new work

Skill

Create and manage todo tracking documents for features, bugs, and multi-step tasks. Use when starting new work that benefits from a persistent record of decisions, progress, and context.

Files1
  • @skills/new-work/SKILL.md

New Work

Todo notes track work items as markdown files with YAML front matter capturing status, context, and progress.

Storage Location

Use _dev/todos/ if it exists in the repository root; otherwise ask the user where to store todo notes before creating anything. It contains two subdirectories: pending/ (active) and done/ (finished).

File Naming

YYYY-MM-DD_short-kebab-slug.md, e.g. 2026-02-18_add-oauth-support.md.

File Contents

YAML front matter plus a markdown body. Only status is required.
markdown
---
status: pending   # pending | in progress | review | blocked | done
issue: https://github.com/org/repo/issues/123   # optional
pr: https://github.com/org/repo/pull/456        # optional
---

# Title

Overview of what this is about and why it matters.

## Key Files

- `src/relevant-file.ts` — what it does
- `src/other-file.ts:functionName()` — why it matters

## Work Items

- [ ] First thing to do
- [ ] Second thing to do

## Design Decisions

Context, constraints, or choices worth capturing.

## Decision Log

<!--
### YYYY-MM-DD — Short Decision Title
**Decision:** What was decided?
**Rationale:** Why?
-->

Lifecycle

  • Create: make pending/ if needed, create the date-prefixed file with status: pending, and write enough context to resume later.
  • In progress: update status; add issue/pr links when they exist; check off Work Items (- [ ] → - [x]); record significant decisions in the Decision Log.
  • Complete: set status: done and mv the file from pending/ to done/.

Keeping the Document Current

Treat the todo as a living record for the rest of the session. Update it after any decision, newly discovered problem or requirement, issue raised/resolved, significant implementation work, or commit. When in doubt, update it.
When you form a plan — whether in response to a user request or on your own initiative — write it to the todo document rather than presenting it only in chat. The document is the persistent record; the chat is not.
To resume in a future session, use /working-on <path-to-todo> — same live-document behavior without re-creating the file.