flow-next-sync

name	flow-next-sync
description	Manually trigger plan-sync to update downstream task specs after implementation drift. Use when code changes outpace specs.
user-invocable	false

Manual Plan-Sync

Manually trigger plan-sync to update downstream task specs.

Preamble

CRITICAL: flowctl is BUNDLED - NOT installed globally. Define once; subsequent blocks use $FLOWCTL:

FLOWCTL="${CODEX_HOME:-$HOME/.codex}/scripts/flowctl"
[ -x "$FLOWCTL" ] || FLOWCTL="<plugin-root>/scripts/flowctl"   # <plugin-root> = the directory two levels above this skill's SKILL.md file (the harness gave you that file's absolute path when the skill loaded); substitute it literally
[ -x "$FLOWCTL" ] || FLOWCTL=".flow/bin/flowctl"

Input

Arguments: $ARGUMENTS Format: <id> [--dry-run]

• <id> - task ID fn-N-slug.M (or legacy fn-N.M, fn-N-xxx.M) or spec ID fn-N-slug (or legacy fn-N, fn-N-xxx), or a resolvable tracker handle (wor-17 / wor-17.M) that flowctl show maps to the linked spec/task (fn-52.10, R16)
• --dry-run - show changes without writing

Workflow

Step 1: Parse Arguments

REPO_ROOT="$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null || pwd)"

Parse $ARGUMENTS for:

• First positional arg = ID
• --dry-run flag = DRY_RUN (true/false)

Validate ID first (handle-recognition rule, R16):

• The id is resolved by flowctl show, not by a prefix check. A session that rejects a resolvable tracker handle as an unknown id — because it gated on "must start with fn-" — has broken this. Route the arg through $FLOWCTL show <ID> --json (Step 3); flowctl's widened resolver (fn-52.10) maps a tracker key (wor-17 / wor-17.M) to its linked spec/task, so a resolvable handle is the existing spec/task, never a new id. /flow-next:sync wor-17 therefore resolves the linked spec.
• If no ID provided: "Usage: /flow-next:sync [--dry-run]"
• If the arg does not resolve via flowctl show (Step 3): "Unknown ID. Use fn-N-slug (spec) / fn-N-slug.M (task), a tracker handle (wor-17), or legacy fn-N, fn-N-xxx."

Detect ID type (use the canonical id from flowctl show):

• Contains . (e.g., fn-1.2, fn-1-add-oauth.2, wor-17.2) -> task ID
• No . (e.g., fn-1, fn-1-add-oauth, wor-17) -> spec ID

Step 2: Validate Environment

test -d .flow || { echo "No .flow/ found. Run flowctl init first."; exit 1; }

If .flow/ missing, output error and stop.

Step 3: Validate ID Exists

$FLOWCTL show <ID> --json

If command fails:

• For task ID: "Task not found. Run flowctl list to see available."
• For spec ID: "Spec not found. Run flowctl specs to see available."

Stop on failure.

Step 4: Find Downstream Tasks

For task ID input:

# Extract spec from task ID (remove .N suffix)
SPEC=$(echo "<task-id>" | sed 's/\.[0-9]*$//')

# Get all tasks in spec
$FLOWCTL tasks --spec "$SPEC" --json

Filter to status: todo or status: blocked. Exclude the source task itself.

For spec ID input:

$FLOWCTL tasks --spec "<spec-id>" --json

1. First, find a source task to anchor drift detection (agent requires COMPLETED_TASK_ID):

   • Prefer most recently updated task with status: done
   • Else: most recently updated task with status: in_progress
   • Else: error "No completed or in-progress tasks to sync from. Complete a task first."

2. Then filter remaining tasks to status: todo or status: blocked (these are downstream).

If no downstream tasks:

No downstream tasks to sync (all done or none exist).

Stop here (success, nothing to do).

Done when

• A source task is anchored — the input task in task mode, or the most recently updated done (else in_progress) task in spec mode — or the run stopped with the documented refusal because neither exists.
• DOWNSTREAM_TASK_IDS holds the spec's todo and blocked tasks with the source task excluded. An empty downstream set stops the run here. A session that spawns the agent with nothing downstream has broken this.

Step 5: Gather glossary + decisions + strategy context

Three extra context types help the agent catch drift the spec text alone can't reveal: project-glossary terms (renames where the old spec used a term whose _Avoid_ alias now appears in code), active decision constraints (current code may touch files mentioned in a decision's Consequences section), and strategic-intent drift (completed task contradicts an active STRATEGY.md track or approach).

GLOSSARY_JSON="$("$FLOWCTL" glossary list --json 2>/dev/null \
  || echo '{"groups":[],"file_count":0,"total_terms":0}')"
DECISIONS_JSON="$("$FLOWCTL" memory list --track knowledge --category decisions --json 2>/dev/null \
  || echo '{"entries":[],"legacy":[],"count":0,"status":"active"}')"
STRATEGY_CONTENT="$("$FLOWCTL" strategy read --json 2>/dev/null || echo '{}')"

All three calls are best-effort — empty defaults keep the agent prompt valid when flowctl returns nothing or fails.

Husk short-circuit — when all three of the following hold, skip the extra context entirely (pass the empty defaults; the agent's husk short-circuit at the top of Phase 3b will skip the whole section):

• GLOSSARY_JSON.total_terms == 0 (glossary missing or husk)
• DECISIONS_JSON.count == 0 (no decision entries)
• STRATEGY_CONTENT.sections_filled == 0 OR STRATEGY_CONTENT == {} (no STRATEGY.md or husk — verify with flowctl strategy status --json | jq '.sections_filled // 0')

When any of the three has signal, pass through all three (untouched) and let the agent run the matching subsection (3b.1 / 3b.2 / 3b.3) and skip the empty ones.

When GLOSSARY_JSON.total_terms == 0 but file_count > 0, every group is a husk. Husks carry no signal for drift detection — pass the JSON through untouched and let the agent skip them.

Done when

• All three variables are populated — with the documented empty default preserved on failure, never dropped. A prompt built with a missing GLOSSARY_JSON / DECISIONS_JSON / STRATEGY_CONTENT key has broken this.
• The husk short-circuit passes the empty defaults through when all three carry no signal, and passes all three untouched when any one has signal.

Step 6: Spawn Plan-Sync Agent

Read the cross-spec flag first — the same single config-leaf read /flow-next:work performs, so a repo that opted into cross-spec propagation (planSync.crossSpec=true) gets the same behavior from a manual /flow-next:sync as from the work-loop auto-trigger. Without this, CROSS_SPEC is unset and plan-sync skips the cross-spec phase entirely — the tool you reach for after big drift silently checks only same-spec tasks:

CROSS_SPEC=$($FLOWCTL config get planSync.crossSpec --json | jq -r '.value')

Build context and spawn via Task tool:

Sync task specs from <source> to downstream tasks.

COMPLETED_TASK_ID: <source task id - the input task, or selected source for spec mode>
FLOWCTL: ${CODEX_HOME:-$HOME/.codex}/scripts/flowctl
SPEC_ID: <spec id>
DOWNSTREAM_TASK_IDS: <comma-separated list from step 4>
DRY_RUN: <true|false>
CROSS_SPEC: <the $CROSS_SPEC value read below — literal "true" or "false", NOT "true|false">

GLOSSARY_JSON: <output of `flowctl glossary list --json` from step 5>
DECISIONS_JSON: <output of `flowctl memory list --track knowledge --category decisions --json` from step 5>
STRATEGY_CONTENT: <output of `flowctl strategy read --json` from step 5>

<if DRY_RUN is true>
DRY RUN MODE: Report what would change but do NOT use Edit tool. Only analyze and report drift.
</if>

Use Task tool with subagent_type: flow-next:plan-sync.

Note: COMPLETED_TASK_ID is always provided - for task-mode it's the input task, for spec-mode it's the source task selected in Step 4.

Done when

• CROSS_SPEC was read from planSync.crossSpec and passed to the agent as the literal string true or false.
• The downstream task-spec edits are made by the spawned flow-next:plan-sync agent. A session that edits downstream task specs directly has broken this.
• Under --dry-run the agent is told to report drift without using Edit, and Step 7 closes with "No files modified."

Step 7: Report Results

After agent returns, format output:

Normal mode:

Plan-sync: <source> -> downstream tasks

Scanned: N tasks (<list>)
<agent summary>

Dry-run mode:

Plan-sync: <source> -> downstream tasks (DRY RUN)

<agent summary>

No files modified.

Error Messages

Case	Message
No ID provided	"Usage: /flow-next:sync [--dry-run]"
No .flow/	"No .flow/ found. Run flowctl init first."
Unknown ID (does not resolve)	"Unknown ID. Use fn-N-slug (spec) / fn-N-slug.M (task), a tracker handle (wor-17), or legacy fn-N, fn-N-xxx."
Task not found	"Task not found. Run flowctl list to see available."
Spec not found	"Spec not found. Run flowctl list to see available."
No source (spec mode)	"No completed or in-progress tasks to sync from. Complete a task first."
No downstream	"No downstream tasks to sync (all done or none exist)."

Rules

• Ignores config - planSync.enabled setting is for auto-trigger only; manual always runs
• Any source status - source task can be todo, in_progress, done, or blocked
• Includes blocked - downstream set includes both todo and blocked tasks
• Reuses agent - spawns existing plan-sync agent, no duplication