Ss Pause Task

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name: ss-pause-task
description: Deliberately set an in-progress task aside to pick up later — mark it paused with a reason, leaving every pipeline artifact untouched. Use when work halts by choice rather than by a blocker, or when asked to "pause", "park", "hold this task", "tạm dừng task", "để task này lại sau". The inverse of ss-resume-task; changes status, not progress.
---

# Pause Task

Goal: **shelve a task on purpose** — record that it's intentionally set aside (`status: paused`) with a reason, while preserving its pipeline `stage` and every artifact exactly as they are, so `ss-resume-task` can pick it up later with zero loss.

`paused` is a deliberate choice, distinct from `blocked` (stuck on an external dependency, not by choice) and from `done` (finished). `ss-pause-task` is a **lifecycle skill, not a stage**: it touches only `status` and the log — never `stage` or `artifacts:`. It's the inverse of `ss-resume-task`.

## When to use
- You're stepping away from a task and want it clearly marked so it isn't mistaken for active work, and isn't auto-picked when resolving "the current task".
- The user asks to pause / park / hold a task.
- Not for tasks stuck on a dependency (that's just `status: blocked`, set by the stage skill) and not for finished work (use `ss-archive-task`).

## Shared task state
Part of the task pipeline — see `../WORKFLOW.md` → "Task lifecycle". Unlike `ss-resume-task`, this skill **does** write `tasks/` — that's its job.

## Method

**Input:** an optional task id argument in any form (`pause-task TASK-20260723-fix-login`, `pause-task fix-login`, `pause-task 007`), normalized to the on-disk folder name `TASK-<ID>`: a full `TASK-…` id as written; a bare **all-digit** argument maps to a legacy numeric folder matched as written (don't re-pad or strip leading zeros — `7` and `007` both resolve to `TASK-007` if that's the folder); anything else (a slug fragment, or a ticket key like `PROJ-123`) resolves against `tasks/TASK-*` and `tasks/archive/TASK-*` folder names — an exact match (`TASK-<argument>`) wins, else a unique substring match; several matches → list candidates and ask; **none → say so and stop** — never fall back to auto-picking another task. A match under `tasks/archive/` is already shelved: report it and suggest `resume-task <ID>` — don't mutate it. No argument → resolve the current task (below).

1. **Locate** the task: the normalized id argument, one named in conversation, else the most-recently-`updated:` task under `tasks/TASK-*` (skip `tasks/archive/*` and any `status: paused` task — already-shelved tasks aren't auto-picked). If several are active or it's ambiguous, list candidates and ask — don't guess.
2. **Check it's pausable:** the task must be `active` or `blocked`. If it's already `paused`, say so and stop. If it's `done`, suggest `ss-archive-task` instead.
3. **Get the reason:** use the reason the user gave; if none, ask one line ("Tạm dừng vì lý do gì?") so the pause is self-explanatory later. Don't invent one.
4. **Write the state** in `tasks/TASK-<ID>/task.md` — get the real time first (`date "+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M %Z"`):
   - set `status: paused`; **leave `stage` and every `artifacts:` value untouched**.
   - bump `updated:`.
   - in the **Now** block, note it's paused and why (e.g. `- Blocked by: none (paused — waiting on design)`).
   - **Snapshot the working tree:** check `git status` — if this task's work sits uncommitted, list the mid-flight files in the **Now** block (e.g. `- In flight: src/auth.ts, src/auth.test.ts (uncommitted)`), so resuming doesn't mistake them for another task's changes. Suggest the user stash or WIP-commit before switching tasks — don't run git yourself.
   - append a dated **Pipeline Log** line: `- <YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM +TZ> paused: <reason>` — carrying your agent label (format: `../WORKFLOW.md` → Agent handoff).
5. **Confirm** to the user: which task, what stage it's frozen at, and that `/ss-resume-task <ID>` brings it back exactly here.

## When done
Report the task id, the stage it's paused at, and the reason logged. Don't run any stage work — pausing only changes status. To bring it back, the user runs `ss-resume-task`.