jat-start

name	jat-start
description	Begin working on a JAT task. Registers agent identity, selects a task, searches memory, detects conflicts, declares files, emits IDE signals, and starts work. Use this at the beginning of every JAT session.
metadata	{"author":"jat","version":"1.0"}

/skill:jat-start - Begin Working

One agent = one session = one task. Each session handles exactly one task from start to completion.

Usage

/skill:jat-start                    # Show available tasks
/skill:jat-start task-id            # Start specific task
/skill:jat-start AgentName          # Resume as AgentName
/skill:jat-start AgentName task-id  # Resume as AgentName on task

Add quick to skip conflict checks.

What This Does

1. Establish identity - Register or resume agent in Agent Registry
2. Select task - From parameter or show recommendations
3. Search memory - Surface context from past sessions
4. Review prior tasks - Check for duplicates and related work
5. Start work - Declare files, update task status
6. Emit signals - IDE tracks state through jat-signal

Step-by-Step Instructions

IMPORTANT: Minimize round-trips by issuing independent tool calls in parallel.

Startup uses 3 parallel rounds. Each round issues all calls simultaneously, then processes results before the next round.

ROUND 1 (parallel) → ROUND 2 (parallel) → ROUND 3 (parallel) → Banner
  Identity              Starting signal       Task update
  Task details          Memory search          Working signal
  Git status            Prior task search      Integration sync

ROUND 1: Gather Context (all parallel)

Issue ALL of these tool calls in a single message:

1A: Identity — Check for IDE pre-registration + get session ID:

TMUX_SESSION=$(tmux display-message -p '#S' 2>/dev/null); PRE_REG_FILE=".claude/sessions/.tmux-agent-${TMUX_SESSION}"; test -f "$PRE_REG_FILE" && cat "$PRE_REG_FILE" || echo "NO_PRE_REG"

get-current-session-id

1B: Task details (if task-id provided):

jt show "$TASK_ID" --json

If no task-id, show jt ready and stop here.

1C: Git status:

git branch --show-current && git diff-index --quiet HEAD -- && echo "clean" || echo "dirty"

Manual Registration (only if NO_PRE_REG):

am-register --name "$AGENT_NAME" --program pi --model "$MODEL_ID"
tmux rename-session "jat-${AGENT_NAME}" 2>/dev/null
mkdir -p .claude/sessions
echo "$AGENT_NAME" > ".claude/sessions/agent-${SESSION_ID}.txt"

ROUND 2: Signal + Context Search (all parallel)

Issue ALL of these tool calls in a single message:

2A: Starting signal:

jat-signal starting '{
  "agentName": "NAME", "sessionId": "ID", "taskId": "TASK_ID",
  "taskTitle": "TITLE", "project": "PROJECT", "model": "MODEL_ID",
  "tools": ["bash","read","write","edit"], "gitBranch": "BRANCH",
  "gitStatus": "clean", "uncommittedFiles": []
}'

2B: Memory search:

jat-memory search "key terms from task title" --limit 5 2>/dev/null || echo "NO_MEMORY_INDEX"

2C: Prior task search:

DATE_7=$(date -d '7 days ago' +%Y-%m-%d 2>/dev/null || date -v-7d +%Y-%m-%d); jt search "$SEARCH_TERM" --updated-after "$DATE_7" --limit 20 --json

Look for duplicates, related work, and in-progress tasks in similar areas.

ROUND 3: Start Work (all parallel)

Issue ALL of these tool calls in a single message:

3A: Update task status:

jt update "$TASK_ID" --status in_progress --assignee "$AGENT_NAME" --files "relevant/files/**"

3B: Working signal (incorporate memory results into approach):

jat-signal working '{
  "taskId": "TASK_ID", "taskTitle": "TASK_TITLE",
  "approach": "Brief description of implementation plan",
  "expectedFiles": ["src/**/*.ts"], "baselineCommit": "COMMIT_HASH"
}'

Note: Integration status sync (in_progress) fires automatically from jt update --status in_progress — no agent action needed.

Output Banner

╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║         STARTING WORK: {TASK_ID}                           ║
╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝

Agent: {AGENT_NAME}
Overseer: {OVERSEER_LABEL | n/a}
Task: {TASK_TITLE}
Priority: P{X}

Approach:
  {YOUR_APPROACH_DESCRIPTION}

The Overseer: line comes verbatim from:

jat-overseer-for "$TASK_ID" --agent "$AGENT_NAME"

which prints who is watching this task — DeepBeach732 (L2 pilot of mos-0a23k), LightHeath (wave driver), or n/a. It checks a pilot mission, a wave-ownership claim and a fanout orchestrator (in that precedence), suppresses a self-match, and fails open to n/a when the IDE is unreachable, so it can never stall startup. Never omit the line and never guess a name — n/a says this session answers to the human directly, while a missing line reads as "unknown".

⚡ Do NOT end your turn on the banner. It is a status line printed on the way into the work, not a finish line — there is no approval gate here and nobody will type "continue" for you. In the same turn that prints the banner, issue the first tool call of the actual task. "Starting now" with no tool call after it leaves the session idle at an empty ❯ composer with a healthy working signal, so no stall detector flags it (jat-ccdrs). To wait for a human, use jat-signal needs_input + AskUserQuestion, or jat-signal waiting — never a silent turn end.

Credentials & Authentication

CRITICAL: Never hardcode or invent passwords. Never reset user passwords for testing.

When you need credentials (API keys, database URLs, service role keys, login credentials), use jat-secret:

jat-secret --list                          # List all available secrets
jat-secret <project>-supabase-url          # Project Supabase URL
jat-secret <project>-supabase-service-role-key  # Service role key
eval $(jat-secret --export)                # Load all as env vars

For browser testing that requires login:

• Use the stored admin credentials: jat-secret flush-admin-email and jat-secret flush-admin-password
• NEVER reset a real user's password via the admin API to log in for testing
• NEVER use auth.admin.updateUserById() or PUT /auth/v1/admin/users/ to set a password for browser verification
• If the stored credentials don't work, emit needs_input and ask the user — do NOT reset the password

Resetting passwords to test UI is destructive — it locks real users out of their accounts.

Asking Questions During Work

Always emit needs_input signal BEFORE asking questions:

jat-signal needs_input '{
  "taskId": "TASK_ID",
  "question": "Brief description of what you need",
  "questionType": "clarification"
}'

Question types: clarification, decision, approval, blocker, duplicate_check

After getting a response, emit working signal to resume.

When You Finish Working

Emit review signal BEFORE presenting results:

jat-signal review '{
  "taskId": "TASK_ID",
  "taskTitle": "TASK_TITLE",
  "summary": ["What you accomplished", "Key changes"],
  "filesModified": [
    {"path": "src/file.ts", "changeType": "modified", "linesAdded": 50, "linesRemoved": 10}
  ]
}'

Then output:

READY FOR REVIEW: {TASK_ID}

Overseer: {OVERSEER_LABEL | n/a}

Summary:
  - [accomplishment 1]
  - [accomplishment 2]

Run /skill:jat-complete when ready to close this task.

Re-run jat-overseer-for "$TASK_ID" --agent "$AGENT_NAME" for this line rather than reusing the startup answer — a pilot or wave driver is often claimed after a worker starts. A name means that agent reviews and approves the work; n/a means it goes straight to the human.

Signal Reference

Signal	When	Required Fields
starting	After registration	agentName, sessionId, project, model, gitBranch, gitStatus, tools
working	Before coding	taskId, taskTitle, approach
needs_input	Before asking questions	taskId, question, questionType
review	When work complete	taskId, taskTitle, summary