pattern-check

name	pattern-check
kstack	true
description	Search existing tasks and incidents for similar bugs or review misses, and link related issues. Use after creating a retroactive bugfix task, when a review finds a familiar-looking issue, or when the user asks "have we seen this before?"

Pattern Check

Search task history for the same class of issue, link related tasks, and recommend rule-evolution when a pattern is confirmed.

When to Run

• After creating a retroactive bugfix task
• When a review or incident finding feels familiar
• During a retrospective: "is this a one-off or a cluster?"
• The user asks "have we seen this before?"

Workflow

1. Frame the issue class

Describe the issue as a class, in user-facing and system terms — not the specific instance:

• Subsystem ("daily brief generation", "task sync")
• Failure mode ("stale data after edit", "missing workspace scoping", "timeout under load")
• Symptom ("users saw someone else's data", "job silently failed")

2. Search task history

Search your task tracker for prior instances (see context.md for project-specific search methods):

• Use semantic/concept search with the issue class framing
• Use keyword search with subsystem terms
• Check both open and done tasks; prior fixed instances are exactly the signal

3. Classify the result

Matches found	Verdict	Action
0	One-off	Note "no prior pattern" on the task; done
1-2	Possible cluster	Link the related tasks; flag for attention
3+	Confirmed pattern	Link tasks + recommend rule-evolution

4. Link and report

• Cross-reference: post a comment on the current task listing related tasks (markdown links), and optionally on the most relevant prior task pointing forward
• Report to the user:

**Pattern Check — [issue class]**

[N related tasks found]

| Task               | Status | What it was      |
| ------------------ | ------ | ---------------- |
| [KES-12](task url) | Done   | [1-line summary] |

**Verdict:** [one-off / possible cluster / confirmed pattern — recommend rule-evolution]

Rules

• Search before declaring "no pattern" — absence of links must mean absence of matches, not absence of looking
• Don't spam links: only cross-reference tasks that share the failure class, not the same subsystem generally
• A confirmed pattern (3+) should always end with a rule-evolution recommendation

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Project Context

Read context.md and apply it as additional project-specific constraints layered on top of this workflow. If it does not exist, skip this section.