Workbench Work Items

Key settings

• .workbench/config.json: paths.itemsDir, paths.doneDir, ids.width, prefixes, git.branchPattern.
• Status values: draft, ready, in-progress, blocked, done, dropped.

Core workflows

1. Ensure planning artifacts exist (specs, ADRs, architecture docs) before major work.
2. Create a work item and set its initial status.
3. Link related specs, ADRs, files, PRs, or issues.
4. Update status and close work items when done.

Commands

Create a task:

workbench item new --type task --title "Do the thing" --status draft --priority medium --owner platform

Update status:

workbench item status TASK-0001 in-progress --note "started implementation"

Close and move to done:

workbench item close TASK-0001 --move

Link docs or PRs:

workbench item link TASK-0001 --spec /docs/10-product/spec.md --adr /docs/40-decisions/ADR-YYYY-MM-DD-title.md --pr https://github.com/org/repo/pull/1

Output

• Work items in docs/70-work/items (active) and docs/70-work/done (closed).
• Linked docs and external artifacts tracked in front matter.

Guardrails

• Use a work item for every meaningful change and link the supporting docs.
• Keep status accurate so reports and boards stay reliable.
• If a decision happens during work, update/create the ADR and link it.