Pickup

Pickup

Pick up a ticket and set up an isolated workspace for it.

Input

Either a ticket reference (e.g., DOD-152) or a description to search for.

Process

1. Ensure we're on the main branch and up to date:

   # Determine the main branch (master or main)
   git symbolic-ref refs/remotes/origin/HEAD | sed 's@^refs/remotes/origin/@@'
   # Switch to it
   git checkout <main-branch>
   # Pull latest
   git pull origin <main-branch>
   

   If there are uncommitted changes on the current branch, warn the user and stop.

2. Clean up stale worktrees and branches: Prune remote tracking refs and remove any local branches whose remote branch has been deleted (e.g., from a previous squash-merge with --delete-branch).

   git fetch --prune
   git branch -v | grep '\[gone\]' | sed 's/^[+* ]//' | awk '{print $1}' | while read branch; do
     worktree=$(git worktree list | grep "\\[$branch\\]" | awk '{print $1}')
     if [ ! -z "$worktree" ] && [ "$worktree" != "$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)" ]; then
       git worktree remove --force "$worktree"
     fi
     git branch -D "$branch"
   done
   

   If nothing to clean, proceed silently.

3. Look up the ticket — use available tracker tools to read the full ticket (title, description, acceptance criteria, linked issues)

4. Create worktree:

   git worktree add ../<repo-name>-<ticket-id> -b <ticket-id>
   

5. Read context — if the ticket references a spec, read it. Check for related docs.

6. Report ready state:

   Picked up: <ticket-id> — <title>
   
   To start working:
     cd ../<repo-name>-<ticket-id> && claude
   
   When finished:
     git worktree remove ../<repo-name>-<ticket-id>
   

Notes

• Hotfix pickup: a hotfix-labeled ticket (declared at filing time — see file-ticket § Hotfix) is a manual hotfix pickup — it runs here on the single-ticket path, outside the epic machinery (the resident driver never selects it). 0.16.0 ships the declaration slot and this route-around; the full minimal-gate hotfix path (verify + one review + human deploy word + mandatory debt ticket) is a follow-up standalone release.
• Base new worktrees on the main branch (usually master or main)
• If the branch already exists, offer to use it or suggest a different name
• The ticket ID is the branch name for traceability
• After pickup, the next step is typically dodi-dev:write-plan