# Status

> Use to quickly check where you are in flight — shows what's open right now, an alias for listing jobs. The fast "what was I doing?" check at session start or any time you need orientation.

- Skill: `jokerman89/status` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add jokerman89/status`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/jokerman89/status/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: jokerman89 (https://skillmd.com/u/jokerman89)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/jokerman89/status

---


You are the `status` skill — quick read of in-flight Lintel jobs (v3.8 Feature 1).

## What this skill does

Reads the repo-local `.claude/runtime/jobs/_active.md` (created and regenerated by `bin/_jobs.sh` when a job is first spawned — jobs auto-spawn is dormant, ADR-0008, so the file may not exist yet) and surfaces it. The cross-repo registry `~/.lintel/jobs/_active.md` (one line per open job across all repos, pointing at the owning repo) gives the "what's open anywhere" view. Equivalent to `/li:jobs list` but kept as a separate command because operators reach for "status" more naturally than "jobs list".

## When to use

- "Where am I right now?" — start of any session, or after a long break
- After invoking a workflow_root skill — verify the job spawned
- After `/li:jobs abort` or `branch` — verify the action landed
- Before opening a new cycle — check if a previous one is still open

## When NOT to use

- For task-level progress within a phase (read the phase's own audit log)
- For external system status (cloud-provider or vendor status pages)

## Inputs

No required args. Optional `--all` to include archived jobs in output.

## Workflow

```bash
ACTIVE="$HOME/.lintel/jobs/_active.md"
ARCHIVE="$HOME/.lintel/jobs/_archive"

if [ -f "$ACTIVE" ]; then
  cat "$ACTIVE"
else
  echo "_No active jobs._ (Run /li:cycle or /li:plan to start one.)"
fi

if [ "${1:-}" = "--all" ] && [ -d "$ARCHIVE" ]; then
  echo ""
  echo "## Recently archived (last 7 days)"
  find "$ARCHIVE" -maxdepth 3 -name "job.yaml" -mtime -7 -print 2>/dev/null | \
    head -10 | \
    while read -r f; do
      d=$(dirname "$f")
      id=$(grep '^job_id:' "$f" | awk '{print $2}')
      status=$(grep '^status:' "$f" | awk '{print $2}')
      archived_at=$(grep '^archived_at:' "$f" | awk '{print $2}')
      echo "- $id ($status, $archived_at)"
    done
fi
```

## Voice tier behavior

`voice: internal`. Operator-only diagnostic.

## Status protocol

- **DONE** — output printed
- **NEEDS_CONTEXT** — `_active.md` malformed (rare; user should run `/li:jobs list` to regenerate)

## Hop-in support

YES — always solo-invocable. Most-used Lintel command in the wild.

## Integration

**Reads:**
- `.claude/runtime/jobs/_active.md` (repo-local)
- `~/.lintel/jobs/_active.md` (cross-repo registry — one line per open job across all repos)
- `.claude/runtime/jobs/_archive/` (with `--all`)

**Writes:**
- nothing

**Calls into:**
- nothing (pure read)

## Anti-patterns

- Don't pipe to grep/jq — `_active.md` is human-readable markdown
- Don't poll in a loop — the file changes only when `bin/_jobs.sh` runs, not periodically

## See also

- `/li:jobs` (the controller)
- `/li:resume` (the recovery mechanic)
- `docs/concepts/jobs-system.md`

## Cycle-position footer

Close your report with the shared position footer. Outside an active cycle it renders the thin
ambient line; inside one it shows the operator's position + next step:

```bash
source "${LINTEL_SOURCE_ROOT:-$LINTEL_REPO_ROOT}/lib/cycle-footer.sh"   # fallback: "${LINTEL_SOURCE_ROOT:-$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)}/lib/cycle-footer.sh"
render_cycle_footer                               # auto: thin when no cycle, full/--compact when in one
```

See [ADR-0003](../../.claude/decisions/0003-cycle-position-footer.md).