next-task

name	next-task
description	Get the next recommended task to work on. Use when the user asks what to work on next or needs a task assignment.
allowed-tools	Glob, Read

Next Task

Find the next recommended task using priority ranking — no CLI required.

Instructions

The user may provide optional filters in $ARGUMENTS (e.g. --tag mvp, --group cli).

1. Find the task directory:

   • Read .taskmd.yaml if it exists to check for a custom dir field
   • Default to tasks if not configured

2. Scan all task files: Use Glob with <task-dir>/**/*.md

   • Exclude .worklogs/ directories

3. Read frontmatter of each task file and collect: id, title, status, priority, effort, dependencies, tags, group, created, owner

4. Filter candidates:

   • Include only tasks with status: pending (or no status field)
   • Exclude tasks whose dependencies include any task that is NOT completed
   • Apply any user filters from $ARGUMENTS (e.g. --tag, --group, --owner)

5. Rank candidates using this priority order:

   1. Priority (descending): critical > high > medium > low > unset
   2. Effort (ascending): small > medium > large > unset (prefer smaller tasks as tiebreaker)
   3. Created date (ascending): older tasks first

6. Present the top recommendation:

   • Read the full task file of the #1 ranked task
   • Show: ID, title, priority, effort, tags, and the full description
   • Optionally mention the next 2-3 runner-up tasks

See SPEC_REFERENCE.md (in the plugin root) for valid field values and ranking logic.