task-pickup

name	task-pickup
kstack	true
description	Claim a task from your task tracker and start working on it. Use when the user says "I'm working on [task]", picks up a task from the board, or wants to start an existing task — handles lookup, conflict check, claim, status, branch naming, and context pull in one flow.

Task Pickup

Turn "I'm working on [task]" into a claimed task with the right status and a correctly named branch — no manual tracker fiddling.

Workflow

1. Resolve the task

Look up the task in your task tracker (see context.md for project-specific lookup method):

1. Task Lookup — resolve from URL, slug, or search query
2. Conflict Check — stop and warn if someone else is actively on it or it's already done

2. Derive and confirm the branch name

Derive the branch name from the task identifier + title (lowercase, hyphenated, drop filler words).

Ask the user before any git or branch registration — present the suggested name, let them adjust.

3. Claim the task and create the branch

1. Claim: Set assignee, status to in-progress, and register the branch on the task (see context.md for API)
2. Create the git branch — detect if Graphite is in use:
   • Run gt log short silently — if it lists branches, use gt create <branch-name>
   • Otherwise git checkout -b <branch-name>

4. Pull working context

Surface what the implementer needs before writing code:

• Task description + acceptance criteria
• Linked plan if one references this task
• Open PRs or comments on the task that constrain the work

If the task originated from a plan, suggest the implementation pipeline; otherwise implement directly.

5. PR body context (when the PR is created later)

Seed the PR body from the task:

## Why

[task description summary — the user-facing problem]

[task link]

## What

[changes summary — filled at PR time]

Confirmation

End with: "Claimed [task-slug](task url), set to In Progress, on branch slug-short-title." Plus any conflict or context warnings surfaced along the way.

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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.