eugenelim/agent-ready-repo/.agents/skills/workspace-status/SKILL.md
workspace-status
Use this skill to orient at session start, check initiative queue state, or see what's ready to work on next. Reads workspace.toml and surfaces ready-to-start items, blocked items with reason, parallel candidates, and active signals. Triggers on "workspace status", "where am I", "orient me", "session start", "what's ready", "show the queue", "what's next", "what should I work on", "check workspace", or any cold-start orientation request. Offers to initialise workspace.toml if absent. Also reconc
- Source repository stars
- 17
- Declared platforms
- 0
- Static risk flags
- 2
- Last source update
- 2026-08-28
- Source checked
- 2026-08-28
Decision brief
What it does: where it fits
Read the local workspace.toml and surface the current queue state across all active initiatives. Run this at every session start — it replaces reading multiple product docs by hand.
Not for
- Tasks that require unconfirmed production actions or broad system permissions.
- Environments where the pinned source and install steps cannot be inspected.
Compatibility matrix
Platform support, with evidence labels
| Platform | Status | Evidence | What to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Codex | Not declared | No explicit evidence | Portability before use |
| Claude Code | Not declared | No explicit evidence | Portability before use |
| Cursor | Not declared | No explicit evidence | Portability before use |
| Gemini CLI | Not declared | No explicit evidence | Portability before use |
Installation
Inspect first. Install second.
The source command is displayed only when detected. A safe inspection prompt is always available so your agent can explain every action before execution.
npx skills add https://github.com/eugenelim/agent-ready-repo --skill ".agents/skills/workspace-status"Inspect the Agent Skill "workspace-status" from https://github.com/eugenelim/agent-ready-repo/blob/12b2c9f36c800761156a1daa149949af4d84986f/.agents/skills/workspace-status/SKILL.md at commit 12b2c9f36c800761156a1daa149949af4d84986f. List every install step, command, network request, credential, file read/write, external action, and rollback step. Explain whether it fits my task. Do not install or execute anything until I approve.
Workflow
What the source asks the agent to do
- 01
Procedure
Run the production backend via argument vector (the canonical and only safe invocation):
POSIX (bash/zsh): python3 '/scripts/workspacestatus.py' status --root .PowerShell: python '/scripts/workspacestatus.py' status --root . (single-quoted strings are literal in PS; safe unless the path contains ')cmd.exe: python "\scripts\workspacestatus.py" status --root . (double-quoted path; safe unless the path contains ", %, or ! — any of these requires the argv form) - 02
1d. Repair workflow
Use repair-plan + repair-apply to deterministically clean up stale queue entries without manual workspace.toml editing:
Use repair-plan + repair-apply to deterministically clean up stale queue entries without manual workspace.toml editing: - 03
Step 1 — inspect the plan (no writes to workspace.toml)
["", "/scripts/workspacestatus.py", "repair-plan", "--root", ""]
["", "/scripts/workspacestatus.py", "repair-plan", "--root", ""] - 04
Step 2 — review the plan JSON; then apply (--yes is required to confirm the write)
["", "/scripts/workspacestatus.py", "repair-apply", "--root", "", "--yes"]
spec/ (Status: Approved) — add to [work].queue through work-intakespec/ in [ini-002 work].queue — Status: Shippedspec/ in [ini-002 work].active — Status: Archived - 05
Output rendering
Status list — Lead each row with a status glyph — ● running, ✓ done, ○ idle, ⚠ blocked — status first, one item per line, labels aligned. Table — When presenting several items that share the same fields, render a Markdown table. Cap at 5 columns; beyond that, switch to a per-ite…
Status list — Lead each row with a status glyph — ● running, ✓ done, ○ idle, ⚠ blocked — status first, one item per line, labels aligned. Table — When presenting several items that share the same fields, render a Markdo…
Permission review
Static risk signals and limitations
Writes files
The documentation asks the agent to create, modify, or delete local files.
*Exit 1 — workspace.toml absent:** the JSON will contain `"workspace_present": false`. Offer to initialise — ask the user whether to create a blank file or bootstrap with their first initiative. A blank file emits the full schema-documentedReads files
The documentation asks the agent to read local files, directories, or repositories.
| `unreadable_artifact` | A confined artifact cannot be read safely. | Restore readable repository state, then rerun reconciliation. |Reads files
The documentation asks the agent to read local files, directories, or repositories.
file. Migration planning is read-only and rejects `--plan-file`; a missingEvidence record
Why each signal appears
| Signal | Value | Evidence type | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quality score | 94/100 | Computed | Documentation, specificity, maintenance, and trust rules |
| Repository stars | 17 | Source | Repository attention, not individual Skill quality |
| Compatibility | 0 platforms | Source | Declared in the catalog source record |
| Usage guide | automated source guide | Editorial | Generated or reviewed according to the visible evidence level |
Pinned source
Provenance and original SKILL.md
- Repository
- eugenelim/agent-ready-repo
- Skill path
- .agents/skills/workspace-status/SKILL.md
- Commit
- 12b2c9f36c800761156a1daa149949af4d84986f
- License
- Apache-2.0
- Collected
- 2026-08-28
- Default branch
- main
View the original SKILL.md
Skill: workspace-status
Read the local workspace.toml and surface the current queue state across all active initiatives. Run this at every session start — it replaces reading multiple product docs by hand.
Output rendering
Status list — Lead each row with a status glyph — ● running, ✓ done, ○ idle, ⚠ blocked — status first, one item per line, labels aligned. Table — When presenting several items that share the same fields, render a Markdown table. Cap at ~5 columns; beyond that, switch to a per-item detail list. Right-align numeric columns. Diagram / flow — For relationships or flow, emit a fenced ```mermaid block (it renders in chat and artifacts). If the surface is terminal-only, fall back to an ASCII box-and-arrow sketch. Progress — Report progress inline as done/total (e.g. 3/8). Only draw a bar if you're animating in a terminal.
When to invoke
Any time you need to orient: which initiative is active, what specs are ready to start, what is blocked and why, what signals the strategist has flagged. Also the right skill if workspace.toml does not yet exist and you want to initialise it.
Prerequisites
- Python 3.11+ — the backend uses
tomllib(stdlib from 3.11). Confirm withpython3 --version(macOS/Linux) orpython --version(Windows). If Python is absent or below 3.11, the backend exits with a load error; install or upgrade before invoking this skill. - tomlkit (for
repair-applyonly) — comment-preserving TOML writer. Detect:python3 -c "import tomlkit". If absent,repair-applyexits 2 withreason: "tomlkit_unavailable"— surface to the user; install only with consent:pip install tomlkit==0.15.1.repair-plandoes not require it.
Procedure
1. Invoke the backend
Run the production backend via argument vector (the canonical and only safe invocation):
["<python>", "<skill-dir>/scripts/workspace_status.py", "status", "--root", "<repo-root>"]
The status subcommand runs a bounded scan (Type 2 + Type 3 only — no global spec walk). Use reconcile for a full audit that also finds untracked live specs (Type 1). Use explain to investigate a specific item. See §1a. Subcommand guidance below.
<python> is the Python 3.11+ interpreter available in your environment: python3 on macOS/Linux; python on Windows. <skill-dir> is the directory where your installer placed this skill's files (i.e., the directory containing this SKILL.md). Passing the paths as discrete arguments prevents shell expansion of $(), backticks, $VAR, and other metacharacters — the values are never interpreted by a shell.
Shell-string-only tools: If your adapter cannot be configured to pass a discrete argument vector, use the shell-specific form below — or, for maximum portability, set the working directory to the repository root and pass --root .:
- POSIX (bash/zsh):
python3 '<skill-dir>/scripts/workspace_status.py' status --root . - PowerShell:
python '<skill-dir>/scripts/workspace_status.py' status --root .(single-quoted strings are literal in PS; safe unless the path contains') - cmd.exe:
python "<skill-dir>\scripts\workspace_status.py" status --root .(double-quoted path; safe unless the path contains",%, or!— any of these requires the argv form)
Any path with special characters requires the argv form.
Exit 1 — workspace.toml absent: the JSON will contain "workspace_present": false. Offer to initialise — ask the user whether to create a blank file or bootstrap with their first initiative. A blank file emits the full schema-documented template:
# workspace.toml
#
# Repository coordination index. Canonical artifacts own requirements; this
# file records lifecycle membership, source provenance, display summaries, and
# hard dependencies.
#
# Target entries are inline tables with exactly:
# path, kind, source, summary, needs
#
# Example:
# { path = "docs/specs/<slug>/spec.md", kind = "spec", source = { mode = "repo-origin" }, summary = "Example spec", needs = [] }
#
# Comments, summaries, list order, tracker labels, and profile hints are
# non-semantic. They must not determine routing, dependency satisfaction,
# processor selection, or dispatch.
#
# Paths are repository-relative POSIX paths. Consumers must reject absolute
# paths, backslashes, ".." segments, and any symlink-resolved target outside the
# repository root.
[backlog]
open = []
closed = []
Exit 2 — unexpected error: surface the stderr message and stop — do not proceed with partial data.
Exit 0: parse the JSON result. Key fields:
mode — active subcommand: "status" | "reconcile" | "explain"
scan.global_spec_scan_performed — true only in reconcile mode (Type 1 walk performed)
scan.workspace_files_read — always 1 (workspace.toml)
scan.declared_spec_files_read — spec.md files read for declared entries (Type 2+3 reads)
scan.global_scan_spec_files_read — spec.md files read during global walk; 0 in status/explain
reconciliation.performed — always true in status/reconcile (Type 2+3 always run)
reconciliation.complete — true only in reconcile (all three types performed)
reconciliation.types_performed — [2, 3] in status; [1, 2, 3] in reconcile
(explain mode omits the reconciliation object entirely)
selector — normalized selector string (explain mode only)
selector_status — "matched" | "not_found" | "ambiguous" (explain mode only)
explained_item — item details when selector_status is "matched" (explain only)
matches — initiative slugs with colliding entries when "ambiguous" (explain only)
initiatives — list of active initiatives (slug, name, status, milestone, brief_queue)
initiatives[].brief_queue — {executing, ready, draft} or null
work.ready — compatibility alias for canonical dispatchable work.queue specs
work.blocked — compatibility alias for canonical non-dispatchable work entries
work.active — compatibility alias for canonical valid work.active specs
work.shipped — list of shipped build entries; each carries ini_slug
shaping.ready — list of ready shaping entries (from active AND backlog); each carries ini_slug and blocking_needs
shaping.signals — list of active-context signal entries; each carries ini_slug
shaping.blocked — list of blocked shaping entries (backlog only); each carries ini_slug and blocking_needs
shaping.active_entries — list of all shaping_queue.active entries; each carries slug, ini_slug, and entry_type (signals included)
reconciliation.type1 — untracked live specs (empty in status/explain; 1 not in types_performed)
reconciliation.type2 — stale queue/active entries
reconciliation.type3 — prematurely-shipped entries
reconciliation.type2_cleanup_ops — non-authoritative Type 2 repair descriptors
canonical.ready — canonical dispatchable work.queue specs only
canonical.active — canonical valid work.active specs; resumable, not queue-ready
canonical.blocked — canonical non-dispatchable entries and retained legacy memberships
canonical.findings — stable finding code/path/dispatchable/next_action records (no raw artifact text)
canonical.legacy_memberships — retained legacy context; always non-dispatchable
canonical.*[].origin_mode — repository or tracker origin from structured provenance
canonical.*[].profile — active tracker profile id/version when declared
canonical.*[].refresh — compared/accepted revisions, unresolved-conflict flag,
and refresh/write-back availability
diagnostics.spec_files_read — number of spec.md files examined (status + reconcile only)
Refresh authority facts come only from the canonical workspace source record
and exactly one closed toml source-authority block in the confined artifact.
Never infer them from prose, comments, labels, summaries, or tracker content.
The status surface reports availability as unknown until a configured
processor supplies an explicit capability result; tracker origin plus a profile
is not proof that refresh or write-back is available. Status projects only the
facts needed for orientation and never copies field ownership, decisions,
receipts, approver identity, or raw source values into its output.
1a. Canonical findings
Every canonical refusal carries a stable code, dispatchable:false, one safe
next action, and an identifier: a repository-relative path, or — for
unsupported_legacy only — a safe single-segment slug. Never join a finding
identifier to the repository root without checking it is a path first.
| Code | Why blocked | Safe action |
|---|---|---|
invalid_workspace | TOML parse failure or invalid lifecycle collection shape. | Correct workspace.toml, then rerun reconciliation. |
invalid_entry | Malformed target record, unknown field or kind, or failed schema conditional. | Rewrite the entry to the accepted target contract. |
legacy_entry | Supported compatibility form; visible but never dispatchable. | Materialize and register a canonical target entry. |
unsupported_legacy | Legacy-like form outside accepted compatibility fixtures. | Route the item manually; do not infer a target entry. |
invalid_artifact_path | Unsafe, noncanonical, or out-of-repository artifact-like path. | Replace it with a confined canonical repository-relative path. |
missing_artifact | Registered canonical artifact does not exist. | Create and review the canonical artifact before dispatch. |
unreadable_artifact | A confined artifact cannot be read safely. | Restore readable repository state, then rerun reconciliation. |
missing_plan | A spec has no sibling plan.md. | Create and approve the plan before dispatch. |
unapproved_spec | Queue spec is not Approved. | Complete the spec approval gate. |
unregistered_work | Supplied or active spec has no unique matching workspace membership. | Register or reconcile the canonical entry explicitly. |
duplicate_membership | One artifact occurs more than once across lifecycle memberships. | Remove the duplicate after choosing the authoritative membership. |
impossible_transition | Artifact status and lifecycle membership cannot coexist. | Correct the artifact or membership through a reviewed transition. |
provenance_mismatch | Workspace source metadata disagrees with canonical artifact metadata. | Resolve provenance in the canonical artifact and mirror it deliberately. |
refresh_conflict | Tracker-origin refresh conflict remains unresolved. | Resolve the conflict through the artifact's authority workflow. |
invalid_source_authority | Tracker-origin source authority is missing, duplicated, malformed, or violates its closed contract. | Correct the closed source-authority block, then rerun reconciliation. |
source_authority_migration_required | A legacy tracker-origin artifact has no closed source-authority record. | Add the reviewed authority record before using refresh. |
unsatisfied_dependency | A known dependency lacks its kind-specific terminal state. | Complete or explicitly revise the dependency. |
missing_dependency | A dependency target cannot be resolved locally. | Materialize or correct the dependency target. |
dependency_cycle | The hard-dependency graph contains a cycle. | Break the cycle through an explicit plan change. |
invalid_receipt | Cross-repository receipt is incomplete, mismatched, or conflicted. | Replace it with a reviewed receipt matching the pinned dependency. |
inactive_initiative | Work belongs to a paused or closed initiative. | Reactivate the initiative explicitly or move the work through governance. |
configuration_mismatch | Versioned schema, adapter/profile, or routing identity is missing or inconsistent. | Install or select a consistent versioned configuration, then rerun. |
For an unsupported object that carries a safe single-segment slug, the
unsupported_legacy finding preserves that slug as its identifier. This makes
manual-routing inventories attributable without treating the object as
supported or dispatchable.
1b. Coordination receipts
Cross-repository dependencies that reference a containing brief require exactly
one fenced block in that local brief with info string
toml coordination-receipts. The block is TOML; surrounding prose and other
fences are ignored.
Valid receipt block:
[[coordination_receipts]]
id = "remote-prereq"
remote_kind = "brief"
remote_ref = "example-service://projects/example-artifact"
accepted_revision = "remote-rev-9"
required_status = "Shipped"
reported_status = "Shipped"
reviewed_by = "Example Reviewer"
reviewed_at = "2026-08-10T00:00:00Z"
refresh_conflict = false
Representative invalid receipt block:
[[coordination_receipts]]
id = "remote-prereq"
remote_kind = "brief"
remote_ref = "example-service://projects/example-artifact"
accepted_revision = "remote-rev-8"
required_status = "Shipped"
reported_status = "Shipped"
reviewed_by = "Example Reviewer"
reviewed_at = "2026-08-10T00:00:00Z"
refresh_conflict = false
Recovery for invalid_receipt: replace it with a reviewed receipt matching the
pinned dependency.
1c. Subcommand guidance
| Subcommand | When to use | Type 1 walk | Writes |
|---|---|---|---|
status (default) | Session start, queue check — fast bounded scan | No | — |
reconcile | Full audit: find untracked live specs in addition to stale/premature entries | Yes | — |
explain --item <selector> | Investigate a specific item (slug or spec/ path) | No | — |
repair-plan | Build a deterministic repair plan for Type 2 queue findings | Yes | .workspace-repair-plan.json |
repair-apply | Apply a previously generated repair plan atomically | No | workspace.toml |
repair-plan --migration-selection <path> | Validate one human-selected legacy route and emit a deterministic migration proposal | No | — |
repair-apply --migration-selection <path> --operation-id <id> --confirmation-file <path> | Apply one authorized ledger-first legacy migration | No | .workspace-migrations.json, workspace.toml |
repair-rollback --operation-id <id> --confirmation-file <path> | Restore one exact legacy representation without deleting its artifact | No | .workspace-migrations.json, workspace.toml |
reconcile — use when you suspect specs have been approved or put in-progress without being added to workspace.toml. The Type 1 walk reads every spec.md in docs/specs/ and reports any Approved/Implementing spec not listed in any initiative.
explain — pass a slug or spec/ path to get the item's current classification, dependencies, blocking needs, and which downstream items would become unblocked if this item shipped. Lookup is restricted to active initiatives' work queues (queue/active/shipped); shaping items and items in paused or closed initiatives return selector_status: "not_found".
For closeout orientation, project only current pause, closeout blockers,
all-specs-shipped initiative eligibility, cooling-context visibility, and the next
action to invoke close-work. Never infer semantic freshness, choose a disposition,
confirm authority, distil content, record a closeout result, compact coordination,
remove an entry, or delete. A paused item remains visible as paused; cooling context
remains visible because ordinary-context exclusion is not part of this wave.
repair-plan — runs a full reconciliation scan (Type 1+2+3) and builds a deterministic repair plan for all automatically-resolvable Type 2 queue findings: queue entries whose spec shows Shipped (moved to [work].shipped) or Archived (removed from [work].queue). Emits a JSON plan to stdout and writes it to .workspace-repair-plan.json (override with --plan-file). The plan includes a SHA-256 fingerprint of workspace.toml so that repair-apply can detect stale plans. Type 1 and Type 3 findings, and any Type 2 active-list entries, appear in manual_findings — they require human review. Approved entries are never touched automatically. Exit 0 on success (including empty plan); exit 1 if workspace.toml is absent; exit 2 if the plan file cannot be written (stdout is still emitted).
repair-apply — loads the plan file written by repair-plan (default .workspace-repair-plan.json; override with --plan-file), verifies the SHA-256 fingerprint against the current workspace.toml, and applies each operation atomically via tempfile.mkstemp. Re-reads each spec's Status from disk at apply time; skips the operation (with a skipped record in per_operation) if the status has changed since the plan was made. Immediately before replacing workspace.toml, it revalidates every spec whose operation would be applied and aborts the whole write if any status or status-line fingerprint changed. Requires tomlkit to preserve TOML comments; exits 2 if tomlkit is unavailable. The write is skipped entirely when operations_applied == 0 (no stray temp files). Exit 0 on success or all-skipped; exit 2 for any structural error (fingerprint mismatch, plan not found, parse error, invalid schema).
Legacy migration planning — when a retained legacy membership includes a
migration finding, show its exact observed source representation, lifecycle
membership, candidate route classes, and next_action. Never choose among the
candidates. A human must author the closed selection JSON out of band and pass
its repository-relative path with --migration-selection. Do not create,
edit, prefill, or suggest substantive values for a selection or confirmation
file. Migration planning is read-only and rejects --plan-file; a missing
canonical artifact returns the selected owning processor as next_action
without writing an artifact, ledger, repair plan, or workspace change.
Legacy migration effects — pause while the human authors each confirmation
file out of band. Never create, edit, or prefill it. The confirmation must be
fresh, single-use, and bound to the exact action, operation ID, and digest shown
by the reviewed plan or ledger. If the human needs opaque test-safe identifiers,
tell them to run python3 -c 'import secrets; print("confirmation-" + secrets.token_hex(16)); print("subject-" + secrets.token_hex(16))' themselves;
do not run it for them. Apply requires all three migration arguments and rejects
--plan-file or --yes. Rollback requires a new confirmation and never reads,
changes, or deletes the canonical artifact. A pending or rollback_pending
ledger operation is recoverable only with another fresh confirmation. Surface
the closed migration result code and next_action; never echo source content on
credential, unsafe-context, authorization, or write refusals.
1d. Repair workflow
Use repair-plan + repair-apply to deterministically clean up stale queue entries without manual workspace.toml editing:
# Step 1 — inspect the plan (no writes to workspace.toml)
["<python>", "<skill-dir>/scripts/workspace_status.py", "repair-plan", "--root", "<repo-root>"]
# Step 2 — review the plan JSON; then apply (--yes is required to confirm the write)
["<python>", "<skill-dir>/scripts/workspace_status.py", "repair-apply", "--root", "<repo-root>", "--yes"]
When to use: after reconcile or status shows Type 2 stale-queue findings and you want automated cleanup without manual editing. The two-step design lets you review the plan before committing.
--plan-file <path> — override the plan file location for both subcommands. The path must resolve inside <repo-root>; symlinks that escape the root are rejected (exit 2, plan_file_outside_root).
tomlkit availability — repair-apply requires tomlkit (comment-preserving TOML writer). If absent, repair-apply exits 2 with reason: "tomlkit_unavailable"; surface to the user and install only with consent: pip install tomlkit==0.15.1. See ## Prerequisites above. repair-plan does not require it.
repair-apply result JSON key fields:
schema_version — 1
mode — "repair-apply"
applied — true if write succeeded; false on any structural error
operations_applied — count of operations actually written (0 when all skipped or empty plan)
per_operation — list of {path, applied, reason?} for all operations
reason — error reason string when applied:false (top-level field, structural errors)
Interpreting per_operation: each entry records "applied": true (written) or "applied": false with a reason:
spec_status_changed— spec Status changed between plan and apply; human review neededspec_status_unreadable— spec.md not found or Status field missinginitiative_not_found— ini_slug absent from workspace.tomlentry_not_found_in_queue— path no longer in the queue (already removed or never present)
.workspace-repair-plan.json and temp files — both are written inside the repo root. Add them to .gitignore to avoid accidental commits (the temp files are cleaned up automatically on success).
2. Surface results
When mode == "explain": render the focused lookup result below and stop — skip §§3–5. The explain JSON omits reconciliation, work, shaping, and diagnostics; those fields must not be read.
If canonical.findings contains any record for the explained path, surface the
canonical code, path, and next_action first and do not describe the item
as startable. Retained canonical.legacy_memberships are blocked compatibility
records; show their finding and migration action, never a start prompt.
selector_status: "matched"→ surface theexplained_itemobject: path, slug, ini_slug, list, classification, blocking_needs, dependencies, downstream_unblockedselector_status: "not_found"→ report the selector was not found in any active initiative's work queue (shaping items and items in paused/closed initiatives also returnnot_found)selector_status: "ambiguous"→ list the initiative slugs inmatchesand ask which initiative the user is working in. The CLI does not accept an initiative-prefix qualifier — re-invokingexplainwith the same selector will still returnambiguous. Usestatusfor context on the relevant initiative.
For status and reconcile modes only, continue:
Type 1 audit notice: when 1 is not in reconciliation.types_performed (status mode only), always render the following line unconditionally — even when reconciliation is otherwise clean (N = 0):
Type 1 scan not performed — run
reconcileto also check for untracked live specs.
If the reconciliation block is non-empty (any type1/type2/type3 findings), output it first:
Reconciliation:
Let N = total count across all three finding types. When N > 0, output before the main sections; omit subsections with no entries; name the initiative for each stale/shipped entry (e.g. [ini-002 work]):
**Reconciliation** — N inconsistenc(y/ies) detected:
Untracked live specs (Approved or Implementing, not in any initiative list):
[Gate: render this subsection only when 1 is in reconciliation.types_performed.
When absent: omit this subsection — the global Type 1 audit notice at the top
of §2 already informs the user; do not emit a second notice here.]
- `spec/<slug>` (Status: Approved) — add to [work].queue through `work-intake`
Stale queue/active entries (spec shows Shipped or Archived):
- `spec/<slug>` in [ini-002 work].queue — Status: Shipped
- `spec/<slug>` in [ini-002 work].active — Status: Archived
Prematurely-shipped entries ([work].shipped, spec shows live status):
- `spec/<slug>` in [ini-002 work].shipped — Status: Implementing
Possible causes: (1) spec Status was not updated after shipping, or
(2) the workspace.toml entry was moved before the work was done.
When Type 2 findings exist, treat reconciliation.type2_cleanup_ops as
non-authoritative display metadata only. Never write workspace.toml from those
descriptors and never manually convert a structured entry to a bare string.
Append:
Stale entries found — clean up now?
Run repair-plan to identify canonically eligible queue repairs.
Active-list findings and every ambiguous or unsupported entry remain manual.
Reply Y to generate and review the repair plan.
Cleanup write — after Y confirmation (Type 2 only):
Invoke repair-plan using the argv form in §1 and show its
automatic_operations and manual_findings. Apply nothing if the user does not
confirm that exact plan. After confirmation, invoke repair-apply --yes; it is
the only cleanup writer. It preserves the complete structured entry when moving
Shipped queue work, removes only explicitly eligible Archived queue work, keeps
active-list findings manual, revalidates canonical eligibility, and performs a
comment-preserving atomic write. Never edit workspace.toml directly as a
fallback for a skipped or manual finding.
Main output sections:
Format output in four sections (omit sections with no entries):
Active initiatives: (for each entry in initiatives[])
<ini-slug> — <name> (milestone: <milestone>)
- Brief queue (from
initiatives[].brief_queue; omit whennull): Executing:<executing>(or "none") · Ready: N item(s) · Draft: N item(s)
Active context — signals (ongoing; do not need action):
<slug>(signal) — no action needed; informs shaping decisions
Ready to start:
[build]<path>— runwork-loopondocs/specs/<path>/[shape]<slug>(shape) — runframe-intent[shape]<slug>(research) — rundesk-research-project-start[shape]<slug>(strategy) — route throughframe-situation(PE pack — M2); if not yet available, runframe-intentas interim[shape]<slug>(design) — runexperience-status(requires experience-design pack); fallback:journey-mapping[brief]<path>(Ready) — runreceive-briefondocs/product/briefs/<path>.md
Parallel candidates: (all of the above with no inter-dependencies can start concurrently)
Blocked:
-
<path>— waiting on<needs-entry>(status:<queued|in-progress>)Resolve the status from JSON: for each entry in
blocking_needs, strip the queue-prefix to get the slug/path, then branch on the prefix. For same-initiative deps (noini-NNN:prefix), scope every lookup to the blocked entry's ownini_slug; only entries matching thatini_slugcount. For cross-initiative deps, scope to the named initiative instead.work:— scope to blocked entry'sini_slug: filterwork.active,work.ready,work.blockedbyini_slug == owning-ini. Path in filteredwork.active→in-progress; in filteredwork.readyorwork.blocked→queued; else → omit.shape:— scope toini_slugas above; useshaping.active_entriesfiltered toini_slug == owning-ini: if a matching entry withslug == dep_slugis found →in-progress(signals included); else → omit.research:— research deps block while the item is inshaping_queue.backlog; backlog items appear inshaping.readyorshaping.blocked— filter both byini_slug == owning-ini: if dep slug found →queued; else → omit.brief:— scope to the owning initiative'sbrief_queueonly (filterinitiatives[]byslug == owning-ini, sinceinitiatives[]carriesslugnotini_slug): if path inbrief_queue.draft→queued; if inbrief_queue.executing→in-progress; else → omit.- Cross-initiative prefix (e.g.
ini-002:work:spec/foo) — strip theini-NNN:prefix to get the named initiative; resolve the remainder as above using that initiative'sini_slug. - Not found by any path (dependency belongs to a paused initiative) → omit the status annotation.
Needs-resolution modes (analyze_bounded / is_need_satisfied): workspace_status() (used by workspace-mcp) calls analyze_bounded(autonomous_dispatch=True), which applies conservative semantics. All other callers use autonomous_dispatch=False (default, human-session semantics). The difference:
Autonomous dispatch consumers must use canonical.ready as the ready set. A
valid work.active item appears in canonical.active as resumable context,
not queue-ready. Invalid entries
and retained legacy memberships remain visible under canonical.blocked and
canonical.findings, but never dispatch.
| Need | autonomous_dispatch=False (default) | autonomous_dispatch=True |
|---|---|---|
shape:<slug> | Not in active → satisfied (graduated or never existed) | Not in active AND not in backlog → unsatisfied (never planned). In backlog but not active → satisfied (planned, not yet started). |
research:<slug> | Not in backlog as type "research" → satisfied (done or never needed) | Not in backlog as type "research" → satisfied (same as human mode — completed research is removed from backlog; absent is indistinguishable from completed). |
work:, brief:, backlog:, cross-initiative | Unchanged | Unchanged |
Intentional asymmetry: shape: in backlog = satisfied in autonomous mode (presence confirms the human scheduled it). research: uses the same logic in both modes: absent from backlog = satisfied (done or never needed); present in backlog as type "research" = unsatisfied (still pending). The autonomous-mode distinction does not apply to research: needs.
Closeout check: For each initiative in initiatives[], filter work.ready, work.blocked, work.active, and work.shipped by that initiative's ini_slug. Also check reconciliation.type2 for any entry with that ini_slug. Gate closeout on all of: (1) filtered ready + blocked + active are empty, (2) no type2 findings for that initiative, (3) initiatives[i].queue_empty is true — a path in both queue and shipped is excluded from the classifier's ready/blocked output and may have no type2 finding, so the raw queue emptiness flag is the authoritative check, (4) filtered shipped is non-empty → surface: "<ini-slug>: all specs shipped — ready to close out? Run closeout to remove this section (git history preserves the record)."
Findings: Read docs/product/findings/rfc-candidates.md and docs/product/findings/roadmap-intents.md if they exist. Count non-header rows in each (a non-header row is any |…| line after the header separator row — the |---|...| line of dashes).
- When either file has data rows: output a
**Findings:**section with both tables printed inline — paste each file's full markdown table (column header row + separator + data rows) under a sub-label (RFC candidates:/Roadmap intents:). If one file is absent or has no data rows, output its sub-label followed by_(empty)_. - When both are empty or absent: emit a single line:
0 rfc candidates · 0 roadmap intents — both registers empty
Backlog: treat repo_backlog.open from the backend JSON as the authoritative
repository backlog. When it is non-empty, set N = len(repo_backlog.open) and
render:
**Backlog** — N open item(s):
- `[shape]` `<slug-or-path>` — <summary>
- `[build]` `<slug-or-path>` — <summary>
...
Prefix each entry with its declared room ([shape] or [build]). Display
slug when present, otherwise display path (target five-field entries use
path). Iterate in array order. Use summary from the JSON when present. Only
when a legacy slug
entry has no summary, read workspace.toml as text and use the nearest #
comment line immediately preceding {slug = "<slug>"} as a fallback, without
the leading # . If neither summary source exists, render just the identifier.
Do not reread raw TOML to determine backlog membership, room, order, or
dependencies. Omit this section entirely when repo_backlog.open is absent or
empty.
3. Skill prompts by type
When surfacing shaping_queue entries, append the right skill invocation based on what's installed:
| Entry type | Skill to suggest |
|---|---|
shape (default) | frame-intent (available now); frame-situation (M2, when available) |
research | desk-research-project-start (requires desk-research pack) |
strategy | route through frame-situation (PE pack — M2); if not yet available, run frame-intent as interim |
signal | no action — surface in "active context" section only |
design | experience-status (requires experience-design pack); if experience-design is not installed: journey-mapping |
If the required pack is not installed, surface: "requires <pack-name> pack — install to work this item."
4. Missing fields
workspace.toml evolves: older entries may lack a type field (treat as shape), a milestone field (omit from output), or a parent field (omit). Never fail on missing optional fields.
5. Next-actions
Using the JSON data from Step 1 — do not re-read workspace.toml or recompute the DAG:
5a. Resolve choices
From the JSON result:
active_spec= first entry incanonical.active(if any)next_queue= first entry incanonical.ready(JSON field, already resolved; first in list order)unblocked= all entries incanonical.readynext_shape= first entry inshaping.readywhoseentry_typeis notsignalAND for whichshaping.active_entriescontains an entry matching all ofslug,ini_slug, andentry_type(a signal namedxin active does not make a non-signalxin ready count as active); fall back to the firstshaping.readynon-signal entry with no such full match (backlog-ready)
If canonical.blocked or canonical.findings is non-empty for a candidate,
surface the stable code, path, and next_action; do not select it as
next_queue or active_spec.
Path resolution: entries in canonical.ready, canonical.active, etc. carry a path field (e.g. "docs/specs/<slug>/spec.md"). Strip docs/specs/ and trailing /spec.md to get the slug; use docs/specs/<slug>/ for file-system commands.
5b. ASCII dependency graph (when ≥2 unblocked work items)
If len(unblocked) ≥ 2, render the following block before the numbered choices:
Work queue — parallel opportunities:
<slug-A> [ready]
<slug-B> [ready]
<slug-C> [blocked by <dep-slug>]
- Right-pad the slug column to the longest slug for alignment. Use each canonical item's
pathfield. - Entries in
canonical.ready: annotate[ready]. - Entries in
canonical.blocked: annotate with the first findingcode; surface itsnext_actioninstead of recomputing a dependency reason.
5c. Harness detection and parallel-session offer (when graph rendered)
When the graph was rendered, offer a parallel-session choice as the first numbered slot. Check whether --bg appears in claude --help output (if a shell/command tool is available):
--bgfound: emit a numbered choice listingclaude --bg "work-loop docs/specs/<slug>/"for each parallel-ready root node.--bgabsent or no shell tool available: emit a numbered choice with prose instructions for each parallel-ready root node (no automated spawn).
5d. Numbered choices
Emit the following choices in order. Omit any whose source is empty; renumber sequentially. The parallel-session offer from 5c (when present) occupies the first slot and the remaining choices follow.
- Active spec:
work-loop docs/specs/<slug>/— continue active spec. Present whenactive_specis non-empty. - Next queue item:
work-loop docs/specs/<slug>/— next unblocked queue item. Present whennext_queueis non-empty. - First shaping item: skill command per Step 3 routing table for the entry's type. Present when
next_shapeis non-empty. If the required pack is not installed, emitrequires \` pack — install to work this item` instead of the skill command. - Start or remember work (always — final choice):
work-intake
See also
references/agentbundle-layout.md— the[product]table: configurableshaping/path used by product-facing skills
Frequently asked questions
What to verify before installation and use
What does the workspace-status source document cover?
Read the local workspace.toml and surface the current queue state across all active initiatives. Run this at every session start — it replaces reading multiple product docs by hand.
How do I install workspace-status?
The source record exposes this install command: npx skills add https://github.com/eugenelim/agent-ready-repo --skill ".agents/skills/workspace-status". Inspect the command and pinned source before running it.
Which permission-related actions were detected?
Static rules flagged write-files, read-files in the source; the page lists the matching lines and excerpts.
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