tracking-format

name	tracking-format
description	Tracking-file frontmatter and coordination format guidance. Use when creating or reviewing local tracking files and related handoff conventions. DO NOT USE FOR: session-memory plan authoring rules outside the documented references here.

Tracking Format Instructions

Purpose

This document defines the standard YAML frontmatter format for tracking files stored in .copilot-tracking/. These files help agents maintain context and state across work sessions.

Directory Structure

.copilot-tracking/
├── research/
│   └── {date}-{topic}.md
├── archived/
│   └── issue-001-feature-name.md
└── calibration/
    └── review-data.json

• calibration/ — persistent per-finding calibration cache (populated by write-calibration-entry.ps1 or backfill-calibration.ps1)
  • review-data.json — JSON calibration data (schema: { calibration_version: 1, entries: [{ pr_number, created_at, findings[], summary }] })

Note: .copilot-tracking/ stores research notes, archived tracking files, and persistent calibration data. Plans are now stored in session memory at /memories/session/plan-issue-{ID}.md, not as local files. Survival: .copilot-tracking/ artifacts are within-worktree state under SMC-13; they survive in the current checkout and machine, but are not durable cross-agent handoffs unless copied to GitHub issues or committed docs.

YAML Frontmatter Format

Scope: The following format applies to .copilot-tracking/ research and tracking files only — not to session memory plan files. For session memory plan YAML fields, see Issue-Planner Section 6 in agents/Issue-Planner.agent.md.

All tracking files MUST include YAML frontmatter at the top of the file:

---
status: in-progress
priority: p1
issue_id: "001"
tags: [feature, api, backend]
created: 2025-12-09
updated: 2025-12-09
---

Field Definitions

Required Fields

Field	Type	Description
status	string	Current work status (see Status Values below)
priority	string	Work priority level (see Priority Levels below)
issue_id	string	Reference to issue number or tracking ID
created	date	Creation date in YYYY-MM-DD format

Optional Fields

Field	Type	Description
tags	array	Categorization tags (e.g., feature, bugfix, refactor)
updated	date	Last update date in YYYY-MM-DD format
assigned_agent	string	Current agent working on this item
blocked_by	string	Dependency or blocker reference
related_issues	array	Related issue IDs

Status Values

Use one of these standardized status values:

• pending - Work not yet started, awaiting resources or dependencies
• in-progress - Actively being worked on
• complete - Work finished and verified
• blocked - Cannot proceed due to external dependency
• on-hold - Paused by decision, may resume later

Priority Levels

Use one of these standardized priority levels:

• p1 - Critical/Urgent - Immediate attention required
• p2 - High - Important but not blocking
• p3 - Normal - Standard priority work
• p4 - Low - Nice-to-have, can be deferred

GitHub Label Mapping

When deriving priority from a GitHub issue label, use this mapping:

GitHub label	Frontmatter value
priority: high	p1
priority: medium	p2
priority: low	p3
(unlabeled)	p2 (default)

File Naming Convention

Format: issue-{ID}-{short-description}.md

Examples:

• issue-001-authentication-system.md
• issue-042-fix-memory-leak.md
• issue-123-refactor-database-layer.md

Content Structure

After the YAML frontmatter, include:

1. Summary - Brief description of the work
2. Context - Background information and decisions
3. Progress - Current state and completed items
4. Next Steps - What needs to happen next
5. Notes - Any relevant observations or blockers

Example Tracking File

---
status: in-progress
priority: p2
issue_id: "042"
tags: [bugfix, performance]
created: 2025-12-09
updated: 2025-12-09
assigned_agent: "Code-Smith"
---

# Issue #42: Optimize Query Performance

## Summary

Database queries in the reporting module are taking too long. Need to add indexes and optimize query structure.

## Context

- User reported 30+ second load times
- Profiling identified N+1 query problem
- Decision: Add composite index on frequently queried columns

## Progress

- [x] Profiled slow queries
- [x] Identified missing indexes
- [ ] Apply index migrations
- [ ] Validate performance improvement

## Next Steps

1. Create migration for new indexes
2. Test in staging environment
3. Measure performance improvement
4. Update documentation

## Notes

- Be careful with index size - monitor disk usage
- Consider query caching as future enhancement

Archiving Completed Work

For any tracking files (research notes, prompt output) in .copilot-tracking/ that reach complete status:

1. Move the file to .copilot-tracking/archived/
2. Update status to complete
3. Add completed date field
4. Keep file for historical reference

Plans saved to session memory (/memories/session/plan-issue-{ID}.md) do not need archiving — session memory is scoped to the conversation.

Cloud Agent Handoff Protocol

This section is retired as a plan/design/session-memory handoff source of truth and delegated to the canonical contract at skills/session-memory-contract/SKILL.md (SMC-01, SMC-03, SMC-08, SMC-13); that delegation retires the old cloud handoff table here. Tracking-format only governs .copilot-tracking/ file frontmatter and local tracking-file structure.

Code-Conductor/D9 owns durable handoff persistence. Continue implementation stays same-session and session-memory-only, with no redundant GitHub issue comments. Stop, Pause, or resume later paths persist or append durable GitHub issue comments for <!-- plan-issue-{ID} --> and <!-- design-issue-{ID} --> when those artifacts are needed.

.copilot-tracking/ files are local scaffolding for research notes, prompt output, archived tracking, and calibration artifacts in the same worktree. They are not suitable for durable cross-agent or cloud-agent handoffs where a new branch or fresh checkout is created. Use the session-memory contract for plan/design/session-memory handoff rules, and use GitHub issues, GitHub comments, or committed docs when a handoff must be durable.

Customization

This format is a template. Projects may add custom fields as needed:

• test_coverage - Percentage or status
• review_status - Code review state
• deployment_target - Environment information
• customer_impact - Business impact notes

Maintain consistency within your project's tracking files.

Gotchas

Trigger	Gotcha	Fix
Writing a new tracking file	Session-memory plan rules get mixed into local .copilot-tracking/ files	Use this format only for local tracking files and keep plan state in session memory