# Sdlc Status

> Show a quick readout of the current work queue: task counts by state, the active task, and the most recently completed task. Also surfaces any non-terminal pipeline runs (so a stalled /sdlc run can't hide). Reads TASKS.md and .claude/pipeline/ directly — no subagents, no dashboards. Invoke via /sdlc-status or when the user asks "what's left?", "current task?", "status". Read-only by default; `--prune-stale` is an opt-in, confirm-gated cleanup of stale/orphaned pipeline envelopes.

- Skill: `exerias21/sdlc-status` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add exerias21/sdlc-status`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/exerias21/sdlc-status/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: DevOps & Infra
- Author: exerias21 (https://skillmd.com/u/exerias21)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/exerias21/sdlc-status

---


# Status — one-glance work readout

## Flow

1. **Read `TASKS.md`** at the repo root. If missing, report "no TASKS.md yet — run `/repo-onboarding` or `/task <description>` to create one" and stop.
2. **Count checkbox states** across the file:
   - `[ ]` → pending
   - `[~]` → in progress
   - `[x]` → done
3. **Identify the active task**: the first `[~]` row, or if none, the first `[ ]` row.
4. **Identify the last completed**: the most recent `[x]` row (top of the `Done` section, or last `[x]` before it).
5. **Parse optional metadata markers** on each row (additive — absent fields are fine):
   - `_started_at: YYYY-MM-DD_`
   - `_completed_at: YYYY-MM-DD_`
   - `_blocked_reason: <short reason>_`

   Treat missing fields as **"unknown"** rather than as errors. Do not warn.
6. **Compute summaries**:
   - Cycle time per `[x]` row = `completed_at − started_at` in days, when both
     are present. Surface the median across the most recent ~10 done rows; skip
     rows where either field is unknown.
   - Blocked-reason rollup: count distinct `_blocked_reason: …_` values under
     the `Blocked` section.
7. **Scan pipeline run-state** (the discipline signal). Follow
   `skills/sdlc/templates/envelope-staleness.md` — the shared scan, including its
   false-positive guards (skip on `main_branch`, at most one report, silence when
   nothing changed). Read-only here: surface non-terminal and stale runs, don't
   rewrite them. `--prune-stale` below is the only mutating path.
8. **Print a 3–7 line summary**:

   ```
   TASKS: N pending · M in_progress · K done · B blocked
   Active:  (P<pri>) <title> — plans/tasks/task-<N>-<slug>.md
   Last done: <title> (cycle: <D> days, or "unknown")
   Median cycle (last 10): <D> days  (omit if all unknown)
   Blocked reasons: <reason1> ×N · <reason2> ×M  (omit if no blocked rows)
   Pipeline: <slug> @ <stage> (<pipeline>, in_progress 3d — reconcile)  (omit if none non-terminal)
   ```

   If there's no active task, say "no active task — next up: <first pending>".
   A non-terminal pipeline run is the one thing worth making loud — it's how a
   skipped/abandoned pipeline becomes visible instead of lingering in JSON.

## Next step (absorbed from the former `/next`)

After the summary, print **one** recommended next command with a one-line reason. Highest
match wins; stop at the first hit:

1. **Paused/failed run on this branch** → `/sdlc <input> --resume`. Read the failing
   stage's sidecar and name the class in the reason — **flaky** (a test flips across loops) ·
   **code-defect** (a consistent assertion failure) · **plan-wrong** (the failure contradicts
   a plan step) · **config-missing** (a command/env the runner needs). For a code defect,
   recommend `/task fix: <one-line failure>` first, then the resume.
2. **Non-terminal run whose work looks landed** (`base_commit` is an ancestor of HEAD) →
   `/sdlc-status --prune-stale` to reconcile.
3. **Pending sentinel** (`.claude/.next-action` non-empty) → surface each line's `cmd`
   verbatim. Never consume the sentinel here; this skill is read-only.
4. **A plan file with no pipeline run** → `/sdlc <plan>`.
5. **`[~]` in-progress TASKS.md row** → `/sdlc task-<N>`.
6. **`[ ]` pending rows** → the top one: `/task` if small and bounded, `/sdlc` if it
   needs the full pipeline.
7. **Nothing queued** → `/brainstorm` for ideation, or `/repo-health` for a hygiene sweep.

Print it as `Next: <command>  — <reason>`. **Recommend only; never execute.** The classes in
rung 1 are what the former `/triage` did — the diagnosis is a paragraph, not a skill.

## `--prune-stale` (opt-in cleanup — the one write exception)

Detection alone leaves stale envelopes flagged forever. `/sdlc-status --prune-stale`
lets you actually clear them — confirm-gated, never automatic:

1. Find pipeline runs that are **non-terminal** (`in_progress`/`paused`) **and**
   either older than `discipline.staleness_hours` (default 24) **or** whose
   `base_commit` is not a real git object (`git cat-file -e <base_commit>` fails
   — a synthetic/placeholder base that nothing will ever reconcile).
2. **List them and ask for one confirmation** before touching anything: show
   each slug, stage, age, and why it qualifies.
3. On confirm, for each: if its `base_commit` is an ancestor of HEAD (work
   landed), set `run.json.status = "abandoned"` and append a one-line note; if
   it's a synthetic/garbage envelope, remove the `.claude/pipeline/<slug>/`
   directory. Report what was pruned.

Without `--prune-stale`, `/sdlc-status` is **pure read** (default). The flag is the
documented, confirm-gated exception — it's the only path that writes.

## Rules

- **`/sdlc-status` is both the readout and the recommendation.** It absorbed the former
  `/next` ladder and `/triage` classes, so there is one command for "where am I" and
  "what next". It never executes — it recommends.

- Pure read by default, no file writes. The sole exception is `--prune-stale`
  above, which is explicit and confirm-gated.
- No subagent calls, no multi-step workflows.
- Keep the output under 6 lines unless the user asks for detail.
- If the user wants more (e.g., "show all pending"), list them in a compact table but still no subagent.
- Missing `_started_at_` / `_completed_at_` / `_blocked_reason_` markers are
  reported as "unknown"; never raise an error or refuse to summarize.