At Zentao

ZenTao Bug/Task Workflow

Secure CLI boundary

This Skill bundles scripts/zentao-cli.mjs. Resolve the Skill root as the directory containing this SKILL.md, then run the script with Node using its resolved path from any working directory:

node <skill-root>/scripts/zentao-cli.mjs <command>

The script is the only component allowed to read ZenTao configuration, exchange credentials for a token, send authenticated requests, or inspect raw error responses. Run it directly without reading or copying its source into the conversation. Never read ~/.agent-tools/config.jsonc, print ZenTao env vars, call the token endpoint, or construct a ZenTao Token header yourself.

The CLI emits only sanitized JSON. Treat a nonzero exit as a stopped ZenTao operation and report its safe error, message, and optional HTTP status. Do not work around the CLI with curl when authentication or an endpoint fails.

Configuration

The CLI reads the global ~/.agent-tools/config.jsonc, or $AGENT_TOOLS_HOME/config.jsonc when AGENT_TOOLS_HOME is set. It never reads repository-level configuration. Basic configuration:

{
  "zentao": {
    "url": "https://zentao.example.com",
    "account": "user",
    "password": "your-password"
  }
}

To avoid storing the password in the file, use "password": { "env": "ZENTAO_PASSWORD" } and set that environment variable. Direct env overrides are ZENTAO_URL, ZENTAO_ACCOUNT, and ZENTAO_PASSWORD. ZENTAO_TOKEN may be used instead of password exchange; it is accepted only from the environment.

When configuration is missing, tell the user which file to edit and show the template above. Never ask them to paste a password or token into chat, and do not edit or inspect the file after they add credentials. Ask them to say "done", then validate with:

node <skill-root>/scripts/zentao-cli.mjs doctor

Report only whether the connection succeeded and whether authentication used token or account-password.

CLI commands

Read-only commands:

node <skill-root>/scripts/zentao-cli.mjs list bugs
node <skill-root>/scripts/zentao-cli.mjs list tasks
node <skill-root>/scripts/zentao-cli.mjs list stories
node <skill-root>/scripts/zentao-cli.mjs list tasks "person account or exact name"
node <skill-root>/scripts/zentao-cli.mjs list tasks "person" --relation finishedBy --status all
node <skill-root>/scripts/zentao-cli.mjs list bugs "person" --relation resolvedBy --status all
node <skill-root>/scripts/zentao-cli.mjs list stories "person account or exact name"
node <skill-root>/scripts/zentao-cli.mjs get bug <id>
node <skill-root>/scripts/zentao-cli.mjs get task <id>
node <skill-root>/scripts/zentao-cli.mjs get story <id>
node <skill-root>/scripts/zentao-cli.mjs get bug <id> --download-dir <path>
node <skill-root>/scripts/zentao-cli.mjs hours task <id>

get downloads token-gated inline images and attachments into a temporary directory by default and returns only local paths. Inspect those local files; never pass the original ZenTao URL to an image tool. For Bugs and Tasks, a configured zentao.commentPrompt is returned as writeback.commentPrompt. Use it only when drafting a write-back comment; it is not item data or an existing comment. get also returns safe comments from action history, keeping only id, actor, action, date, and non-empty comment. An omitted comments means actions were unavailable; an empty array means actions were available but contained no comments.

Write commands require JSON on stdin and are allowed only after the explicit confirmation steps below:

node <skill-root>/scripts/zentao-cli.mjs comment bug <id>
node <skill-root>/scripts/zentao-cli.mjs comment task <id>
node <skill-root>/scripts/zentao-cli.mjs resolve bug <id>
node <skill-root>/scripts/zentao-cli.mjs start task <id>
node <skill-root>/scripts/zentao-cli.mjs pause task <id>
node <skill-root>/scripts/zentao-cli.mjs resume task <id>
node <skill-root>/scripts/zentao-cli.mjs log-hours task <id>
node <skill-root>/scripts/zentao-cli.mjs edit-hours task <id> <effort-id>
node <skill-root>/scripts/zentao-cli.mjs finish task <id>

Input shapes:

{"comment":"Root cause and result."}
{"resolution":"fixed","resolvedBuild":"trunk","comment":"Root cause: stale session cache; Fix: refresh it during renewal; Commit: abc1234."}
{"realStarted":"2026-08-11 09:00:00","comment":"Started implementation."}
{"date":"2026-08-11","consumed":2,"left":14,"work":"Implemented the first part of the task."}
{"work":"Corrected work description, commit abc1234."}
{"currentConsumed":1.5,"realStarted":"2026-08-11 09:00:00","finishedDate":"2026-08-11 10:30:00","comment":"Completed: implemented session renewal; Commit: abc1234."}

For duplicate, also pass "duplicateBug": <id>. Send JSON through stdin, not as a command-line argument. The CLI handles UTF-8 form encoding and computes a task's total consumed hours from its current ZenTao value. start, pause, and resume accept an optional comment; start also accepts realStarted and otherwise uses the current time. The CLI preserves the task's current hours when starting or resuming it. log-hours defaults date to today, requires positive remaining hours, and keeps the task open. hours is read-only. edit-hours preserves omitted fields from the existing record and updates it through ZenTao's native effort workflow. Use finish when the task is complete; its comment is optional.

Usage

Read-only personnel and history queries

Interpret natural language; users do not need CLI flags. "查张三的任务" maps to list tasks "张三"; "查张三解决的 Bug" maps to list bugs "张三" --relation resolvedBy --status all; "查我完成的任务" maps to list tasks --relation finishedBy --status all. Use openedBy for created items and closedBy for items closed by the person. For all historical items still assigned to someone, use assignedTo with --status all. Completion is a relationship: finished/resolved items may have been reassigned or closed, so do not infer the finisher from assignedTo. Use an exact status only when requested (for example --status closed). Account matches take precedence over exact names. If a name is ambiguous, ask for the account. Authentication always uses the existing configuration.

These list queries are read-only. Requests to view, explain, or trace a commit also stop after reading the referenced Bug/Task, comments, and linked Story; do not enter the implementation workflow below. Extract bug/task IDs from the commit when present and use get directly. Do not infer a ZenTao account from a Git author without a matching directory entry or user clarification.

• /at-zentao bug <id> — handle a single bug.
• /at-zentao task <id> — handle a single task.
• /at-zentao story <id> — read requirement scope and acceptance context. This mode is read-only; do not implement a Story status or comment workflow.
• /at-zentao bugs — list bugs assigned to the configured account; let the user select one or more.
• /at-zentao tasks — list assigned tasks and let the user select.
• When the user asks to inspect another person's Bugs or Tasks, treat the named person as the query subject while keeping the configured account for authentication. Use a read-only query and state the accessible scope.
• When the user asks for completed, closed, or historical work, include that status range only for that request. Do not expand the default actionable list.
• /at-zentao export bug <id> or export task <id> — create a read-only, self-contained handoff bundle.

Treat text after an item id as a natural-language request. Recognize task lifecycle requests such as 开始, 暂停, 继续, start, pause, and resume, and time-entry requests such as 填工时, 记录工时, log hours, and worklog. Users do not need to know the internal CLI commands. Reuse any date, hours, or work description already supplied instead of asking twice. Recognize corrections to an existing time entry. Run hours, identify the record from returned ids and values, and ask when more than one record could match; never guess or call log-hours again to compensate for a mistake.

If a list response includes pager data showing more items than returned, tell the user the shown and total counts. Do not silently imply the list is complete. Do not browse through products/projects for the default personal list. For an explicit request about another person or historical work, use the narrowest supported read-only scope and never imply that a partial result is complete.

When a fetched Bug or Task has a positive story id, fetch that Story before planning the implementation. Use its spec and verify fields to identify scope, acceptance criteria, constraints, and non-goals. Keep the Bug or Task as the unit of work: never change, close, activate, or comment on the Story.

For a Task in wait, offer start when the user is about to work on it. For a Task in pause, offer resume; the CLI maps this to ZenTao's restart operation. Invoke pause only when the user explicitly asks or confirms that the work itself is paused; the end of a session or workday is not enough. These are status writes, so show the transition and optional comment and obtain explicit confirmation before invoking the CLI. Starting or resuming preserves the current hours and never implies new consumed time.

Per-item workflow

Follow these steps in order:

1. Fetch details — use the CLI get command. Review every returned comment, including comments attached to resolution, activation, and lifecycle actions. Read every downloaded image now so screenshots inform the fix. If no image-inspection tool is available, continue from text and state that screenshots were skipped.
2. Restate and confirm — explain the problem and intended fix in your own words. Ask before editing when the item is ambiguous.
3. Locate the code — search the current project and explain how the relevant code was identified.
4. Fix — change only what this item requires.
5. Verify — run the narrowest meaningful test, build, or typecheck. Reproduce a code-observable bug before and after when practical. For visual changes, state what was checked and what still needs the user's eyes. Stop on a failed check.
6. Stage — first inspect git diff --staged --name-only. If unrelated files are staged, stop and ask how to handle them. Otherwise stage only files for this item by explicit path; never use git add -A.
7. Ask whether to commit — offer Commit, Not yet, or Needs adjustment. For a commit, show a single-line Conventional Commit message before committing. Put bug#<id> or task#<id> immediately after type(scope):, for example fix(auth): bug#30887 reject expired sessions. Never commit automatically.
8. Ask whether to update ZenTao — draft the exact resolution/comment and offer Submit, Edit first, or Comment only. Never invoke a write CLI command before confirmation. A fixed resolution must cite a real commit; without a commit, offer at most a comment with status unchanged.

Bug resolutions are fixed, notrepro, duplicate, bydesign, external, postponed, and willnotfix. Choose what matches the verified outcome. A write-back comment follows the current user request, then writeback.commentPrompt. Otherwise use the item or user's language and these defaults:

• For a fixed Bug, use Root cause, Fix, optional Verification, and the real Commit.
• For a finished Task, use Completed, optional Verification, and Commit only when the work has a related commit.
• For other Bug resolutions, use Conclusion and applicable Reason or Evidence.
• Keep standalone and lifecycle comments free-form but concise.

Formatting controls wording and layout only. Never invent missing facts; surface required gaps and put Commit: <hash> last.

Immediately before confirming any ZenTao write that cites the latest commit, run git rev-parse HEAD and git log -1 --format=%h. Do not reuse a hash from earlier conversation. If HEAD is not the item-specific commit, identify the relevant commit and tell the user instead of blindly citing HEAD.

For tasks, ask whether to record the current work after the verified result. For an incomplete task, collect the actual consumed hours and work date. When the task has a numeric current left, suggest the new left by subtracting the current entry and make that estimate editable in the confirmation; ask only when no reliable suggestion is possible. Draft work from the verified result when context is available. It is optional, so mention the omission without blocking the write when there is nothing useful to add. For a completed task, collect currentConsumed, draft the completion comment from established facts, and include both in the finish write. Never infer consumed hours or a verification result. Show all submitted values and require the same explicit ZenTao confirmation before either write.

To correct an existing time entry, use hours to select its effort id. Show the current and proposed date, consumed, left, and work, then obtain explicit confirmation and call edit-hours once. Preserve every field the user did not change. Stop when ownership cannot be verified or the edit route is unsupported. If the proposed left is zero, explicitly warn that ZenTao may change the task status as part of its native recalculation. Never edit an action comment as a substitute for correcting the underlying work-hour record, and never delete a record.

When the user wants to record hours and pause, show both exact writes in one confirmation, then run log-hours before pause. Stop if the hour write fails. Do not add lifecycle support for activate, cancel, or close.

Export mode

Export is read-only and never fixes code, commits, or writes back:

1. Fetch the item with get, including every downloaded image/attachment.
2. Ask where to save; default to the Desktop and never the code repository.
3. Write a Markdown handoff with id, title, status, severity/priority, module/product, description/steps, and useful history available in the safe CLI response. Do not include credentials or login-gated URLs.
4. With no images, write <dest>/zentao-<bug|task>-<id>.md. With images, create a same-named directory containing the Markdown and real image files, rewrite image references to relative paths, and zip only when a single artifact is needed.

Batch mode

• Process one item at a time, each with its own stage and commit.
• Show the pending order before starting.
• Continue only after the current item is committed. If it remains staged, offer commit, stash and continue, or stop.
• After each item, ask whether to continue or stop and summarize progress.

Hard rules

• Never expose account, password, token, cookies, or authorization headers.
• Never bypass the bundled CLI for ZenTao authentication or API access.
• Never commit or change ZenTao state without separate explicit confirmation.
• Keep the bug#<id> or task#<id> token in every related commit subject.
• Collect free-form values such as output paths and hours in plain chat, not a fixed-choice prompt. Passwords and tokens are never collected in chat.