Work

/work ""

Creates a work group — a named collection of work definitions that share a larger goal. Work groups coordinate multi-feature work with artifact-based dependencies and computed readiness.

Use this when work spans multiple features, requires ordering, or benefits from interface contracts between work definitions.

For standalone single-feature work, use /feature instead — no work group needed.

Idempotency pre-flight (ALWAYS FIRST)

1. Generate group-slug from the goal (kebab-case, max 40 chars)
2. Check if .work/<group-slug>/ exists
3. If it exists and work.md is present:

   ───────────────────────────────────────────────
   📋 WORK GROUP · <group-slug>
   ───────────────────────────────────────────────
   Work group '<group-slug>' already exists.
   

   Use AskUserQuestion with options:
   • "View status" → invoke /work-status "<group-slug>"
   • "Decompose into work definitions" → invoke /work-decompose "<group-slug>"
   • "Stop"
4. If directory does not exist: proceed to Step 0.

Step 0 — Parse and create directory

• Extract the goal description
• Generate group-slug in kebab-case
• Create .work/<group-slug>/ directory

Display opening header:

───────────────────────────────────────────────
📋 WORK GROUP · <group-slug>
───────────────────────────────────────────────

Step 1 — Read existing context

Read silently before asking anything:

1. .work/CLAUDE.md — check for related active work groups
2. .kb/CLAUDE.md — scan topic map for relevant domains
3. .decisions/CLAUDE.md — check for related active/deferred decisions
4. .spec/CLAUDE.md — check for existing specs in relevant domains

Step 2 — Scoping interview

The goal is to establish clear boundaries for the work group. Ask questions across these dimensions using AskUserQuestion for each:

Pre-interview analysis (internal — do not display)

Read the goal and privately identify unknowns across:

Questioning rules

• Collapse knowns: if the goal description answers a dimension, skip it
• Maximum 4 questions total — batch related dimensions into compound questions
• Use AskUserQuestion with typed options where choices are enumerable
• One question at a time, wait for the answer before the next
• After each answer, update your internal model — skip questions the answer already covers

Lead with tradeoff analysis when the choice is non-obvious

AskUserQuestion presents options with short labels and one-sentence descriptions. That works when the user can pick from labels alone. It does NOT work when the choice has implications the user can't see in a sentence — they'll either pick the wrong option or come back asking "what's the tradeoff?", forcing a retrofit.

Default rule: before any AskUserQuestion whose options have non-trivial consequences (architecture, scope boundary, dependency model), present the tradeoff analysis FIRST as prose, then call AskUserQuestion.

Concretely, the message preceding the AskUserQuestion should:

• Name each option's blast radius and reversibility
• Surface non-obvious second-order effects (e.g., "option B touches shared types; option A doesn't")
• Note industry precedent if relevant
• Make a recommendation if you have a defensible one, but frame it as the user's call, not yours

This is more text than a bare AskUserQuestion. That's intentional. A user who picks an option without understanding the tradeoff is worse off than a user who reads two paragraphs and chooses correctly.

Skip the tradeoff prelude only when the choice is genuinely simple (e.g., "kebab-case slug okay?" — yes/no, no second-order effects).

Step 3 — Confirm work group scope

Present the scope summary:

## Work Group: <group-slug>

**Goal:** <one sentence>

**In scope:**
- <bullet points>

**Out of scope:**
- <bullet points>

**Known ordering constraints:**
- <bullet points, or "none identified yet">

**Shared interfaces expected:**
- <bullet points, or "none identified yet">

**Success criteria:**
- <bullet points>

Use AskUserQuestion with options:

• "Looks good"
• "Revise" (with Other for specific changes)

If "Revise": apply changes and re-present.

Step 4 — Write work group files

4a — Write work.md

Write .work/<group-slug>/work.md:

---
group: <group-slug>
goal: <one sentence goal>
status: active
created: <YYYY-MM-DD>
# Optional — declare cross-group blockers. Every WD in this group is
# reported BLOCKED by scripts/work-resolve.sh until every listed group
# reaches required_state=COMPLETE. Add only if seam analysis surfaces
# a cross-group dependency; leave out otherwise.
# external_deps:
#   - { type: group, ref: "<other-group-slug>", required_state: COMPLETE }
---

## Goal
<goal description>

## Scope
### In scope
<bullet points>

### Out of scope
<bullet points>

## Ordering Constraints
<bullet points or "None identified.">

## Shared Interfaces
<bullet points or "None identified yet — will be discovered during decomposition.">

## Success Criteria
<bullet points>

4b — Write manifest.md

Write .work/<group-slug>/manifest.md:

# Work Group Manifest: <group-slug>

**Goal:** <one sentence>
**Status:** active
**Created:** <YYYY-MM-DD>
**Work definitions:** 0

## Work Definitions

| WD | Title | Status | Domains | Deps | Produces |
|----|-------|--------|---------|------|----------|

## Dependency Graph

(empty — populate with /work-decompose)

4c — Update .work/CLAUDE.md index

Append rows to both the "Active Work Groups" table and the "Recently Added" log via the index helper:

bash .claude/scripts/work-index.sh add "<group-slug>" "<goal>"

The script writes both rows atomically and is idempotent — if a row already exists for the slug it falls through to a count refresh instead of duplicating. Do not edit .work/CLAUDE.md by hand here; column-shape drift between hand-edits and other call sites breaks the table for /work-status and the index helper alike.

Step 5 — Next steps

Work group '<group-slug>' created.

Files:
  .work/<group-slug>/work.md       — scope and success criteria
  .work/<group-slug>/manifest.md   — work definition registry

Next: decompose this into work definitions:

  /work-decompose "<group-slug>"

This will identify the individual work units, their dependencies,
and any shared interface contracts needed between them.

Stop.