task-system

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SKILL.md (first lines)

# Task System — File-Backed Task Management

Use this skill for complex work with multiple interdependent tasks. Tasks are stored as JSON files, survive session restarts, and support automatic parallel execution based on dependency graphs.

---

## When to Use

| Scenario | Use |
|----------|-----|
| 1-2 simple tasks | TodoWrite |
| 3+ tasks with dependencies | **Task System** |
| Tasks need to survive restart | **Task System** |
| Parallel execution needed | **Task System** |
| Multiple agents collaborating | **Task System** |

---

## Task Schema

```json
{
  "id": "T-001",
  "subject": "Build frontend",
  "description": "Implement ReviewCard component with mocked data",
  "status": "pending",
  "activeForm": "Building ReviewCard component",
  "blockedBy": [],
  "blocks": ["T-003"],
  "owner": "Aphrodite",
  "metadata": {},
  "threadID": "session-abc",
  "timeout_ms": 180000,
  "retry_policy": { "count": 3, "backoff": "exponential" },
  "fallback_agent": "talos",
  "partial_ok": false,
  "session_id": null,
  "session_resume": null
}
```

| Field | Type | Required | Description |
|-------|------|----------|-------------|
| `id` | string | Yes | Auto-generated: `T-{sequential}` |
| `subject` | string | Yes | Imperative: "Run tests", "Build component" |
| `description` | string | Yes | Detailed description of the task |
| `status` | enum | Yes | `pending`, `in_progress`, `completed`, `deleted` |
| `activeForm` | string | No | Present continuous: "Running tests" |
| `blockedBy` | string[] | Yes | Task IDs that must complete first |
| `blocks` | string[] | Yes | Task IDs that this task blocks |
| `owner` | string | No | Agent name responsible |
| `metadata` | object | No | Additional context |
| `threadID` | string | Yes | Session ID (auto-set) |
| `timeout_ms` | integer | No | Timeout in milliseconds for this task (default: 120000 = 2min). 0 = no timeout |
| `retry_policy` | object | No | `{ count: number, backoff: "exponential"\|"fixed" }`. Default: `{ count: 3, backoff: "exponential" }` |
| `fallback_agent` | string | No | Agent name to use if all retries fail. Default: null (escalate to Zeus) |
| `partial_ok` | boolean | No | If true, partial results are acceptable on timeout. Default: false |
| `session_id` | string | No | Alias of the session running this task (e.g. "hermes-1"). Set automatically |
| `session_resume` | string | No | Session alias to resume instead of starting fresh (e.g. "hermes-1") |

---

## Storage

Tasks are stored as JSON files:
```
.pantheon/tasks/
├── T-001.json
├── T-002.json
├── T-003.json
└── ...
```

**Persistence:** Tasks survive session restarts. Delete manually when feature is merged.

---

## Dependency Graph & Parallel Execution

Tasks with empty `blockedBy` run in parallel. Dependent tasks wait until blockers complete.

```
[Build Frontend]    ──┐
                      ├──→ [Integration Tests] ──→ [Deploy]
[Build Backend]     ──┘
```

**Execution flow:**
```
1. T-001 (blockedBy: []) → runs immediately
2. T-002 (blockedBy: []) → runs immediately (parallel with T-001)
3. T-003 (blockedBy: [T-001, T-002]) → waits for both
4. When T-001 + T-002 complete → T-003 unblocks automatically
5. T-004 (blockedBy: [T-003]) → waits for T-003
```

---

## Task Lifecycle

### Create
```
TaskCreate({
  subject: "Build frontend",
  description: "Implement ReviewCard with mocked data",
  blockedBy: [],
  blocks: ["T-003"],
  owner: "Aphrodite"
})
→ Returns: { id: "T-001", ... }
```

### Update
```
TaskUpdate({
  id: "T-001",
  status: "in_progress",
  activeForm: "Building ReviewCard component"
})

From ils15/pantheon-legacy, MIT.

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