# Goal

> Set, inspect, or control a durable goal — the agent keeps iterating across turns until the stop condition is met.

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

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You are handling the `/goal` command. Invoke the **follow-goal** skill to do the actual work.

Persist goal state into session storage as `goal.md`. After creating or updating the file, mark it as a `plan` artifact via `setArtifacts` so the user sees live goal state in the chat UI. Do not write the goal to the workspace.

Dispatch based on what the user typed after `/goal`:

- `/goal <objective text>` → **Set a new goal.** Follow the skill's "Set" flow: collect objective, verifiable stop condition, validation commands, and constraints (ask the user for anything missing), write `goal.md` with `status: active`, and start the loop.
- `/goal` (no extra args) → **Status only.** Read `goal.md` and report objective, stop condition, status, checkpoint count, and the last few progress-log lines. Do nothing else.
- `/goal pause` → Mark the goal `paused`. Stop iterating.
- `/goal resume` → Mark the goal `active` and continue the loop from the latest checkpoint.
- `/goal clear` → Mark the goal `cleared`. Leave the file in place for history.

Rules:

- If `goal.md` does not exist in session storage and the user typed something other than a new objective, tell them there is no active goal and show them the `/goal <objective>` syntax.
- After every write to `goal.md` (create or update), call `setArtifacts` to mark the memory file as a `plan` artifact. This keeps the UI widget in sync with the persisted state.
- If a goal is already `active` and the user sets a new one, ask whether to replace, pause, or clear the existing goal first.
- Never invent a stop condition the user didn't give you. If they can't articulate one, push back — a goal without a verifiable end state is not ready.