → execute, wait, collect telemetry
- Sub-batch 3: [.7, .8] → execute, wait, collect telemetry

Execution pattern:

1. Spawn sub-batch agents in parallel
2. Wait for ALL agents in sub-batch to complete
3. Capture telemetry for each (see Step 4a)
4. Proceed to next sub-batch
5. After all sub-batches: check for newly unblocked tasks

Step 3: Spawn Agents for Batch

For each task in the current batch:

1. Get task details:

bd show <task-id> --json

2. Identify agent from labels: Look for agent:* label (e.g., agent:swift, agent:sql, agent:test)

3. Create output directory:

# Ensure the epic folder exists
mkdir -p docs/features/<epic-id>

The output path pattern is: docs/features/<epic-id>/<task-id>.md

4. Create worktrees for parallel isolation (multi-task batches):

# Create isolated worktree from epic branch
bd worktree create agent-<task-id> --branch agent/<task-id> --base epic/<epic-id>

5. Update epic status (first batch only):

bd update <epic-id> --status in_progress

6. Update task status:

bd update <task-id> --status in_progress

7. Spawn appropriate agent:

See Agent Spawning Reference for:

• Agent type mapping
• Prompt templates for each agent (including output path specification)
• Git worktree isolation for parallel execution
• Parallel execution using run_in_background: true

Step 4: Collect Results

Wait for all agents in batch to complete.

For each agent result:

• PASS: Continue to verification
• FAIL: Handle based on task type and mode

Step 4a: Capture Telemetry (REQUIRED AFTER EACH AGENT)

CRITICAL: Telemetry MUST be captured immediately after EACH agent completes, not just at batch end.

This is essential for:

• Retrospective analysis via /retro
• Debugging workflow bottlenecks
• Tracking agent performance metrics
• Understanding failure patterns

Failure Impact: If telemetry is not captured:

• /retro cannot analyze execution patterns
• Workflow improvements cannot be informed by data
• Bottlenecks go undetected

Process

1. Parse agent output - Look for compact JSON on last line:

{"s":"s","t":1200,"m":["src/file.ts"],"c":["src/new.ts"]}

2. Record to database IMMEDIATELY - Execute this SQL for EACH completed agent:

INSERT INTO agent_telemetry (
  id, task_id, epic_id, agent_type, status, token_count,
  duration_ms, files_modified, files_created, error_type,
  error_summary, debug_attempts, started_at, completed_at
) VALUES (
  'tel-' || hex(randomblob(4)),  -- Generate unique ID
  '<task-id>',
  '<epic-id>',
  '<agent-type>',                 -- e.g., 'typescript', 'swift', 'sql'
  CASE '<status>' WHEN 's' THEN 'PASS' WHEN 'f' THEN 'FAIL' ELSE 'UNKNOWN' END,
  <token_count>,                  -- From 't' field in JSON
  <duration_ms>,                  -- Calculate from start/end time
  '<files_modified_json>',        -- From 'm' field
  '<files_created_json>',         -- From 'c' field
  '<error_type>',                 -- From 'e' field if present
  '<error_summary>',              -- From 'x' field if present
  0,                              -- debug_attempts (increment on retries)
  '<started_at>',
  datetime('now')
);

3. Error Handling - If telemetry insert fails:

   • Log a warning with the error details
   • Continue with workflow (do not block)
   • The task completion will still proceed normally
   • This ensures workflow robustness even if instrumentation fails

4. Compact Output Key Reference: | Key | Meaning | Values | |-----|---------|--------| | s | status | "s" (success), "f" (fail), "b" (blocked) | | t | tokens | estimated token count used | | m | modified | array of modified file paths | | c | created | array of created file paths | | e | error | "t" (test), "b" (build), "o" (timeout) | | x | error msg | truncated error message (max 200 chars) |

If agent output lacks JSON: Record with status='UNKNOWN', token_count=NULL. This indicates agents need prompt updates.

Checklist for Step 4a:

• Agent completed and returned result
• JSON parsed from last line of output
• SQL insert executed (immediately, before verification)
• If insert fails, logged warning and continued (not blocked)
• Workflow proceeds to Step 5 (verification)

Step 5: Run Verification

Standard Mode

When agent reports completion, verify acceptance criteria are met:

1. Run verification commands (from acceptance criteria if specified)
2. Check output for success/failure indicators
3. Update status based on results

TDD Mode - RED Phase (Test Tasks)

When test-writer-agent reports completion:

1. Verify tests exist
2. Run tests and verify they FAIL
3. Expected outcome: Tests should fail with "not implemented" errors
4. RED Phase Validation:
   • If tests fail correctly: Close test task, unblock implementation task
   • If tests pass (wrong!): Mark test task as blocked
   • If syntax errors: Spawn test-writer-agent again to fix

# On successful RED phase
bd close <test-task-id>

TDD Mode - GREEN Phase (Implementation Tasks)

When implementation agent reports completion:

1. Run test suite
2. Expected outcome: Tests should PASS
3. GREEN Phase Validation:
   • If tests PASS: Close implementation task
   • If tests FAIL: Enter debug loop

See TDD Protocol for complete RED/GREEN/DEBUG phase details.

Step 5a: Debug Loop (TDD Mode)

When implementation tests fail, enter debug loop:

1. Initialize debug tracking: Add debug_attempts metadata
2. Spawn debug-agent with failure context
3. After debug-agent completes:
   • PASS: Tests now pass → Close task
   • FAIL: Increment attempts, check limit
4. Max 3 attempts with sub-agent before escalating

Hybrid approach (token-optimized):

• Attempts 1-2: Spawn debug-agent (fresh context, cheaper)
• Attempt 3+: Switch to Ralph loop (iterative, more thorough)

def smart_debug(task, test_output):
    # Try sub-agent first (cheaper)
    for attempt in range(2):
        result = spawn_debug_agent(task, test_output)
        if result.success:
            return result

    # Fall back to Ralph for persistent issues
    if config.ralph.use_for_debug:
        return debug_with_ralph(task, max_iterations=10)
    else:
        bd_update(task.id, status='blocked')

See TDD Protocol and Ralph Integration for details.

Step 6: Update Beads Status

Success Cases

# Standard success
bd close <task-id>

# Test task success (RED phase)
bd close <test-task-id>  # Unblocks implementation task

# Implementation task success (GREEN phase)
bd close <impl-task-id>

Failure Cases

# Test task: tests pass without implementation (bad)
bd update <test-task-id> --status blocked --notes "Tests pass without implementation"

# Implementation task: debug attempts exhausted
bd update <impl-task-id> --status blocked --notes "Test failures persist after 3 attempts"

# Mark epic as blocked when any task fails
bd update <epic-id> --status blocked

Blocker Resolution

When a blocker is resolved and work continues:

bd update <epic-id> --status in_progress

Step 7: Log Progress

Standard Mode

## Batch 1 Complete

✅ bd-x7y8.1: Database schema - PASS (closed)
✅ bd-x7y8.3: Experience picker UI - PASS (closed)

Newly unblocked:
- bd-x7y8.2: Assessment edge function [agent:typescript]

Proceeding to Batch 2...

TDD Mode

## Batch 1 Complete (Test Phase)

✅ bd-x7y8.1: Write database tests - RED PHASE PASS (closed)
✅ bd-x7y8.3: Write picker UI tests - RED PHASE PASS (closed)

Newly unblocked (Implementation Phase):
- bd-x7y8.2: Implement database schema [agent:sql]
- bd-x7y8.4: Implement picker UI [agent:swift]

Proceeding to Batch 2 (Implementation)...

See TDD Protocol - Progress Logging for complete examples.

Step 8: Repeat

Check for new ready work:

bd ready --json

If tasks remain, return to Step 2.

Step 9: Completion Summary

When no more ready work:

Standard Mode

## Execution Complete

Epic: bd-x7y8 - Feature Name

Completed:
✅ bd-x7y8.1: Task 1
✅ bd-x7y8.2: Task 2
✅ bd-x7y8.3: Task 3

All tasks closed. Feature ready for review.

TDD Mode

## Execution Complete (TDD Mode)

Epic: bd-x7y8 - Feature Name

Test Phase (RED):
✅ bd-x7y8.1: Write tests - RED PASS
✅ bd-x7y8.3: Write tests - RED PASS

Implementation Phase (GREEN):
✅ bd-x7y8.2: Implementation - GREEN PASS
✅ bd-x7y8.4: Implementation - GREEN PASS (1 debug attempt)

Debug Summary:
- Total debug sessions: 1
- Successful fixes: 1
- Patterns documented: 1

All tasks closed. Feature ready for review.

Step 10: Epic Completion Check

When no more ready work AND all child tasks are closed:

Step 10a: Check for evolutions

Before presenting options, run evolution detection:

# Analyze git diff for new additions
git diff main...HEAD --name-only | wc -l

# Quick check for new exports (components, types, patterns)
git diff main...HEAD -- "src/renderer/**/*.tsx" | grep -c "^+export" || echo 0
git diff main...HEAD -- "src/shared/types/**/*.ts" | grep -c "^+export" || echo 0

Step 10b: Present options to user:

All tasks for "<epic-title>" are complete.

Completed: X tasks
Blocked: Y tasks (if any)
Debug loops: Z
New additions detected: N (components, fields, patterns)

Options:
1. Merge and close epic
2. Capture evolutions and close (recommended if new additions > 0)
3. Run retrospective + evolutions (recommended if debug loops > 0)
4. Keep open for manual review

Option 1: Merge and close:

1. Merge epic branch to main:

git checkout main
git pull origin main
git merge epic/<epic-id> --no-ff -m "Merge epic/<epic-id>: <epic-title>

Completed tasks:
- <task-id>: <title>
- <task-id>: <title>

Closes: <epic-id>"

2. Push to remote:

git push origin main

3. Cleanup epic branch:

git branch -d epic/<epic-id>
git push origin --delete epic/<epic-id>

4. Close epic in beads:

bd close <epic-id>

5. Update brief status in discovery.db:

sqlite3 "$DISCOVERY_DB" "UPDATE briefs SET status = 'completed', updated_at = datetime('now') WHERE exported_epic_id = '<epic-id>';"

Option 2: Capture evolutions and close:

Before merge, invoke the evolution skill:

1. Invoke /evolve <epic-id> skill - detects new components, fields, and patterns
2. Review and approve additions to design registries
3. Then proceed with merge and close (Option 1 steps 1-5, including brief status update)

See Evolve Skill for evolution capture process.

Option 3: Retrospective + evolutions:

For epics with both debug loops AND new additions:

1. Invoke /retro <epic-id> skill - handles failure analysis, recommendations, and archiving
2. Invoke /evolve <epic-id> skill - captures positive evolutions
3. Then proceed with merge and close (Option 1 steps 1-5, including brief status update)

This captures both lessons learned (from failures) and knowledge gained (from new patterns).

See Retro Skill and Evolve Skill for details.

Option 4: Keep open: Leave epic as in_progress on its branch for further review or manual testing.

See Git Strategy for rollback procedures if issues are discovered after merge.

Step 11: Post-Completion Workflow

After the epic is successfully merged and closed (Option 1, 2, or 3 completed), present a "What's next?" prompt to guide the user to their next workflow step.

Context-aware recommendations:

Analyze the just-completed epic to provide intelligent recommendations:

# Check if debug loops occurred (suggests retrospective)
DEBUG_LOOPS=$(sqlite3 "$DISCOVERY_DB" "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM agent_telemetry WHERE epic_id='<epic-id>' AND debug_attempts > 0;" 2>/dev/null || echo 0)

# Check if retrospective was already run
RETRO_RAN=$(sqlite3 "$DISCOVERY_DB" "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM workflow_events WHERE brief_id=(SELECT brief_id FROM specs WHERE exported_epic_id='<epic-id>') AND event_type='retro_complete';" 2>/dev/null || echo 0)

Present the prompt:

## What's next?

Epic "<epic-title>" has been merged and closed successfully.

Choose your next action:

Option	Command	When Recommended
1. Run retrospective	/retro <epic-id>	Debug loops > 0 AND retro not yet run
2. Start new feature	/discover	Default next step for new work
3. View project status	/workflow-status	Check overall project health
4. Done for now	(exit)	User wants to stop

Recommendation logic:

def get_recommendation(epic_id):
    debug_loops = get_debug_loop_count(epic_id)
    retro_ran = check_retro_completed(epic_id)

    if debug_loops > 0 and not retro_ran:
        return "1. Run retrospective (recommended - debug loops detected)"
    else:
        return "2. Start new feature (recommended)"

Example output:

## What's next?

Epic "Add Post-Epic Completion Workflow Prompt" has been merged and closed successfully.

Choose your next action:

1. Run retrospective (/retro customTaskTracker-n24)
2. Start new feature (/discover) ← recommended
3. View project status (/workflow-status)
4. Done for now

What would you like to do?

If debug loops occurred:

## What's next?

Epic "Complex Feature Implementation" has been merged and closed successfully.

⚠️ 3 debug loops occurred during this epic. Running a retrospective
   can help identify patterns and improve future executions.

Choose your next action:

1. Run retrospective (/retro customTaskTracker-xyz) ← recommended
2. Start new feature (/discover)
3. View project status (/workflow-status)
4. Done for now

What would you like to do?

User selection handling:

• Option 1: Invoke /retro <epic-id> skill, then return to this prompt
• Option 2: Invoke /discover skill to capture next feature idea
• Option 3: Invoke /workflow-status skill, then return to this prompt
• Option 4: Exit cleanly with completion message

This step improves workflow continuity by reducing friction between completed work and starting new work.

---

Core Orchestration Logic

Get Ready Work with Gating

def get_ready_work(epic_id=None, tdd_enabled=False):
    # Get base ready work from beads
    if epic_id:
        tasks = bd_list(parent=epic_id, status='open')
    else:
        tasks = bd_ready()

    if not tdd_enabled:
        return tasks

    # Apply TDD gating
    ready = []
    for task in tasks:
        # Skip tests label bypasses gating
        if 'skip_tests' in task.labels:
            ready.append(task)
            continue

        # Test tasks can run immediately
        if 'test_task_id' not in task.metadata:
            ready.append(task)
            continue

        # Implementation tasks wait for test task to close
        test_task_id = task.metadata['test_task_id']
        test_task = bd_show(test_task_id)
        if test_task.status == 'closed':
            ready.append(task)

    return ready

Execute Batch

def execute_batch(tasks, epic_id, tdd_enabled=False):
    results = []
    worktrees = {}

    # Create output directories for all tasks
    run(f"mkdir -p docs/features/{epic_id}")

    # Create worktrees from epic branch (multi-task batches)
    if len(tasks) > 1:
        for task in tasks:
            worktree_name = f"agent-{task.id}"
            run(f"bd worktree create {worktree_name} --branch agent/{task.id} --base epic/{epic_id}")
            worktrees[task.id] = worktree_name

    # Spawn all agents in parallel
    for task in tasks:
        agent = select_agent(task)  # See agent-spawning.md
        bd_update(task.id, status='in_progress')

        # Spawn with background=true, include worktree path and output path
        working_dir = f"../{worktrees[task.id]}" if task.id in worktrees else None
        output_path = f"docs/features/{epic_id}/{task.id}.md"
        result = spawn_agent(agent, task, working_dir=working_dir,
                           output_path=output_path, background=True)
        results.append((task, result))

    # Wait for all to complete
    for task, result in results:
        if result.status == 'PASS':
            verify_and_close(task, tdd_enabled)
            # Squash merge to epic branch and cleanup
            if task.id in worktrees:
                run(f"git checkout epic/{epic_id}")
                run(f"git merge agent/{task.id} --squash")
                run(f"git commit -m '{task.id}: {task.title}'")
                run(f"bd worktree remove {worktrees[task.id]}")
                run(f"git branch -D agent/{task.id}")
        else:
            handle_failure(task, result, tdd_enabled)
            # Keep worktree for debugging if failure

    # Push checkpoint after batch completes
    run(f"git push origin epic/{epic_id}")

Verify and Close

def verify_and_close(task, tdd_enabled):
    if not tdd_enabled:
        # Standard mode: just close
        bd_close(task.id)
        return

    # TDD mode: verify phase
    if 'agent:test' in task.labels:
        # RED phase: verify tests fail
        if verify_tests_fail(task):
            bd_close(task.id)  # Unblocks impl task
        else:
            bd_update(task.id, status='blocked',
                     notes='Tests pass without implementation')
    else:
        # GREEN phase: verify tests pass
        if verify_tests_pass(task):
            bd_close(task.id)
        else:
            enter_debug_loop(task)  # See tdd-protocol.md

---

Reference Documentation

TDD Protocol

See docs/tdd-protocol.md for:

• Complete RED/GREEN/DEBUG workflow
• Task metadata structures
• Skip tests label usage
• Execution order examples
• Failure handling in TDD mode

Agent Spawning

See docs/agent-spawning.md for:

• Agent type mapping table
• Prompt templates for each agent type
• Git worktree isolation for parallel execution
• Parallel execution strategies
• Result collection and handling
• Progress logging examples

Git Strategy

See docs/git-strategy.md for:

• Branch architecture (epic → task branches)
• Commit message format and conventions
• Squash merge workflow for clean history
• Conflict resolution protocol
• Push strategy and checkpoints
• Rollback procedures (task and epic level)

Stop Hook Enforcement

See docs/stop-hook-enforcement.md for:

• Preventing premature exit from task execution
• Completion promise patterns
• Token-optimized orchestration prompts
• Beads-based completion detection
• Edge case handling (context limits, stuck tasks)

Ralph Loops (Optional)

See docs/ralph-integration.md for:

• Iterative debugging with Ralph loops
• When to use Ralph vs sub-agents for bug fixes
• Token optimization for iteration cycles

Retrospective & Improvement

See docs/retrospective.md for:

• Execution metrics capture during /run-tasks
• Post-epic analysis and recommendations
• Accumulated insights across epics
• Self-improving workflow patterns

---

Output

After successful execution:

• All completable tasks are closed in beads
• Blocked tasks are marked with reasons
• User has summary of what was done
• Parade app shows updated status
• Debug knowledge base updated (TDD mode)