Produces a comprehensive `.status.md` file using a 10-section schema that bridges heartbeat (current state), anatomy (directory structure), and checkup (health assessment) perspectives into one document. Use when: 'write a status report', 'give me the lay of the land', 'where are we right now', 'prepare a handoff document', 'document the current codebase state'.
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name
status-template
model
sonnet
description
Produces a comprehensive `.status.md` file using a 10-section schema that bridges heartbeat (current state), anatomy (directory structure), and checkup (health assessment) perspectives into one document. Use when: 'write a status report', 'give me the lay of the land', 'where are we right now', 'prepare a handoff document', 'document the current codebase state'.
category
system-health
triggers
["write a status report","give me the lay of the land","where are we right now","prepare a handoff document","document the current codebase state"]
tier
1
agents
["primary"]
tool_dependencies
["file_system"]
inputs
[{"name":"repo_path","type":"string","description":"Path to the repository or project to write status for","required":true}]
outputs
[{"name":"status_file","type":"ref","format":"cas-ref","description":"Comprehensive .status.md using a 10-section schema bridging heartbeat, anatomy, and checkup perspectives"}]
Status Template Skill
Version: 1.0
Created: 2026-02-08
Author: Cruz + Manus (Cowork)
Origin: Elevated from the repo-status skill's status template reference, which was itself codified from a live status-writing + file-management + health-audit session.
Lineage: status-writing (heartbeat) + file-management (anatomy) + health-audit (checkup) → repo-status → this standalone skill.
I. The Philosophy: One Document, Three Perspectives
Project status lives in too many places — Slack threads, standup notes, README footers, someone's head. When a new person (or agent) arrives and asks "where are we?", the answer is usually scattered, stale, or both.
This skill produces a single .status.md file that answers that question by looking at the project from three angles:
Heartbeat (status-writing): Is it alive? What's moving? What's stuck? Emoji-driven health indicators give an instant pulse check.
Anatomy (file-management): Where is everything? An annotated directory tree with per-folder status turns the filesystem into a map.
Checkup (health-audit): How healthy is it? Critical issues, security posture, and sustainability assessment tell you what needs attention.
One file. Three lenses. Updated over time.
II. When to Use This Skill
Writing a status report: Monthly, per-release, or ad-hoc — this template gives you the structure.
Onboarding someone to a project: Instead of a 30-minute walkthrough, hand them a .status.md.
Preparing a handoff: Moving a project between teams or agents? This is the context document.
Before a major decision: Understanding the full state before deciding what to change.
When a project feels opaque: Structure reduces confusion. The template imposes coherence on complexity.
After running the repo-status skill: This template is Phase 4 of that workflow.
III. The Template Structure
The status document has 10 sections. Each one has a specific job.
Section 1: Vision & Purpose
Job: Anchor everything that follows. One sentence + core principles.
Why it matters: Without a stated purpose, status updates become lists of things. With one, they become a story about progress toward a goal.
## 1. Vision & Purpose> [One sentence capturing what the project is and why it exists.]**Core Principles:** [3-5 comma-separated principles]
Section 2: Current State
Job: Instant pulse check. A table of major areas with emoji status and brief notes.
Why it matters: Someone glancing at this document for 5 seconds should know if things are healthy or on fire. The emoji table achieves this.
## 2. Current State
| Area | Status | Notes |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| **[Major Area]** | ✅/🔄/⚠️/❌ | [One-line note] |
Status Key:
✅ Complete/Healthy
🔄 In Progress
⏸️ Paused
⚠️ Concern
❌ Blocked/Critical
Section 3: Directory Structure
Job: Annotated filesystem map. Every significant directory gets a status emoji and note.
Why it matters: Most codebases lack a visual map of what's where. An annotated tree is worth a thousand words for spatial orientation.
Use 📦 for legacy/deprecated directories. Use — for empty or minimal ones.
Section 4: Semantic Clusters
Job: Group components by what they do, not where they live.
Why it matters: This is the behavioral architecture. A feature spans frontend + backend + database + tests. Clusters reveal the system's capabilities as cross-cutting concerns.
If using semantic clusters, invoke the semantic-clusters skill for the full framework. Otherwise, this section can be simplified to a feature list with health assessments.
For each cluster:
### [emoji] [VERB] — [Short Description]> [One sentence explaining this capability.]
| Component | Location | Status | LOC |
|-----------|----------|--------|-----|
**Health:** [emoji] [assessment]
**Audit Notes:** [key technical details]
Section 5: File Importance Ranking
Job: Rank files by criticality so people know what not to break.
Why it matters: In a 500-file codebase, 10 files are critical, 10 are important, and the rest are supporting. Making this explicit prevents accidental damage to core files.
Four tiers: Critical (system breaks without these), Important (features break), Supporting (graceful degradation), Knowledge (development-time only).
Why it matters: This is the health-audit perspective. Every project has blind spots — security gaps, test coverage holes, manual processes that should be automated. This section forces them into the light.
Three categories:
Critical Issues: Can it build? Critical vulnerabilities? Main branch broken?
Read references/complete-template.md for the full, copy-paste-ready template with all sections, placeholders, and HTML comments for guidance.
The filling process:
Start with Section 1. If you can't write the vision in one sentence, you don't understand the project well enough yet. Go back and read more.
Fill Section 2 next. The current state table forces you to identify the major areas. This becomes your map for the rest.
Sections 3-4 require exploration. Walk the filesystem, read key files, count LOC. This is the most time-consuming part.
Section 5 requires judgment. Which 10 files, if deleted, would break the system? Which 10 more would break major features?
Section 6 requires honesty. The health assessment is useless if it's all green. Every project has concerns. Find them.
Sections 7-9 require current knowledge. Talk to the team, read recent PRs, check the issue tracker.
Section 10 is verification. Run find and wc -l to get real numbers. Don't guess.
V. Best Practices
Dot-prefix the file. Save as .status.md to keep it discoverable but out of the way. It complements (doesn't replace) a lightweight STATUS.md.
Update incrementally. After the first write, subsequent updates should diff against the existing document, not regenerate from scratch.
Emoji consistency. Use the same status key everywhere. Mixing conventions creates noise.
Be concise in tables. Each table cell should be scannable in under 3 seconds. Full sentences belong in prose sections, not tables.
The directory tree should be 2-3 levels deep for most directories, deeper only for architecturally significant subtrees.
Statistics will drift. Within 10% is accurate enough. Note the date so readers know how fresh the numbers are.
Section 4 is optional for simple projects. If the project has fewer than 50 files, skip semantic clusters and use a flat feature list instead.
Section 5 is optional for small projects. Below 100 files, importance ranking adds little value.
VI. Adapting the Template
Not every project needs all 10 sections. Here's a sizing guide:
Project Size
Sections to Include
Small (< 50 files)
1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 9
Medium (50-300 files)
1, 2, 3, 4 (simplified), 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Large (300+ files)
All 10 sections
Monorepo
All 10, with sub-sections per package/service
For non-software projects (documentation sites, design systems, data pipelines), adapt the vocabulary but keep the structure. Section 4 clusters might become "capabilities" or "data flows" instead of "action verbs."
VII. Quality Checklist
Before delivering the .status.md, confirm:
Vision statement is present, accurate, and one sentence
Current state table covers every major subsystem
Directory tree is annotated with status emojis
Health assessment is honest (not all green)
Active workstreams reflect actual current work (not aspirations)
Blockers section is truthful (empty or populated, not missing)
Next steps are concrete and actionable (not "improve things")
Statistics are programmatically verified (not guessed)
The document reads coherently top-to-bottom
The document is dated with Last Updated
Output
.status.md at the project root with all applicable sections from the 10-section schema. Section count adapts to project size (small projects use 6 sections; large projects use all 10).
The file complements but does not replace a lightweight STATUS.md — .status.md is the comprehensive agent-facing audit; STATUS.md is the human-facing dashboard.
Examples
Scenario 1: "Create a project overview before a strategy session" → .status.md produced with all 10 sections. Vision and Purpose anchors everything. Current State table reveals 2 blocked areas. Health assessment honestly flags no CI/CD and 8% test coverage as sustainability concerns.
Scenario 2: "Prepare a handoff doc for the incoming agent" → .status.md covers a 120-file project. Sections 4 (Semantic Clusters) and 5 (File Importance Ranking) included. Incoming agent reads the document instead of spending 30 minutes on discovery.
Edge Cases
For projects under 50 files, skip Sections 4 and 5 (clusters and importance ranking) — they add little value at small scale, and the overhead of generating them exceeds the benefit.
For monorepos, use all 10 sections with sub-sections per package or service under each primary section.
Anti-Patterns
Treating the Current State table as aspirational — the emoji indicators must reflect actual verified state, not what the team wishes were true.
Generating statistics from memory or rough estimates — run find and wc -l to get real numbers; within 10% is accurate enough, but guessing is not.
