Paw Rewind

Workflow Rewind

Execution Context: This skill runs directly in the PAW session (not a subagent)—requires user interaction for confirmation prompts.

Roll back workflow state to a previous stage or phase. Handles safeguard checks, action preview, and git reset upon user confirmation.

Reference: Follow Core Implementation Principles from paw-workflow skill.

Capabilities

• Parse rewind target from natural language (spec, planning, phase N, start)
• Detect current workflow state using paw-status patterns
• Identify target commit for rewind point
• Check safeguards (uncommitted changes, unpushed commits, orphaned PRs)
• Present itemized action preview grouped by category
• Execute rewind via git reset on user confirmation
• Close orphaned PRs (PRs strategy) with explanatory comment

Rewind Targets

Target aliases: "go back to spec", "rewind to planning", "reset to phase 2", "roll back to start"

Procedure

1. Parse Rewind Target

Map user request to target:

• "spec", "specification" → spec
• "planning", "plan", "research" → planning
• "phase 1", "phase one", "p1" → phase 1
• "start", "beginning", "init" → start

If target unclear, ask user to clarify with available options.

2. Validate Target

Check target is reachable from current state:

• spec requires full mode (minimal mode has no spec stage)
• phase N requires ImplementationPlan.md with at least N phases
• Target must be before current stage (can't rewind forward)

If invalid, report error with available rewind targets.

3. Detect Current State

Use paw-status patterns to determine:

• WorkflowContext.md for configuration (mode, strategy)
• Current stage from artifact existence
• Phase progress from ImplementationPlan.md
• Git branch and status

4. Identify Target Commit

Find the commit representing the rewind point:

# Find commit where artifact was added
git log --oneline --diff-filter=A -- .paw/work/<work-id>/<artifact> | head -1

For phase targets, search commit messages:

git log --oneline --grep="Phase N" --grep="phase N" | head -1

If target commit not found, report error with available recovery options.

5. Safeguard Checks

Before any destructive action, check and warn about:

Uncommitted changes:

git status --porcelain

If non-empty, list files and require confirmation.

Unpushed commits:

git rev-list @{u}..HEAD --count

If upstream not set, treat as 0 unpushed. If > 0, report count and require confirmation.

Orphaned PRs (PRs strategy only): Query PRs with head branches matching <target>_phase* patterns that would be orphaned by rewind. List PR numbers/URLs.

6. Action Preview

Present itemized preview grouped by category:

Rewind to: planning (after CodeResearch.md)
Target commit: abc1234

Actions to be performed:

📁 Git Reset:
   - Reset to commit abc1234
   - Removes: ImplementationPlan.md, all phase changes

🔗 PRs to Close (PRs strategy):
   - #42: [Feature] Phase 1 implementation
   - #43: [Feature] Phase 2 implementation

⚠️ Warnings:
   - 3 uncommitted files will be discarded
   - 5 unpushed commits will be removed

Continue with rewind? [yes/no]

7. Execute Rewind

On user confirmation:

1. Close orphaned PRs (PRs strategy):

   • Close each PR with comment: "Workflow rewound to {target}. This PR is no longer applicable."
   • If close fails, prompt user to close manually with direct link

2. Git reset:

   git reset --hard <target-commit>
   

3. Report completion:

   • What was reverted
   • Current state after rewind
   • Recommended next step

8. Cancellation

If user declines confirmation:

• Report "Rewind cancelled. No changes made."
• Workflow continues at current state

Edge Cases

Already at target: Report "Already at {target} stage. No rewind needed." and exit.

Minimal mode + spec target: Report error: "Spec stage not available in minimal workflow mode. Available targets: planning, start"

No commit found: Report error with manual recovery guidance: "Could not identify target commit. You may need to manually reset using git log to find the appropriate commit."

PR close fails: Prompt user: "Could not close PR #42 automatically. Please close manually: {url}"

Guardrails

• Never execute destructive operations without explicit user confirmation
• Never rewind without showing action preview first
• Never assume commit exists—always verify
• Never modify files outside of git reset operation
• Be idempotent: cancelled rewind leaves state unchanged

Completion Response

Report:

• Rewind status (completed/cancelled/error)
• If completed: target reached, commit hash, files reverted
• Current workflow stage after rewind
• Recommended next action
• Any manual steps required (e.g., PRs to close manually)

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