# Pp Redmine

> Every Redmine feature, plus a local mirror that finally answers the cross-project questions the Roadmap page never could. Trigger phrases: `list my redmine issues`, `what's assigned to me in redmine`, `check redmine roadmap burndown`, `who's overloaded on this redmine project`, `find stale redmine issues`, `log time in redmine`, `use redmine`, `run redmine`.

- Skill: `mvanhorn-printing-press-libra/pp-redmine` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds add mvanhorn-printing-press-libra/pp-redmine`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/mvanhorn-printing-press-libra/pp-redmine/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Product & Planning
- License: Apache-2.0
- Author: mvanhorn (https://skillmd.com/u/mvanhorn-printing-press-libra)
- Updated: 2026-09-09
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/mvanhorn-printing-press-libra/pp-redmine

---

<!-- GENERATED FILE — DO NOT EDIT.
     This file is a verbatim mirror of library/project-management/redmine/SKILL.md,
     regenerated post-merge by tools/generate-skills/. Hand-edits here are
     silently overwritten on the next regen. Edit the library/ source instead.
     See the repository agent guide, section "Generated artifacts: registry.json, cli-skills/". -->

# Redmine — Printing Press CLI

## Prerequisites: Install the CLI

This skill drives the `redmine-pp-cli` binary. **You must verify the CLI is installed before invoking any command from this skill.** If it is missing, install it first:

1. Install via the Printing Press installer. It defaults binaries to `$HOME/.local/bin` on macOS/Linux and `%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\PrintingPress\bin` on Windows:
   ```bash
   npx -y @mvanhorn/printing-press-library install redmine --cli-only
   ```
2. Verify: `redmine-pp-cli --version`
3. Ensure the reported install directory is on `$PATH` for the agent/runtime that will invoke this skill.

If the `npx` install fails (no Node, offline, etc.), fall back to a direct Go install (requires Go 1.26.6 or newer). This installs into `$GOPATH/bin` (default `$HOME/go/bin`), so add that directory to `$PATH` instead:

```bash
go install github.com/mvanhorn/printing-press-library/library/project-management/redmine/cmd/redmine-pp-cli@latest
```

If `--version` reports "command not found" after install, the runtime cannot see the binary directory on `$PATH`. Do not proceed with skill commands until verification succeeds.

Redmine's REST API is deeply relational but strictly request-per-entity — no burndown endpoint, no workload endpoint, no staleness concept. This CLI absorbs the full REST surface (issues, projects, time entries, wiki, versions, memberships, and more) and adds a synced SQLite mirror underneath, so burndown, workload, cycle-time, and blocker-chain questions resolve to one local query instead of dozens of live requests.

## When to Use This CLI

Use this CLI for any Redmine workflow: triaging and updating issues, logging and reporting time, planning releases against versions, managing projects/users/memberships, and — uniquely — cross-entity reporting (burndown, workload, cycle-time, staleness, blocker chains) that Redmine's own REST API and web UI cannot answer in one call. Good for agents scripting bulk issue updates, CI jobs that log time entries, and periodic digest/health checks.

## Anti-triggers

Do not use this CLI for:
- Do not use this CLI for real-time Gantt chart rendering or rich visual roadmap graphics — it reports the same underlying data as text/JSON, not a visual timeline.
- Do not use this CLI to edit wiki page rich text/attachments inline — wiki update accepts plain Textile/Markdown body text, not a WYSIWYG diff.
- Do not use this CLI for Redmine account self-service (password reset, 2FA enrollment) — that requires the web login UI.
- Do not use this CLI to sync or mirror issues with GitHub/GitLab/Jira — it only talks to a single Redmine instance's REST API.

## Unique Capabilities

These capabilities aren't available in any other tool for this API.

### Local state that compounds
- **`roadmap burndown`** — See open/closed issue counts, average completion, and logged-vs-estimated hours for a release version — the Roadmap page Redmine never exposed as an API.

  _Reach for this before a release-readiness call instead of hand-counting issues in the web UI._

  ```bash
  redmine-pp-cli roadmap burndown 1.0 --project demo --json
  ```
- **`workload`** — See every assignee's open-issue count and estimated hours in one aggregate view, with a flag for anyone over threshold.

  _Use this before sprint planning to catch overload without opening every engineer's issue list one by one._

  ```bash
  redmine-pp-cli workload --project demo --threshold 5 --json
  ```
- **`issues stale`** — Find open issues nobody has touched in N days — Redmine has no built-in staleness concept.

  _Use this for triage sweeps to surface issues that fell through the cracks, not recently active ones._

  ```bash
  redmine-pp-cli issues stale --project demo --days 14 --json
  ```
- **`digest`** — A personal activity report of what was created, updated, or closed in a time window, optionally scoped to issues assigned to or watched by you.

  _Use this for a 'what did I miss' catch-up instead of paging through each project's activity feed by hand._

  ```bash
  redmine-pp-cli digest --since 7d --mine --json
  ```
- **`issues cycle-time`** — Average days from creation to close, grouped by tracker or project — real duration math the API can't do.

  _Use this to spot which issue types are taking longer than they should to resolve._

  ```bash
  redmine-pp-cli issues cycle-time --group-by tracker --project demo --json
  ```
- **`issues blockers`** — Walk the full multi-hop 'blocks'/'blocked by' dependency chain for an issue, not just its direct relations.

  _Use this before starting work on an issue to confirm it isn't blocked three hops away by something you haven't seen yet._

  ```bash
  redmine-pp-cli issues blockers 3 --depth 3 --json
  ```

## HTTP Transport

This CLI uses Chrome-compatible HTTP transport for browser-facing endpoints. It does not require a resident browser process for normal API calls.

## Command Reference

**attachments** — Status: Beta, Availability: 1.3

- `redmine-pp-cli attachments delete` — Delete attachment
- `redmine-pp-cli attachments download-file` — Undocumented: This operation is not listed in the official documentation.
- `redmine-pp-cli attachments download-thumbnail` — Undocumented: This operation is not listed in the official documentation.
- `redmine-pp-cli attachments get` — Show attachment
- `redmine-pp-cli attachments update` — Update attachment

**custom-fields-json** — Manage custom fields json

- `redmine-pp-cli custom-fields-json` — List custom fields

**enumerations** — Status: Alpha, Availability: 2.2

- `redmine-pp-cli enumerations get-document-categories` — List document categories
- `redmine-pp-cli enumerations get-issue-priorities` — List issue priorities
- `redmine-pp-cli enumerations get-time-entry-activities` — List time entry activities

**groups** — Status: Alpha, Availability: 2.1

- `redmine-pp-cli groups delete` — Delete group
- `redmine-pp-cli groups get` — Show group
- `redmine-pp-cli groups update` — Update group

**groups-json** — Manage groups json

- `redmine-pp-cli groups-json create-group` — Create group
- `redmine-pp-cli groups-json get-groups` — List groups

**issue-categories** — Status: Alpha, Availability: 1.3

- `redmine-pp-cli issue-categories delete-issue-category` — Delete issue category
- `redmine-pp-cli issue-categories get-issue-category` — Show issue category
- `redmine-pp-cli issue-categories update-issue-category` — Update issue category

**issue-statuses-json** — Manage issue statuses json

- `redmine-pp-cli issue-statuses-json` — List issue statuses

**issues** — Status: Stable, Availability: 1.0

- `redmine-pp-cli issues delete` — Delete issue
- `redmine-pp-cli issues get` — Show issue
- `redmine-pp-cli issues update` — Update issue

**issues-json** — Manage issues json

- `redmine-pp-cli issues-json create-issue` — Create issue
- `redmine-pp-cli issues-json get-issues` — List issues

**journals** — Status: Alpha, Availability: 5.0

- `redmine-pp-cli journals <journal_id>` — The journal is deleted when it is updated with empty `notes` and has no property changes (`details`).

**memberships** — Manage memberships

- `redmine-pp-cli memberships delete` — Delete membership
- `redmine-pp-cli memberships get` — Show membership
- `redmine-pp-cli memberships update` — Warning

**my** — Manage my

- `redmine-pp-cli my get-account` — Show my account
- `redmine-pp-cli my update-account` — Requests authenticated via OAuth are rejected with 403, regardless of the token's scopes.

**news** — Status: Stable, Availability: 1.1

- `redmine-pp-cli news delete` — Delete news
- `redmine-pp-cli news get` — Show news
- `redmine-pp-cli news update` — Update news

**news-json** — Manage news json

- `redmine-pp-cli news-json` — List news

**projects** — Status: Stable, Availability: 1.0

- `redmine-pp-cli projects delete` — Delete project
- `redmine-pp-cli projects get` — Show project
- `redmine-pp-cli projects update` — Update project

**projects-json** — Manage projects json

- `redmine-pp-cli projects-json create-project` — Create project
- `redmine-pp-cli projects-json get-projects` — List projects

**queries-json** — Manage queries json

- `redmine-pp-cli queries-json` — List queries

**relations** — Manage relations

- `redmine-pp-cli relations delete-issue` — Delete issue relation
- `redmine-pp-cli relations get-issue` — Show issue relation

**roles** — Status: Alpha, Availability: 1.4

- `redmine-pp-cli roles <role_id>` — Show role

**roles-json** — Manage roles json

- `redmine-pp-cli roles-json` — List roles

**search-json** — Manage search json

- `redmine-pp-cli search-json` — Search

**time-entries** — Status: Stable, Availability: 1.1

- `redmine-pp-cli time-entries delete-time-entry` — Delete time entry
- `redmine-pp-cli time-entries get-time-entry` — Show time entry
- `redmine-pp-cli time-entries update-time-entry` — Update time entry

**time-entries-json** — Manage time entries json

- `redmine-pp-cli time-entries-json create-time-entry` — Create time entry
- `redmine-pp-cli time-entries-json get-time-entries` — List time entries

**trackers-json** — Manage trackers json

- `redmine-pp-cli trackers-json` — List trackers

**uploads-json** — Manage uploads json

- `redmine-pp-cli uploads-json` — Upload attachment file

**users** — Status: Stable, Availability: 1.1

- `redmine-pp-cli users delete` — Delete user
- `redmine-pp-cli users get` — Show user
- `redmine-pp-cli users get-current` — Show current user
- `redmine-pp-cli users update` — Update user

**users-json** — Manage users json

- `redmine-pp-cli users-json create-user` — Create user
- `redmine-pp-cli users-json get-users` — List users

**versions** — Status: Alpha, Availability: 1.3

- `redmine-pp-cli versions delete` — Delete version
- `redmine-pp-cli versions get` — Show version
- `redmine-pp-cli versions update` — Update version


## Freshness Contract

This printed CLI owns bounded freshness only for registered store-backed read command paths. In `--data-source auto` mode, those paths check `sync_state` and may run a bounded refresh before reading local data. `--data-source local` never refreshes. `--data-source live` reads the API and does not mutate the local store. Set `REDMINE_NO_AUTO_REFRESH=1` to skip the freshness hook without changing source selection.

Covered paths:

- `redmine-pp-cli custom-fields-json`
- `redmine-pp-cli custom-fields-json get`
- `redmine-pp-cli custom-fields-json list`
- `redmine-pp-cli custom-fields-json search`
- `redmine-pp-cli enumerations`
- `redmine-pp-cli enumerations get`
- `redmine-pp-cli enumerations list`
- `redmine-pp-cli enumerations search`
- `redmine-pp-cli enumerations-issue-priorities-json`
- `redmine-pp-cli enumerations-issue-priorities-json get`
- `redmine-pp-cli enumerations-issue-priorities-json list`
- `redmine-pp-cli enumerations-issue-priorities-json search`
- `redmine-pp-cli enumerations-time-entry-activities-json`
- `redmine-pp-cli enumerations-time-entry-activities-json get`
- `redmine-pp-cli enumerations-time-entry-activities-json list`
- `redmine-pp-cli enumerations-time-entry-activities-json search`
- `redmine-pp-cli groups-json`
- `redmine-pp-cli groups-json get`
- `redmine-pp-cli groups-json list`
- `redmine-pp-cli groups-json search`
- `redmine-pp-cli issue-statuses-json`
- `redmine-pp-cli issue-statuses-json get`
- `redmine-pp-cli issue-statuses-json list`
- `redmine-pp-cli issue-statuses-json search`
- `redmine-pp-cli issues-json`
- `redmine-pp-cli issues-json get`
- `redmine-pp-cli issues-json list`
- `redmine-pp-cli issues-json search`
- `redmine-pp-cli memberships-json`
- `redmine-pp-cli memberships-json get`
- `redmine-pp-cli memberships-json list`
- `redmine-pp-cli memberships-json search`
- `redmine-pp-cli news-json`
- `redmine-pp-cli news-json get`
- `redmine-pp-cli news-json list`
- `redmine-pp-cli news-json search`
- `redmine-pp-cli projects-json`
- `redmine-pp-cli projects-json get`
- `redmine-pp-cli projects-json list`
- `redmine-pp-cli projects-json search`
- `redmine-pp-cli queries-json`
- `redmine-pp-cli queries-json get`
- `redmine-pp-cli queries-json list`
- `redmine-pp-cli queries-json search`
- `redmine-pp-cli roles-json`
- `redmine-pp-cli roles-json get`
- `redmine-pp-cli roles-json list`
- `redmine-pp-cli roles-json search`
- `redmine-pp-cli search-json`
- `redmine-pp-cli search-json get`
- `redmine-pp-cli search-json list`
- `redmine-pp-cli search-json search`
- `redmine-pp-cli time-entries-json`
- `redmine-pp-cli time-entries-json get`
- `redmine-pp-cli time-entries-json list`
- `redmine-pp-cli time-entries-json search`
- `redmine-pp-cli trackers-json`
- `redmine-pp-cli trackers-json get`
- `redmine-pp-cli trackers-json list`
- `redmine-pp-cli trackers-json search`
- `redmine-pp-cli users-json`
- `redmine-pp-cli users-json get`
- `redmine-pp-cli users-json list`
- `redmine-pp-cli users-json search`

When JSON output uses the generated provenance envelope, freshness metadata appears at `meta.freshness`. Treat it as current-cache freshness for the covered command path, not a guarantee of complete historical backfill or API-specific enrichment.

### Finding the right command

When you know what you want to do but not which command does it, ask the CLI directly:

```bash
redmine-pp-cli which "<capability in your own words>"
```

`which` resolves a natural-language capability query to the best matching command from this CLI's curated feature index. Exit code `0` means at least one match; exit code `2` means no confident match — fall back to `--help` or use a narrower query.

## Recipes

### Triage open bugs with a narrow agent payload

```bash
redmine-pp-cli issues-json get-issues --project-id demo --status-id o --tracker-id 1 --agent --select id,subject,tracker.name,priority.name
```

Nested tracker/priority/status objects on every issue add up fast across a full project; --select keeps only the fields an agent actually needs to triage.

### Find issues nobody has touched in two weeks

```bash
redmine-pp-cli issues stale --project demo --days 14 --json
```

Surfaces open issues with no recent activity, which Redmine itself has no concept of.

### See who's carrying the most open work

```bash
redmine-pp-cli workload --project demo --threshold 5
```

One command instead of opening each engineer's assigned-issue list to eyeball the count.

### Trace why an issue is blocked

```bash
redmine-pp-cli issues blockers 3 --depth 3
```

Walks the full transitive blocker chain instead of clicking through each linked issue one hop at a time.

### Check release readiness for a version

```bash
redmine-pp-cli roadmap burndown 1.0 --project demo --json
```

Open/closed counts, average done_ratio, and hours variance for the version in one call, replacing a manual Roadmap-page count.

## Auth Setup

Redmine is self-hosted, so two things are required instead of just a key: REDMINE_URL (your instance's base URL) and REDMINE_API_KEY (from your account's My Account page, or Administration > Settings > API for admins). Both are sent as-is — REDMINE_API_KEY becomes the X-Redmine-API-Key header on every request.

Run `redmine-pp-cli doctor` to verify setup.

## Agent Mode

Add `--agent` to any command. Expands to: `--json --compact --no-input --no-color`.

- **Pipeable** — JSON on stdout, errors on stderr
- **Filterable** — `--select` keeps a subset of fields. Dotted paths descend into nested structures; arrays traverse element-wise. Critical for keeping context small on verbose APIs:

  ```bash
  redmine-pp-cli attachments get mock-value --agent --select attachment
  ```
- **Previewable** — `--dry-run` shows the request without sending
- **Offline-friendly** — sync/search commands can use the local SQLite store when available
- **Non-interactive** — never prompts, every input is a flag
- **Explicit confirmation** — `--agent` does not imply `--yes`; pass `--yes` separately only after the target, arguments, and side effects are clear
- **Explicit retries** — use `--idempotent` only when an already-existing create should count as success, and use `--ignore-missing` only when a missing delete target should count as success

### Response envelope

Commands that read from the local store or the API wrap output in a provenance envelope:

```json
{
  "meta": {"source": "live" | "local", "synced_at": "...", "reason": "..."},
  "results": <data>
}
```

Parse `.results` for data and `.meta.source` to know whether it's live or local. A human-readable `N results (live)` summary is printed to stderr only when stdout is a terminal AND no machine-format flag (`--json`, `--csv`, `--compact`, `--quiet`, `--plain`, `--select`) is set — piped/agent consumers and explicit-format runs get pure JSON on stdout.

## Paths and state

Agents should treat the CLI's path resolver as part of the runtime contract:

- Use `--home <dir>` for one invocation, or set `REDMINE_HOME=<dir>` to relocate all four path kinds under one root.
- Use per-kind env vars only when a specific kind must diverge: `REDMINE_CONFIG_DIR`, `REDMINE_DATA_DIR`, `REDMINE_STATE_DIR`, `REDMINE_CACHE_DIR`.
- Resolution order is per-kind env var, `--home`, `REDMINE_HOME`, XDG (`XDG_CONFIG_HOME`, `XDG_DATA_HOME`, `XDG_STATE_HOME`, `XDG_CACHE_HOME`), then platform defaults.
- `config` contains settings like `config.toml` and profiles. `data` contains `credentials.toml`, `data.db`, cookies, and auth sidecars. `state` contains persisted queries, jobs, and `teach.log`. `cache` contains regenerable HTTP/cache files.
- Stored secrets live in `credentials.toml` under the data dir. Existing legacy `config.toml` secrets are read for compatibility and leave `config.toml` on the first auth write.
- Run `redmine-pp-cli doctor --fail-on warn` to surface path and credential-location warnings. `agent-context` exposes a schema v4 `paths` block for agents that need the resolved dirs.
- For MCP, pass relocation through the MCP host config. The MCP binary does not inherit CLI flags:

  ```json
  {
    "mcpServers": {
      "redmine": {
        "command": "redmine-pp-mcp",
        "env": {
          "REDMINE_HOME": "/srv/redmine"
        }
      }
    }
  }
  ```

Fleet precedence: an inherited per-kind env var overrides an explicit `--home` for that kind. Use `REDMINE_HOME` or per-kind vars as durable fleet levers, and use `--home` only for a single invocation. Relocation is not reversible by unsetting env vars; move files manually before clearing `REDMINE_HOME`, or `doctor` will not find credentials left under the former root.

## Automatic learning

This CLI ships a self-capturing learning loop. The CLI does its own bookkeeping: every invocation is journaled locally, a failed flag followed by a corrected retry auto-derives a `flag_alias` candidate, and a `teach` on a query family without a playbook auto-synthesizes a `playbook_candidate` from the session's journal. Your job is judgment only: `recall` first, act on surfaced candidates, `teach` the final answer, `playbook amend` when you observe a correction. You never record failures by hand.

### Step 1: `recall` before any discovery

Before list/search/drill commands on a new user question, run:

```bash
redmine-pp-cli recall "<user's question>" --agent
```

The response envelope:

```json
{
  "query": "...",
  "normalized": "<normalized form>",
  "query_entities": ["..."],
  "found": true | false,
  "match_score": 0.0,
  "results": [
    { "resource_id": "...", "resource_type": "...", "venue": "...",
      "confidence": 2, "entity_match": "exact|partial|unknown",
      "source": "taught|preseed|pattern", "warnings": ["..."] }
  ],
  "mismatches": [ /* only when --debug-mismatches */ ],
  "warnings": [ /* top-level */ ],
  "candidates": [
    { "id": 12, "class": "flag_alias | playbook_candidate",
      "summary": "...", "sightings": 3, "last_seen": "...",
      "rationale": "...",
      "next_action": ["<trial command>", "redmine-pp-cli learnings confirm 12"] }
  ],
  "playbook": {
    "query_family": "...",
    "playbook": {
      "steps": [ { "cmd": "<command with {slot} substitution>", "purpose": "..." } ],
      "entity_slots": ["$ENTITY"],
      "expected_tool_calls": 3
    },
    "slots_resolved": { "$ENTITY": { "token": "<live token>", "canonical": "<canonical>" } },
    "notes": "<workarounds + gotchas for this query family>"
  },
  "notes": "<duplicate surface for non-playbook callers>"
}
```

Empty-store short-circuit: if the store has no learnings, playbooks, or candidates yet (recall finds nothing and `learnings list` and `learnings candidates` are both empty), skip recall for the rest of this session instead of taxing every query; resume recall-first once something has been taught.

### Step 2: decision tree

Read `candidates`, `playbook`, `notes`, `results[0]`, and warnings in that order:

```
if Candidates present (warnings include "candidates_present"):
    -> candidates are try-then-confirm, never facts. Follow each candidate's
       two-step next_action verbatim: run the trial command first, then run
       `learnings confirm <id>` only after the trial verified the behavior.
       Reject a wrong candidate with `learnings reject <id>`.
    -> NEVER re-teach something recall surfaced as a candidate; confirm or
       reject that candidate instead of teaching a duplicate.
    -> candidates ride alongside playbooks and resource hits, not instead of
       them; continue with the branches below after acting on them.

if Playbook present:
    -> READ Playbook.notes verbatim FIRST (workarounds + gotchas the CLI surface doesn't expose)
    -> replay Playbook.steps in order, substituting Playbook.slots_resolved entries
       for the entity slot tokens. If a step's slot is unresolved, fall back to
       discovery for that step only.
    -> the Playbook's expected_tool_calls is a budget; if you find yourself running
       materially more, record the divergence via `redmine-pp-cli playbook amend`
       at end-of-session.

elif Notes present (no Playbook):
    -> read Notes verbatim before any discovery step; they carry known gotchas
       for this query family even when no structured choreography exists yet.

elif Found AND Results[0].EntityMatch == "exact" AND Results[0].Confidence >= 2:
    -> skip discovery; fetch live data for Results[*].ResourceID in parallel

elif Found AND Results[0].EntityMatch == "partial":
    -> candidate hint, NOT a hit; read the resource title to validate before trusting

elif (any row in Mismatches[] when --debug-mismatches was passed):
    -> treat as cold start; the stored learning is for a different entity
       (different canonical resolved from query_entities)

else:  // Found == false, no playbook, no notes
    -> cold start; run discovery normally; teach the answer afterward (Step 4).
       If the family has no playbook yet, that teach auto-synthesizes a
       playbook candidate from this session's journal - you do not need to
       record one by hand.
```

Playbook and Notes are orthogonal to the per-resource path. A recall response can carry both a Playbook AND a `Results[]` hit - use both: the Playbook tells you which choreography to run; the resource hits short-circuit specific steps. Default to skipping `mismatches`; pass `--debug-mismatches` only when investigating cold-start surprises.

Candidate judgment details: `learnings confirm <id>` prints the candidate's full payload before materializing it - check that the printed payload matches the behavior you verified. `learnings reject <id>` tombstones the derivation signature so the same candidate does not resurface. The envelope carries only the few candidates worth acting on now; `redmine-pp-cli learnings candidates` lists the full open set.

Graceful degradation: if `learnings confirm` is an unknown command, you are driving an older binary - ignore the candidates guidance and follow the rest of the protocol.

### Step 3: always read `warnings`

- `low_confidence`: row exists at `confidence<2`. Treat as a hint, not a skip-discovery hit.
- `resource_not_in_store`: the local store doesn't have the resource the learning points at. The match validator couldn't classify entities — direct-fetch and re-evaluate.
- `cross_alias_match` (per-result): the row was taught under a different alias and matched the live query's canonical via `entity_lookups` (e.g., a "USA" teach satisfying a "United States" recall). Trust the resource_id.
- `similar_shape_different_entity:<canonical>` (top-level): a structurally matching row exists but its canonical entity differs from the live query's. Treated as cold start; the warning carries the conflicting canonical as a hint, but the row is NOT promoted into Results.
- `ambiguous_alias` (top-level): a single query entity resolved to multiple canonicals (e.g., "Cards" → Arizona Cardinals + St. Louis Cardinals). Surface the ambiguity from context before committing to a resource.
- `candidates_present` (top-level): the envelope carries a `candidates` section. Handle it via the candidates branch in Step 2 before anything else.
- `lookup_refresh_available` (top-level): an entity in the query has no lookup row yet, but synced data could provide one. Run `redmine-pp-cli sync` to refresh entity lookups.
- Top-level `no_learnings_for_query_family`: the table had no rows above the Jaccard floor. Pure cold start.

### Step 4: `teach &` after finalizing your response - always

Teaching is unconditional. After resolving a query the store could not answer, background-teach the final resource mapping - no call-count threshold, no judging whether it was "worth" learning. The teach is the anchor of the loop: it triggers playbook synthesis for a family without a playbook, and same-referent phrasings fold into one family so near-duplicate teaches do not fragment the store. Fire it after assembling your user-facing response but BEFORE emitting it, with a shell `&` so the call returns immediately:

```bash
redmine-pp-cli teach --query "<user's question>" --resource-type <type> --resource <id1> --resource <id2>
# (append shell `&` to background it)
```

Silent on success. Errors only land in `teach.log` under the resolved state dir. Teach the **most specific** resource - if the user asked a broad question and you walked through parent records to find the specific answer, teach the leaf id, not the parent. The CLI uses seeded `entity_lookups` for cross-alias resolution at recall time, so a teach under one alias (e.g., "Niners") satisfies future queries under another alias (e.g., "49ers", "San Francisco") automatically.

PII rule: teach the structural question with identifiers stripped - never include names, emails, phone numbers, account ids, or other personal identifiers in taught queries or notes. The CLI scans teach queries for obvious email/phone shapes and warns, but does not block; strip before teaching rather than relying on the warning.

### Step 5: playbooks - optional flags, automatic synthesis

You do not need to decide whether a session "deserves" a playbook: a teach on a family without one auto-synthesizes a `playbook_candidate` from the session's journal, and the next session judges it via confirm/reject. Attach explicit playbook flags only when you already hold choreography worth recording verbatim - workarounds the CLI didn't surface (silently-dropped flags, undocumented params, pagination tricks, payload gotchas). Prefer the **integrated one-call form** - record the resource learning and the playbook in the same `teach` invocation:

```bash
# Common case: record both the resource learning AND the playbook in one call.
redmine-pp-cli teach \
  --query "<user's question>" \
  --resource <id> \
  --playbook-file ~/playbooks/<shape>.json \
  --playbook-notes-file ~/playbooks/<shape>-notes.md
# (append shell `&` to background it)

# Alternate: playbook-only (no resource to record alongside).
redmine-pp-cli teach-playbook \
  --query "<user's question>" \
  --playbook-file ~/playbooks/<shape>.json \
  --notes-file ~/playbooks/<shape>-notes.md
```

Playbook files are JSON with `steps`, `entity_slots`, `expected_tool_calls`. Notes files are markdown carrying the gotchas verbatim. File-free callers (MCP-only agents) pass the same content inline: `--playbook-json` and `--playbook-notes` on the integrated `teach` form, `--playbook-json` and `--notes` on `teach-playbook`. On the integrated `teach` form, the playbook flags are optional - omit them entirely for a resource-only teach. On the standalone `teach-playbook` form, at least one of the playbook and notes flags must be set; both empty is rejected. Playbooks are keyed on the structural query family (entities stripped) so a recipe taught from one entity-shaped query applies to every other query of the same shape, with `slots_resolved` binding the live query's canonical at recall time.

When you DO find a playbook on a future recall, treat it as ground truth: replay the steps with `slots_resolved` substitutions, skip the discovery that the choreography already documents, and read `notes` before any step.

### Step 6: `playbook amend &` when your debug response identifies a correction

If your debug-protocol response identifies a concrete correction the notes or playbook should know — a workaround, an undocumented endpoint shape, a stale field name, observed schema drift, an empty-payload fallback — fire `playbook amend` BEFORE emitting your user-facing response. Same fire-and-forget posture as `teach`.

```bash
redmine-pp-cli playbook amend \
  --query "<exact recall query string>" \
  --add-note "<your concrete correction>"
# (append shell `&` to background it)
```

What counts as worth amending: a behavior you OBSERVED this session that future-you would benefit from knowing. Examples worth amending:

- A workaround for a CLI surface that silently drops or misorders a flag.
- An undocumented endpoint shape (response wrapped in `{meta, results}`, payload nested two levels deeper than the docs claim).
- Observed schema drift (a field renamed, an index that shifted between seasons, a category label that the API now returns lower-cased).

What does NOT belong in notes:

- The year-specific or entity-specific answer to the user's question. That's the response, not a learning.
- Per-team / per-athlete / per-row data the playbook already retrieves at runtime.
- Statements that paraphrase what the existing notes already say.

The amend command appends to the family's existing notes with a timestamped marker (`[amend YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MMZ]: <text>`). Multiple amends accumulate; the audit trail is visible. If no playbook exists yet for the family, amend creates a notes-only one (so cold-start corrections still land).

#### PII discipline for amend notes

`playbook amend` notes are designed to potentially flow upstream as shared knowledge in future versions of the Printing Press. Keep them clean of user-identifying content so the upstream-contribution path stays open without retroactive scrubbing:

- **Do NOT embed** paths to user filesystems, personal API keys or tokens, user email addresses, user GitHub handles, or specific query histories tied to a single user.
- **Acceptable**: endpoint shapes, undocumented field names, API gotchas, observed schema drift, workarounds for CLI surfaces, generalizable pagination or retry tactics.

If a correction is only meaningful with user-specific context, it belongs in a personal note, not in the playbook amend.

### Measuring the loop

`redmine-pp-cli learnings stats` reports recall hit rate, teach-to-reuse, playbook resolution rate, and candidate confirm/reject counts from the local `learn_events` table. Rates are null until they have a denominator; everything stays on this machine. Use it to check whether the loop is earning its keep for this CLI.

### Disabling learning

- `--no-learn` on a single command short-circuits both `recall` and the `teach` write path. Use for deterministic agent flows or tests that must not be affected by accumulated learnings.
- `REDMINE_NO_LEARN=true` in the environment globally disables the pipeline.

## Agent Feedback

When you (or the agent) notice something off about this CLI, record it:

```
redmine-pp-cli feedback "the --since flag is inclusive but docs say exclusive"
redmine-pp-cli feedback --stdin < notes.txt
redmine-pp-cli feedback list --json --limit 10
```

Entries are stored locally as `feedback.jsonl` under the resolved data dir. They are never POSTed unless `REDMINE_FEEDBACK_ENDPOINT` is set AND either `--send` is passed or `REDMINE_FEEDBACK_AUTO_SEND=true`. Default behavior is local-only.

Write what *surprised* you, not a bug report. Short, specific, one line: that is the part that compounds.

## Output Delivery

Every command accepts `--deliver <sink>`. The output goes to the named sink in addition to (or instead of) stdout, so agents can route command results without hand-piping. Three sinks are supported:

| Sink | Effect |
|------|--------|
| `stdout` | Default; write to stdout only |
| `file:<path>` | Atomically write output to `<path>` (tmp + rename) |
| `webhook:<url>` | POST the output body to the URL (`application/json` or `application/x-ndjson` when `--compact`) |

Unknown schemes are refused with a structured error naming the supported set. Webhook failures return non-zero and log the URL + HTTP status on stderr.

## Named Profiles

A profile is a saved set of flag values, reused across invocations. Use it when a scheduled or recurring agent reuses the same saved flags while providing different input each run.

```
redmine-pp-cli profile save briefing --json
redmine-pp-cli --profile briefing attachments get mock-value
redmine-pp-cli profile list --json
redmine-pp-cli profile show briefing
redmine-pp-cli profile delete briefing --yes
```

Explicit flags always win over profile values; profile values win over defaults. `agent-context` lists all available profiles under `available_profiles` so introspecting agents discover them at runtime.

## Exit Codes

| Code | Meaning |
|------|---------|
| 0 | Success |
| 2 | Usage error (wrong arguments) |
| 3 | Resource not found |
| 4 | Authentication required |
| 5 | API error (upstream issue) |
| 7 | Rate limited (wait and retry) |
| 10 | Config error |

## Argument Parsing

Parse `$ARGUMENTS`:

1. **Empty, `help`, or `--help`** → show `redmine-pp-cli --help` output
2. **Starts with `install`** → ends with `mcp` → MCP installation; otherwise → see Prerequisites above
3. **Anything else** → Direct Use (execute as CLI command with `--agent`)

## MCP Server Installation

1. Install the MCP server:
   ```bash
   go install github.com/mvanhorn/printing-press-library/library/project-management/redmine/cmd/redmine-pp-mcp@latest
   ```
2. Register with Claude Code:
   ```bash
   claude mcp add redmine-pp-mcp -- redmine-pp-mcp
   ```
3. Verify: `claude mcp list`

## Direct Use

1. Check if installed: `which redmine-pp-cli`
   If not found, offer to install (see Prerequisites at the top of this skill).
2. Match the user query to the best command from the Unique Capabilities and Command Reference above.
3. Execute with the `--agent` flag:
   ```bash
   redmine-pp-cli <command> [subcommand] [args] --agent
   ```
4. If ambiguous, drill into subcommand help: `redmine-pp-cli <command> --help`.

