Work Item

Work Item Tracker

Updates the current work item displayed in the Claude Code status line.

Usage

• /work-item - Analyze conversation and auto-detect current task
• /work-item "Custom description" - Set a specific work item manually

How It Works

The work item is displayed in the status line between the git branch and model name, giving you constant visibility into what task Claude is tracking.

Instructions

When this skill is invoked:

If an argument is provided (e.g., /work-item "Adding dark mode")

1. Extract the argument text (remove surrounding quotes if present)
2. Write it directly to the cache file:

   echo "Adding dark mode" > ~/.claude/work-item-cache.txt
   

3. Confirm to the user: "Work item updated to: Adding dark mode"

If no argument is provided (e.g., just /work-item)

1. Analyze the recent conversation context to determine the current task
2. Generate a concise summary (max 25 characters) that describes what's being worked on
3. Use action-oriented phrasing like:
   • "Adding user auth"
   • "Fixing API bug"
   • "Refactoring tests"
   • "Implementing search"
4. Write the summary to the cache file:

   echo "Your summary here" > ~/.claude/work-item-cache.txt
   

5. Confirm to the user: "Work item updated to: [summary]"

Cache File Location

~/.claude/work-item-cache.txt

This file is:

• Initialized to "New session" when a Claude Code session starts
• Updated when this skill is invoked
• Read by the statusLine command to display the current work item

Example Status Line Output

orient | dev | Adding user auth | opus | ctx: 15%

Tips

• Run /work-item periodically when switching tasks
• Use custom descriptions when auto-detection doesn't capture the right context
• Keep descriptions short - they're truncated to 30 characters in the status line