Work on Task
Pipeline Role
Step 3 of the connected pipeline: Capture → Plan → Work → Review → Compound.
This skill executes the current phase of a locked plan, tracks progress with checkboxes, and appends timestamped activity entries so the next session can resume automatically.
When to Use
Activate when the user wants to:
- •Implement code changes for a planned issue
- •Continue work from a previous session
- •Execute a specific phase of a development plan
Session Pickup Sequence
When invoked, follow this exact sequence:
- •Read the plan file
- •Check
status:- •
open→ "No plan yet. Run/plan-issuefirst." - •
needs-info→ Attempt to resolve from context; if still missing, stop. - •
planned→ Setstatus: in-progress, proceed to phase execution. - •
in-progress→ Resume at current phase (check## Activityfor progress). - •
reviewordone→ "This issue is past the work phase."
- •
- •Check
plan_lock: Iffalse→ "Plan is not locked. Run/plan-issuefirst." - •Read
phase: Determine current phase number. - •Read
## Activity: Understand what was already done in this phase. - •Read plan checkboxes: Find unchecked
- [ ]items for the current phase. - •Resume from first unchecked item.
Execution Loop
For each task in the current phase:
1. Verify Before Coding
List the exact files, symbols, and lines that justify the planned change. If key evidence is missing, set status: needs-info with one focused question and stop.
2. Implement with TDD
- •Write a failing test first (or test outline for the pattern)
- •Write the minimal code to make it pass
- •Clean up while tests are green
- •Keep diffs surgical — change only what the task requires
3. Scope Guard
- •Only touch files listed in
## Impacted Files - •If a change requires a file not in the allowlist, stop and ask to update the plan
- •If the change feels too large for the phase, stop and ask to split
4. Check Off and Log
After completing each task:
- •Mark the checkbox:
- [x] task - •Continue to the next unchecked task
Phase Completion
When all tasks in the current phase are checked:
- •Run tests — all must pass
- •Increment
phasein frontmatter - •Append to
## Activity:
markdown
### YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM — Phase [N] completed ([M] tasks) - [x] [Task 1 summary] (`path/to/file`) - [x] [Task 2 summary] (`path/to/file`) - **Result:** Phase [N] complete, all tests passing - **Next:** Phase [N+1] — [brief description]
- •Check if all phases are done:
- •If yes → set
status: reviewand suggest: "All phases complete. Run/code-reviewto review changes." - •If no → suggest: "Phase [N] complete. Run
/work-on-taskagain for Phase [N+1]."
- •If yes → set
Activity Log Rules
- •Append-only — never modify previous entries
- •Timestamped — each entry starts with date/time
- •Phase-scoped — each entry tracks a single phase
- •File references — include paths of created/modified files
- •Blockers noted — record blockers and decisions explicitly
- •Status summary — end with current state and what's next
Guardrails
- •Never start without
plan_lock: true. - •Never touch files outside
## Impacted Fileswithout updating the plan. - •Never skip the test step — TDD is mandatory.
- •Never modify previous
## Activityentries. - •If blocked, document the blocker in the activity log and stop.