Glacier Sync

Glacier Sync (hooks-based)

Keeps the Glacier board in sync with repo activity. Wires into Claude Code hooks instead of manual workflow steps — more reliable, zero cognitive load.

Fully optional. If env vars are missing, skip silently. Never block the parent workflow.

Activation conditions

All four must be true:

1. Skill is enabled in the session
2. GLACIER_ENABLED=true
3. GLACIER_WORKSPACE_ID is set
4. GLACIER_PROJECT_ID is set

If any fails → silent skip.

Configuration

In .env.local (gitignored):

GLACIER_ENABLED=true
GLACIER_WORKSPACE_ID=<uuid from Project Settings>
GLACIER_PROJECT_ID=<uuid from Project Settings>

MCP server URL is hardcoded: https://www.getglacier.ai/api/mcp

Column IDs resolve at runtime via Glacier:list_columns — no stored IDs, board can be restructured freely.

Hook triggers

FileChanged on .git/HEAD

Fires when branch is created or switched.

1. Read new HEAD: git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD
2. Extract issue number from branch name (patterns: feat/issue-42-*, fix/42-*, */issue-42, #42)
3. If issue number found:
   • Find Glacier card linked to that GitHub issue via Glacier:list_cards + Glacier:get_card_github_status
   • If card is in Backlog or Ready → move to In Progress
   • If already In Progress or later → do nothing (don't regress)
   • Check WIP limit before moving; warn if at limit
4. Report (see Output formatting below)
5. If no issue number or no matching card → silent skip

CwdChanged

Fires when the working directory changes (e.g. switching worktrees).

1. Re-resolve column IDs for the new project context (column cache is per-session)
2. No board action — just cache refresh

PostCompact

Fires after conversation compaction.

1. Re-resolve column IDs (cache may have been compacted out)
2. No board action

Output formatting

This skill detects whether the parent session is in verbose mode by checking:

• VERBOSE=true in env, OR
• a .claude/verbose flag file at the repo root (set by the implement agent when [verbose] is parsed)

Default (verbose OFF)

Single compact line, only on actual moves:

Glacier: "Stripe webhook retry logic" → In Progress

No line when nothing moves (already in target column, no card matched, etc.).

Verbose ON (demo mode)

Use the ↳ Glacier: prefix to visually link the board event to the implement agent's step banner above it. Three states:

↳ Glacier: "Stripe webhook retry logic" → In Progress (pending)
↳ Glacier: "Stripe webhook retry logic" → In Progress ✓
↳ Glacier: move failed (continuing) — <one-line reason>

• (pending) is printed by the implement agent BEFORE the action that triggers the hook
• ✓ is printed by this skill AFTER the move completes successfully
• move failed is printed on error — never paste stack traces, just one-line context

The two-line beat (pending → ✓) is the demo wow moment: audience sees the announcement, looks at the board, watches the card move, sees the confirmation. Don't collapse it into a single line.

When NOT to print in verbose mode

• Card already in target column (no-op move) — skip silently, the implement agent won't have printed (pending) either
• No card linked to the issue — skip silently
• Glacier disabled — skip silently

Do not print "skipped" lines for these cases. Silence is correct.

Manual triggers (via /glacier-sync command)

Still available for on-demand operations that hooks don't cover:

• Status: board overview (cards per column, WIP limits, blockers)
• PR merged → Done: scan recent merges, move matching cards (gh doesn't fire a local hook for this)
• TODO scanning: scan // TODO(glacier): comments in branch diff, create cards
• Issue linking: link a GitHub issue to an existing card

PR lifecycle (no local hook available)

gh pr create and PR merges happen outside Claude Code, so hooks can't catch them directly. Two options:

1. The implement agent calls this skill explicitly after gh pr create succeeds → move card to In Review. The agent passes verbose=true if it's in verbose mode so the ↳ Glacier: prefix is used.
2. User runs /glacier-sync after merging → move card to Done. Verbose mode applies the same way if active.

If the Glacier MCP ever exposes a webhook relay, this could also become fully automatic.

MCP call pattern

EVERY Glacier MCP call must include workspace_id from GLACIER_WORKSPACE_ID env var (OAuth tokens are user-scoped, not workspace-scoped).

Example: Glacier:list_columns(project_id: $GLACIER_PROJECT_ID, workspace_id: $GLACIER_WORKSPACE_ID)

Column resolution (cached per-session)

1. Call Glacier:list_columns once per session (or after CwdChanged / PostCompact)
2. Match names case-insensitively: "Backlog", "Ready", "In Progress", "In Review", "Done"
3. Cache the mapping — don't re-fetch on every trigger

Card matching strategy

In order of reliability:

1. GitHub issue link — Glacier:get_card_github_status check for issue URL match
2. Issue number in branch name — match feat/issue-42-* to cards with issue #42 linked
3. Title fuzzy match — last resort, ask for confirmation

If no match → silent skip. Do not create cards automatically from branch creation.

MCP tools used

All require workspace_id from env:

• Glacier:list_columns — column IDs and WIP status
• Glacier:list_cards — find cards by project
• Glacier:get_card_github_status — verify GitHub issue/PR links
• Glacier:update_card — move between columns
• Glacier:create_card — from TODOs (manual only)
• Glacier:link_card_to_github — link issues (manual only)

Rules

• Always pass workspace_id to every MCP call. Never omit.
• Never move a card without a confident match. Ambiguous → skip silently on auto-triggers, ask on manual.
• Never regress a card (Done → In Review, etc.)
• Respect WIP limits — warn before moving into an at-limit column
• Report concisely: card title + action + column. One line.
• NEVER block the parent workflow. If anything fails, warn and continue.
• In verbose mode: use the ↳ Glacier: prefix for visual linkage with the implement agent's step banners. In default mode: use the Glacier: prefix as before.