Data-Wise Background Task Manager Skill
Expert in the lifecycle of already-launched background tasks in craft workflows. Covers the three post-launch operations: checking status, retrieving output, and cancelling. Does not launch tasks itself — that is done by /craft:orch's orchestrate-dispatch mode and similar backgrounding commands. /craft:refine never launches background tasks: its own Scope note states that a background-execution option was considered and dropped during the ADR-002 consolidation.
When to Use
| User intent | Operation |
|---|---|
| "is it done", "what's the status", "list tasks", "wait for X" | Status check |
| "show me the output", "view results", "what did it produce" | Output retrieval |
| "cancel it", "kill that task", "stop the background job", "abort all" | Cancellation |
If a task ID is in the prompt, route directly to the matching operation. If not, default to listing all active tasks (status without args).
Operations
1. Status Check (task-status)
Inspect background task state — running, complete, failed, queued.
Inputs: optional <task_id>; flags --wait, --all.
Modes:
- List all (no args) — table of active and recently completed tasks with elapsed time and estimated duration.
- Specific task (
<task_id>) — single-task detail: command, started-at, ETA, current step. - Wait (
--wait <task_id>) — block until completion, then hand off to output retrieval.
Output: scannable table for the list view; for --wait, return only when task transitions to complete/failed. Show top 5 by recency when the list grows long.
2. Output Retrieval (task-output)
Surface results from a completed (or in-progress) background task.
Inputs: <task_id>, or --latest for most recent completion; flag --raw to skip formatting.
Steps:
- Resolve task — explicit ID,
--latest, or prompt the user to pick from the active list. - Read stored result — formatted summary (default) or raw stdout (
--raw). - If task is still running, show partial output and remind user to re-run when complete.
- Suggest the next action implied by the result (e.g., a brainstorm output may prompt spec capture).
Output: the task's produced artifact (proposal, analysis, refined prompt) plus a one-line "what to do next" footer.
3. Cancellation (task-cancel)
Stop a background task before it completes.
Inputs: <task_id>, or --all to cancel everything active; flag --force to skip confirmation.
Steps:
- Confirm intent — show task command + elapsed time, ask "Cancel? (y/N)" unless
--forceor--all. - Send termination signal to the task.
- Preserve any partial output for later retrieval via
task-output --raw. - Report cancellation outcome and surface any remaining active tasks.
When to suggest: task is taking far longer than its ETA, user asked the wrong question, user wants to retry with different inputs.
Relation to task-analyzer and session-state
These three skills occupy distinct slices of the "task" concept — keep them disjoint:
task-analyzer(orchestration) — analyzes a natural-language task description and routes to the right craft command sequence before any work is launched. It is a planning/routing skill; it never inspects running processes.session-state(orchestration) — persists orchestrator session state (multi-agent coordination, decisions, completed work) so a session can resume after disconnect. Operates on.claude/orchestrator-session.json, not on individual background-task IDs.background-task-manager(this skill) — operates after a background task has been launched by an interactive command. Concerned with task IDs, exit status, output buffers, and cancellation — not with task routing or session-level orchestration state.
If the user says "what should I run" → task-analyzer. If they say "resume my orchestrator session" → session-state. If they say "is task abc123 done yet" → this skill.
Integration
Replaces three commands during the v2.34.0 → v3.0.0 migration:
/workflow:task-status→ operation 1/workflow:task-output→ operation 2/workflow:task-cancel→ operation 3
Both invocation paths work during the deprecation cycle. The skill auto-fires on task-ID mentions and natural-language match; explicit /craft:workflow:task-* paths continue to function until v3.0.0.
Related Skills
adhd-workflow— session-level workflow (done, recap, next, focus, stuck). Sibling inskills/workflow/.task-analyzer— pre-launch task routing.session-state— orchestrator session persistence.