Remove Task Skill

You are helping the user remove a task from an existing tracker. Removing a task will delete the task and optionally its plan file.

Your Task

Remove a single task from the tracker and update statistics accordingly.

Hierarchy Reminder

The tracker follows this structure:

•Phase (sequential stages) → contains multiple Tracks
•Track (feature groupings) → spans across Phases, contains Tasks
•Task (individual work items) → belongs to a Phase and Track

Process Flow

Step 1: Parse Arguments and Find Tracker

•
Parse $ARGUMENTS for:
- •Tracker name (first argument)
- •
  Optional flags:
  - •--task=NN - Task number to remove
  - •--confirm - Skip confirmation prompt
  - •--keep-plan - Keep the plan file (don't delete it)
•
If tracker name not provided:
- •
  List available trackers:
  bash
  ls -1 .trackers/
- •
  If no trackers exist:
  - •Inform user: "No trackers found. Create one with /create-tracker"
  - •Exit
- •
  If trackers exist:
  - •Show list and ask user to select
•
Verify tracker exists:
- •Check if .trackers/{TRACKER_NAME}/TRACKER.md exists
- •If not found, inform user and exit
•
Read the tracker file:
- •Use Read tool on .trackers/{TRACKER_NAME}/TRACKER.md
- •Parse all tasks to build task index

Step 2: Identify Task to Remove

•

Get task number (if not from --task):

code

Current tasks:

Phase 1: Foundation
  Track: authentication
    01: Setup authentication framework [Pending] - Priority: High
    02: Configure OAuth providers [In Progress] - Priority: Medium
  Track: dashboard
    03: Create dashboard layout [Complete] - Priority: Medium

Phase 2: Implementation
  Track: authentication
    04: Implement login API [Blocked] - Priority: High, Blocked by: 01

Which task would you like to remove?
Enter task number:

•
Validate task exists:
- •Search for ##### Task {TASK_NUMBER}: in Tasks section
- •
  If not found:
  - •Inform user: "Task {TASK_NUMBER} not found"
  - •List available tasks
  - •Exit
•
Parse task details:
- •
  Extract task information:
  - •Task number
  - •Task title
  - •Phase number and name
  - •Track name
  - •Status
  - •Priority
  - •Plan file (if exists)
- •Store for confirmation message

Step 3: Check for Dependencies

•
Search for tasks that depend on this task:
- •Parse all tasks looking for **Blocked By**: fields
- •Check if any task lists this task number
- •Store list of dependent tasks

•

If dependent tasks found, prepare warning message:

code

⚠️  Other tasks depend on this task:
{FOR_EACH_DEPENDENT}
- Task {TASK_NUMBER}: {TITLE} (Blocked by: ..., {THIS_TASK}, ...)
{END_FOR}

These tasks will have invalid dependencies after removal.

Step 4: Confirm Deletion

Unless --confirm flag is provided, display warning and ask for confirmation:

code

⚠️  Remove Task {TASK_NUMBER}?

**Task**: {TASK_NUMBER}: {TITLE}
**Phase**: Phase {N}: {PHASE_NAME}
**Track**: {TRACK_NAME}
**Status**: {STATUS}
**Priority**: {PRIORITY}
{IF_PLAN_FILE}**Plan File**: {PLAN_FILENAME}{END_IF}

{IF_DEPENDENT_TASKS}
⚠️  WARNING: {DEPENDENT_COUNT} task(s) depend on this task:
{FOR_EACH_DEPENDENT}
- Task {TASK_NUMBER}: {TITLE}
{END_FOR}

These tasks will have invalid dependencies after removal.
{END_IF}

{IF_PLAN_FILE}
{IF_NOT_KEEP_PLAN}
The plan file will also be deleted: {PLAN_FILENAME}
{ELSE}
The plan file will be kept: {PLAN_FILENAME}
{END_IF}
{END_IF}

This action cannot be undone.

Are you sure you want to remove this task? (yes/no)

•If user responds "no" or cancels, exit without changes
•If user responds "yes", proceed with deletion

Step 5: Remove Task from Tasks Section

•
Find the task:
- •Locate phase section: ### Phase {N}:
- •Locate track subsection: #### Track: {TRACK_NAME}
- •Find task: ##### Task {TASK_NUMBER}: {TITLE}
•
Delete task entry:
- •
  Remove entire task section including:
  - •Task header (##### Task {TASK_NUMBER}: ...)
  - •All task metadata (Status, Plan File, Priority, etc.)
  - •Description
  - •Acceptance criteria
  - •All content until next task or track separator (---)
- •Use Edit tool to remove
•
Handle empty track subsection:
- •
  If this was the only task in the track subsection:
  - •Replace with: _No tasks yet. Use /add-task to add tasks to this track._
- •Otherwise, leave track subsection intact

Step 6: Update Track Progress

•
Find the track in Tracks section:
- •Locate: ### Track: {TRACK_NAME}
•
Recalculate progress:
- •Count remaining tasks in this track across all phases
- •Count completed tasks in this track
- •Calculate new percentage
•
Update track progress:
- •Update: **Progress**: {COMPLETED}/{TOTAL} tasks complete ({PERCENTAGE}%)
- •Use Edit tool

Step 7: Delete Plan File (if exists and not --keep-plan)

•
If task has plan file and --keep-plan not specified:
- •
  Delete plan file:
  bash
  rm .trackers/{TRACKER_NAME}/plans/{PLAN_FILENAME}
- •Confirm deletion
•
If --keep-plan specified:
- •Keep the plan file
- •Inform user that plan file was preserved

Step 8: Update Overview and Metadata

•
Update task count:
- •Find: - **Total Tasks**: {OLD_COUNT}
- •Replace with: - **Total Tasks**: {NEW_COUNT}
•
Update completion statistics:
- •
  Recalculate overall completion:
  - •Count all remaining tasks
  - •Count completed tasks
  - •Calculate percentage
- •Update: - **Completed**: {COMPLETED}/{TOTAL} tasks ({PERCENTAGE}%)
•
Update metadata:
- •Update updated: field in frontmatter to current date
- •
  Get current date:
  bash
  date +%Y-%m-%d

Step 9: Confirm Removal

code

Task removed successfully!

**Removed**: Task {TASK_NUMBER}: {TITLE}
**From**: Phase {N}: {PHASE_NAME} / Track: {TRACK_NAME}
**Was**: {STATUS}, Priority: {PRIORITY}
{IF_PLAN_DELETED}**Plan file deleted**: {PLAN_FILENAME}{END_IF}
{IF_PLAN_KEPT}**Plan file kept**: {PLAN_FILENAME}{END_IF}

{IF_DEPENDENT_TASKS}
⚠️  WARNING: Update dependencies manually

The following tasks have invalid dependencies:
{FOR_EACH_DEPENDENT}
- Task {TASK_NUMBER}: {TITLE}
  Fix with: /edit-task {TRACKER_NAME} --task={TASK_NUMBER}
{END_FOR}
{END_IF}

**Tracker updated**:
- Total tasks: {OLD_TASK_COUNT} → {NEW_TASK_COUNT}
- Completion: {OLD_PERCENTAGE}% → {NEW_PERCENTAGE}%

**Track updated**:
- {TRACK_NAME}: {OLD_TRACK_PROGRESS} → {NEW_TRACK_PROGRESS}

**Next steps**:
{IF_DEPENDENT_TASKS}
- Fix task dependencies with /edit-task
{END_IF}
- Review tracker: /review-tracker {TRACKER_NAME}
- Add another task: /add-task {TRACKER_NAME}

View tracker: .trackers/{TRACKER_NAME}/TRACKER.md

Important Notes

•Single task operation: Only removes one task at a time
•No renumbering: Task numbers are not renumbered after deletion
•Plan files: By default, associated plan files are deleted (use --keep-plan to preserve)
•Dependencies: Task dependencies are NOT automatically updated
•Track progress: Track progress statistics are recalculated
•Confirmation required: User must confirm unless --confirm flag is used
•No undo: This operation cannot be reversed
•Gap in numbering: Removing a task creates a gap in task numbering (this is intentional)

Examples

Example 1: Remove Single Task

code

/remove-task my-app --task=05
> Warning: Will delete Task 05: Implement login API
> Confirm: yes
> Task removed
> Plan file deleted: 05-implement-login-api.md

Example 2: Interactive Selection

code

/remove-task my-app
> Shows all tasks with numbers
> Enter task: 03
> Warning: Will delete Task 03
> Confirm: yes

Example 3: Keep Plan File

code

/remove-task my-app --task=07 --keep-plan
> Task removed but plan file kept

Example 4: Skip Confirmation

code

/remove-task my-app --task=02 --confirm
> Task removed immediately without confirmation

Example 5: Task with Dependencies

code

/remove-task my-app --task=01
> Warning: Task 04 and Task 06 depend on this task
> Confirm: yes
> Task removed
> Warning: Update dependencies manually for Task 04, 06

Error Handling

•If tracker doesn't exist, inform user and exit
•If task doesn't exist, show available tasks
•If user cancels confirmation, exit without changes
•Validate all inputs before modifying
•Ensure tracker structure remains valid after removal
•Handle cases where plan file doesn't exist or deletion fails

Post-Removal Validation

After removing the task:

•Verify track progress is correct
•Ensure task count matches actual tasks
•Validate completion percentage is accurate
•Check that track/phase structure is intact
•Manual check required: Verify dependent tasks are updated

Dependency Management

Important: When a task is removed, you must manually update dependent tasks:

•List all dependent tasks in the confirmation output
•
For each dependent task:
- •Use /edit-task {TRACKER} --task={NUMBER} to update
- •Remove the deleted task from "Blocked By" field
- •Or replace with a different dependency

Example dependency fix:

code

Task 04 was blocked by: 01, 02, 03
Task 02 was removed
New blocking: 01, 03 (manually updated)

Why Task Numbers Are Not Renumbered

Task numbers are preserved (creating gaps) because:

•Tasks may be referenced in external documentation
•Git commits may reference task numbers
•Plan files use task numbers in filenames
•Renumbering would break these references

If you need sequential numbers, create a new tracker and migrate tasks.

Integration with Other Skills

•Use /edit-task to update dependent tasks
•Use /review-tracker to see updated structure
•Use /add-task to add replacement tasks
•Use /mark-status to mark tasks as cancelled instead of deleting