| name | work-order-format |
| description | Use when creating or updating a cycle work order document in Linear. Defines the document title and parent, the wave headings with dependency lines, the strict-parallel rule, the issue bullet and deferred entry forms, and stable wave numbering. Use whenever a command writes or patches a work order. |
Work Order Format
The contract for the one cycle work order document. work-order-create writes the document, work-order-update patches it, and both follow this contract exactly.
Title and parent
Title the document <user first name>'s Cycle <n> work order. Parent the document on the cycle: save_document takes cycle set to the number and team set to disambiguate it.
Section order
- The wave sections, in wave number order.
## Sequencing.## Timing - omit when empty.## Deferred - omit when empty.
Waves
Heading form: ## Wave <n> ⇉ <dependency line>. The dependency line is one of:
starts immediatelyneeds Wave <a> - list every prerequisite wave.
When the wave is independent of another unfinished wave, append , runs parallel with Wave <m>. For example: ## Wave 3 ⇉ needs Wave 1, runs parallel with Wave 2.
The waves are strictly parallel. Every issue in a wave runs in parallel with every other issue in that wave:
- No sequencing prose inside a bullet. A sequential dependency forces the issue into a later wave.
- Issue-level constraints live under
## Sequencing.
- Two issues that edit the same package or files never share a wave.
Issue bullets
* <issue key> <issue title> - <size on the `sizing` scale>. <One-line reason it is in this wave.>
Write the issue key plain. Linear renders a plain key as a rich link with an automatic status indicator, so the document tracks no completion state of its own.
Deferred entries
* <issue key> - <date> - <one-line reason it was deferred>
Stable numbering
Never renumber an existing wave. When a wave empties, remove its section and never reuse its number. A new wave takes the next unused number and appends at the end.
