kanban-workflow - SKILL.md Agent Skill

name: kanban-workflow description: Comprehensive guide for using juno-kanban task management. Covers all commands (create, list, search, get, mark, update, archive, deps, ready, order, merge), dependency management, best practices, and workflow patterns. Use when you need to interact with the kanban board. argument-hint: "[command or workflow question]"

Kanban CLI Reference

All commands use ./.juno_task/scripts/kanban.sh (wrapper around juno-kanban Python CLI).

Core Commands

CREATE — Add a new task

./.juno_task/scripts/kanban.sh create "Task description here" --status backlog --tags feature,backend

Options: --status (backlog|todo|in_progress|done), --tags (comma/space-separated), --blocked-by (task IDs), --related-tasks (task IDs)

LIST — Browse tasks with summary stats

./.juno_task/scripts/kanban.sh list --limit 5 --sort asc
./.juno_task/scripts/kanban.sh list --status todo --sort asc
./.juno_task/scripts/kanban.sh list --status todo,in_progress --limit 10

SEARCH — Find tasks by criteria

./.juno_task/scripts/kanban.sh search --status todo --tag backend --limit 10
./.juno_task/scripts/kanban.sh search --body "OAuth" --open
./.juno_task/scripts/kanban.sh search --commit abc123

Filters: --status, --tag, --body, --response, --commit, --open (no agent_response), --recent, --exclude (exclude tags)

GET — Full task details (including dependency info and related task details)

./.juno_task/scripts/kanban.sh get TASK_ID

MARK — Update status with required response message

./.juno_task/scripts/kanban.sh mark in_progress --id TASK_ID --response "Starting work on this"
./.juno_task/scripts/kanban.sh mark done --id TASK_ID --response "Completed: implemented X, tested Y" --commit abc123def
./.juno_task/scripts/kanban.sh mark todo --id TASK_ID --response "Reopening: found regression"

Required: --id and --response. Optional: --commit (recommended for done).

UPDATE — Modify task fields

./.juno_task/scripts/kanban.sh update TASK_ID --status todo --tags backend,urgent
./.juno_task/scripts/kanban.sh update TASK_ID --commit abc123def
./.juno_task/scripts/kanban.sh update TASK_ID --response "Additional context"

ARCHIVE — Soft delete (preserves data, sets status to archive)

./.juno_task/scripts/kanban.sh archive TASK_ID

Dependency Management

DEPS — View, add, or remove task dependencies

# View dependency info (blockers, dependents, priority score)
./.juno_task/scripts/kanban.sh deps TASK_ID

# Add blockers (TASK_ID cannot start until BLOCKER1 and BLOCKER2 are done)
./.juno_task/scripts/kanban.sh deps add --id TASK_ID --blocked-by BLOCKER1 BLOCKER2

# Remove a blocker
./.juno_task/scripts/kanban.sh deps remove --id TASK_ID --blocked-by BLOCKER1

Cycle detection prevents circular dependencies automatically.

READY — Tasks with all blockers satisfied (safe to work on)

./.juno_task/scripts/kanban.sh ready
./.juno_task/scripts/kanban.sh ready --tag backend --limit 5

Returns tasks where status is backlog/todo/in_progress AND all blocked_by tasks are done/archive.

ORDER — Topological sort of open tasks respecting dependencies

./.juno_task/scripts/kanban.sh order
./.juno_task/scripts/kanban.sh order --scores

Use for determining safe parallel execution order.

Body Markup for Inline Dependencies

Declare dependencies and relations directly in task body text:

[blocked_by]TASK_ID[/blocked_by]          — This task is blocked by TASK_ID
[blocked_by]ID1, ID2[/blocked_by]         — Blocked by multiple tasks
[task_id]RELATED_ID[/task_id]             — Reference a related task
[task_id]ID1 ID2[/task_id]                — Multiple related tasks

These are parsed automatically when the task is created/updated.

Merge (Multi-Directory Consolidation)

When tasks get scattered across subdirectories:

# Auto-discover and merge all .juno_task dirs
./.juno_task/scripts/kanban.sh merge --find-all --into ./.juno_task --dry-run

# Merge specific sources
./.juno_task/scripts/kanban.sh merge ./sub1/.juno_task ./sub2/.juno_task --into ./.juno_task

Strategy: --strategy keep-newer (default) or --strategy keep-both.

Output Formats

All commands support: -f json, -f ndjson (default), -f xml, -f table Add --raw for compact output. Add -p for pretty print.

Best Practices

Task sizing: Create tasks small enough to complete in one iteration without filling the context window
Status flow: backlog → todo → in_progress → done (or archive for abandoned tasks)
Always include --response when using mark — document what you did and how you tested it
Attach commits: Use --commit HASH when marking done, then update TASK_ID --commit HASH to link the git history
Use ready before starting work to find unblocked tasks
Use order --scores to plan parallel execution pipelines
Use [blocked_by] markup in task body when creating tasks that depend on others
Use [task_id] markup in task body to cross-reference related tasks
Use get TASK_ID to see full task details including resolved dependency and related task info
One task in_progress at a time — finish or re-queue before starting the next

Environment Variables

JUNO_TASK_ROOT — Pin kanban operations to a specific project root directory
JUNO_DEBUG=true — Show diagnostic messages
JUNO_VERBOSE=true — Show informational messages
JUNO_KANBAN_LIST_BODY_TRUNCATE_CHARS=N — Override list body truncation (default: 1200)

$ARGUMENTS