Flow Next

---
name: flow-next
description: Manage .flow/ tasks and specs. Use for show or list tasks, task status, what is ready, show fn-N. NOT for planning or executing (use the plan and work skills).
---

# Flow-Next Task Management

Quick task operations in `.flow/`. For planning features use `/flow-next:plan`, for executing use `/flow-next:work`.

## Preamble

**CRITICAL: flowctl is BUNDLED — NOT installed globally.** `which flowctl` will fail (expected). Define once; subsequent blocks use `$FLOWCTL`:

```bash
FLOWCTL="${CODEX_HOME:-$HOME/.codex}/scripts/flowctl"
[ -x "$FLOWCTL" ] || FLOWCTL="<plugin-root>/scripts/flowctl"   # <plugin-root> = the directory two levels above this skill's SKILL.md file (the harness gave you that file's absolute path when the skill loaded); substitute it literally
[ -x "$FLOWCTL" ] || FLOWCTL=".flow/bin/flowctl"
```

**Discover all commands/options:**
```bash
$FLOWCTL --help
$FLOWCTL <command> --help   # e.g., $FLOWCTL task --help
```

## Quick Reference

```bash
# Check if .flow exists
$FLOWCTL detect --json

# Initialize (if needed)
$FLOWCTL init --json

# List everything (specs + tasks grouped)
$FLOWCTL list --json

# List all specs
$FLOWCTL specs --json

# List all tasks (or filter by spec/status)
$FLOWCTL tasks --json
$FLOWCTL tasks --spec fn-1-add-oauth --json
$FLOWCTL tasks --status todo --json

# View spec with all tasks
$FLOWCTL show fn-1-add-oauth --json
$FLOWCTL cat fn-1-add-oauth              # Spec markdown

# View single task
$FLOWCTL show fn-1-add-oauth.2 --json
$FLOWCTL cat fn-1-add-oauth.2            # Task spec

# What's ready to work on?
$FLOWCTL ready --spec fn-1-add-oauth --json

# Create task under existing spec
$FLOWCTL task create --spec fn-1-add-oauth --title "Fix bug X" --json

# Set task description and acceptance (combined, fewer writes; unique per-task temp paths)
$FLOWCTL task set-spec fn-1-add-oauth.2 --description "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/flow-desc-fn-1-add-oauth.2.md" --acceptance "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/flow-accept-fn-1-add-oauth.2.md" --json

# Or use stdin with heredoc (no temp file):
$FLOWCTL task set-description fn-1-add-oauth.2 --file - --json <<'EOF'
Description here
EOF

# Start working on task
$FLOWCTL start fn-1-add-oauth.2 --json

# Mark task done (unique per-task temp paths)
echo "What was done" > "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/flow-summary-fn-1-add-oauth.2.md"
echo '{"commits":["abc123"],"tests":["npm test"],"prs":[]}' > "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/flow-evidence-fn-1-add-oauth.2.json"
$FLOWCTL done fn-1-add-oauth.2 --summary-file "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/flow-summary-fn-1-add-oauth.2.md" --evidence-json "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/flow-evidence-fn-1-add-oauth.2.json" --json

# Validate structure (one spec; repo-wide through a counts-and-errors projection)
$FLOWCTL validate --spec fn-1-add-oauth --json
$FLOWCTL validate --all --json | jq '{valid, total_specs, total_tasks, total_errors, total_warnings, root_errors, failing: [.specs[] | select(.errors | length > 0) | {spec, errors}]}'
```

## Common Patterns

### "Add a task for X"

1. Find relevant spec:
   ```bash
   # List all specs
   $FLOWCTL specs --json

   # Or show a specific spec to check its scope
   $FLOWCTL show fn-1 --json
   ```

2. Create task:
   ```bash
   $FLOWCTL task create --spec fn-N --title "Short title" --json
   ```

3. Add description + acceptance (combined):
   ```bash
   # Unique per-task temp paths — written + consumed in this one block
   cat > "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/flow-desc-fn-N.M.md" << 'EOF'
   **Bug/Feature:** Brief description

   **Details:**
   - Point 1
   - Point 2
   EOF
   cat > "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/flow-accept-fn-N.M.md" << 'EOF'
   - [ ] Criterion 1
   - [ ] Criterion 2
   EOF
   $FLOWCTL task set-spec fn-N.M --description "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/flow-desc-fn-N.M.md" --acceptance "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/flow-accept-fn-N.M.md" --json
   ```

### "What tasks are there?"

```bash
# All tasks, projected (add --spec fn-1-add-oauth for one spec)
$FLOWCTL tasks --json | jq -c '[.tasks[] | {id, title, status, spec}]'

# Ready tasks for a spec
$FLOWCTL ready --spec fn-1-add-oauth --json
```

### "What's next?"

```bash
$FLOWCTL brief
```

`brief` is orientation only: it omits blocked and dependency-waiting tasks, so never answer a task listing from it.

### "Show me task X"

```bash
$FLOWCTL show fn-1-add-oauth.2 --json   # Metadata
$FLOWCTL cat fn-1-add-oauth.2           # Full spec
```

(Legacy `fn-1.2` / `fn-1-xxx.2` still works.)

### Create new spec (rare - usually via /flow-next:plan)

```bash
$FLOWCTL spec create --title "Spec title" --json
# Returns: {"success": true, "id": "fn-N-spec-title", ...}
```

### Close a spec as won't-do

```bash
$FLOWCTL spec close fn-1-add-oauth --retire superseded --by fn-2-sso --json
```

Pick the reason that is true: `superseded` (another spec replaced it), `delivered-elsewhere` (it shipped
under another spec or pull request) or `moot` (it is no longer needed, including a decision not to build
it). Name each successor with `--by`. Its never-run tasks read `retired`, not `done`.

Before closing any spec: read [references/declined.md](references/declined.md); it decides whether the
close earns a `.flow/memory/declined/` file.

## ID Format

- Spec: `fn-N-slug` where slug is derived from title (e.g., `fn-1-add-oauth`, `fn-2-fix-login-bug`)
- Task: `fn-N-slug.M` (e.g., `fn-1-add-oauth.1`, `fn-2-fix-login-bug.2`)

Legacy formats `fn-N` and `fn-N-xxx` (random 3-char suffix) are still supported.

## Notes

- Run `$FLOWCTL --help` to discover all commands and options
- **Every write goes through a flowctl subcommand**, except the `.flow/memory/declined/*.md` file above, which has no flowctl verb. A session that edits `.flow/` JSON or task markdown by hand has broken this.
- **Every read comes from `.flow/` state**, via `--json` (`detect`, `list`, `specs`, `tasks`, `show`, `ready`) or `cat` for markdown. An answer assembled from files skimmed by hand has broken this.
- **A task marked complete is closed with `flowctl done` carrying both `--summary-file` and `--evidence-json`.** A bare status flip has broken this.
- **Requests that need real planning or execution are handed off**, to `$flow-next-plan` and `$flow-next-work`. Improvising them here has broken this.