task-register

name: task-register description: "Task planning and management. Manages tasks.json with task creation, status updates, dependency tracking, and priority management. Use for creating new tasks, updating task status, managing task dependencies, re-prioritizing work. Triggers on 'create task', 'update task', 'task status', 'new task'."

Task Register

Overview

Manages task planning, tracking, and updates to tasks.json. Handles task dependencies, priorities, and status updates.

Commands

Create Task Plan

Create a new task with appropriate priority and dependencies:

/task-register --plan "Task description"

Output: Creates task in tasks.json with auto-generated ID.

Update Task Status

Update task status in tasks.json:

/task-register --update-task TASK-001 --status completed --passes true

See conventions.md for status values.

List Tasks

Show all tasks with status and dependencies:

/task-register --list-tasks

Add Dependency

Create dependency relationship between tasks:

/task-register --add-dependency TASK-002 --depends-on TASK-001

Task Schema

See conventions.md for complete schema.

Priority Levels

See conventions.md for priority definitions.

Dependency Rules

1. NEVER create circular dependencies - Task A depends on B, B depends on A
2. ALWAYS validate dependencies exist - Check referenced task IDs exist
3. DEPENDENT tasks auto-block - Task B blocked until Task A completes
4. UPDATES unlock dependents - Marking Task A complete unblocks Task B

Return Contract

See return-contract.md.

Safety Rules

1. NEVER delete tasks - Mark as cancelled instead
2. ALWAYS update updatedAt - Set timestamp on every modification
3. ALWAYS set passes=true - Only when task is truly complete
4. NEVER skip validation - Check dependencies exist before adding
5. ALWAYS preserve structure - Maintain JSON schema integrity

See safety-rules.md for patterns.

Error Handling

• If tasks.json doesn't exist: Create with empty tasks array, set version: "1.0.0", notify user
• If dependency doesn't exist: Report error with missing task ID, do not add, suggest valid task IDs
• If circular dependency detected: Report the cycle (A -> B -> C -> A), do not apply changes

See error-handling.md for patterns.

Example

User: /task-register --update-task TASK-001 --status completed --passes true

Status: SUCCESS

Summary:
- Updated TASK-001 status to completed
- Set passes=true for TASK-001
- Unblocked dependent tasks: TASK-002, TASK-003

Files changed:
- tasks.json

Commands run:
- None (direct file edit)

Evidence:
- TASK-001: completed (passes=true)
- TASK-002: pending (previously blocked)
- TASK-003: pending (previously blocked)

Next recommended:
- node bin/dw.js pick-next

Integration with plan-create

Creating Tasks for Implementation

# Step 1: Register the task
/task-register --plan "Add retry mechanism to API client"
# Output: Created TASK-015

# Step 2: Create implementation plan (recommended next step)
/plan-create --task TASK-015

After Task Creation

When a new task is created, recommend:

Next recommended:
- /plan-create --task TASK-XXX  (create implementation plan)
- node bin/dw.js claim --task TASK-XXX  (claim and start work)

Workflow Chain

task-register (register task)
    ↓
plan-create --task TASK-XXX (create plan)
    ↓
plan-execute --task TASK-XXX (execute plan)
    ↓
task-register --update-task TASK-XXX --status completed (mark done)