| name | capture-leftover |
| description | Capture a follow-up task that surfaced mid-flow but shouldn't distract from the current focus. Appends to `<repo>/planning/leftover-tasks.md` (auto-scaffolds if missing). Use when the user says "park this", "leftover task", "note this for later", "follow-up but not now", "don't let me forget about X", or when Claude and the user mutually agree to defer something rather than context-switch. |
Capture Leftover Task
Append a deferred follow-up to the lightweight planning structure without leaving the current task. Designed to take seconds — minimal interruption, maximum recall later.
When to use
- The user explicitly defers something: "let's not do that now, but remember it"
- Claude proposes something tangential and the user says "noted, but later"
- Mid-debug, a separate issue surfaces — capture it before forgetting, but stay on the original
- Mutual "let's park this" moments
If the follow-up is in-scope of the current task, just add it to the working TODO. This skill is for things that would otherwise derail the session.
Steps
1. Resolve target file
repo_root=$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null) || repo_root="$PWD"
target="$repo_root/planning/leftover-tasks.md"
If target doesn't exist, run scaffold-planning first (silently — don't pause to ask). After scaffolding, target will exist with a header and template.
If cwd is not in a git repo and the user didn't specify a target, ask:
Capture this as a leftover task in: (1) cwd's planning/leftover-tasks.md, (2) global $CLAUDE_USER_DATA/claude-rudder/leftover-tasks.md, or (3) somewhere else?
Default to (1) but confirm.
2. Gather inputs
In one short prompt or by inferring from context, get:
- Summary — one line, ≤80 chars (e.g. "Refactor auth middleware to remove the legacy session-token path")
- Surfaced during — what the current session is doing (Claude usually knows this from context — propose it, let user override)
- Why deferred — short reason. Default: "would distract from current focus" if user doesn't elaborate
- Context — the minimum a future session needs to pick this up. Often a sentence or two; sometimes a code path, file name, or external link
- Estimated scope —
small, medium, large, or unknown. Default unknown if user doesn't say
Don't over-interrogate. If the user has only given a one-liner, fill the rest with reasonable inferences and a Context: <propose> that they can confirm or revise.
3. Format and append
Build the entry:
## 2026-04-27 18:53 — Refactor auth middleware to drop legacy session-token path
- **Surfaced during:** debugging the new login flow in src/auth/login.ts
- **Why deferred:** would derail the current bug fix — pure tech-debt
- **Context:** see `src/auth/legacy-session.ts`; new flow already in place but old code still referenced. ~200 LOC removal.
- **Estimated scope:** medium
- **Status:** open
Append to target after the existing <!-- new entries appended below --> marker (or just at end of file). Each entry is separated from the next by a single blank line.
Use ISO-8601 minute resolution for the timestamp, in the local timezone. Example: 2026-04-27 18:53 (no seconds, no timezone — keep it readable; the marker is the absent timezone).
4. Confirm briefly
Print one line:
✓ Captured: "Refactor auth middleware..." → planning/leftover-tasks.md (3 open total)
The "(N open total)" tally is helpful — it lets the user see the parking lot is filling up and consider running start-leftover soon.
5. Return to the original task
Don't elaborate. Don't summarise the captured task back at length. The whole point is minimum interruption — get back to what we were doing.
Bulk mode
If the user provides multiple follow-ups in one go ("park these three: …, …, …"), handle as a loop:
- Confirm the list once before writing
- Append all entries in order, same timestamp ± 1 minute apart, or just same timestamp
- Print a summary: "✓ Captured 3 leftovers → planning/leftover-tasks.md (5 open total)"
Hard rules
- Don't switch tasks. This skill is non-disruptive by design. Capture and return.
- Don't ask more than 1-2 follow-up questions. If context is missing, fill with reasonable inferences and let the user revise the file later.
- Append-only. Never reorder or rewrite existing entries.
- No git commits. Let the user decide when to commit the planning folder.
Counterparts
start-leftover — picks up an entry from this file in a fresh sessionscaffold-planning — creates the file and surrounding structurelog-blocker — for things blocking progress (different category)leftover-aggregator agent — proactively scans conversation for missed defer-moments
