Pause Current Work

Pause Current Work

Create a named checkpoint of current work to enable easy resumption later.

Command Argument Handling

This command supports an optional pause reason/name:

Usage:

• /pause - Pause with auto-generated name
• /pause "switching to urgent bug" - Pause with custom reason
• /pause working on feature X, need to context switch - Pause with description

What This Does

This command creates explicit pause checkpoints for all in-progress tasks, making it easy to resume exactly where you left off even after working on other initiatives.

Key differences from regular checkpoints:

• Explicit intent: User-initiated pause vs automatic checkpoints
• Extended expiry: Manual checkpoints last longer than auto-checkpoints
• Named/contextualized: Optional reason helps recall context when resuming
• Resume priority: /continue checks pause checkpoints first

Step 1: Get Current Initiative Context

// Get current initiative to find active tasks
const initiative = await initiative_get({ mode: "lean" });

if (!initiative) {
  return "No active initiative found. Start work with /protocol first.";
}

Step 2: Find In-Progress Tasks

# Get all in-progress tasks across all PRDs in the initiative
tc task list --status in_progress --json
# If no tasks returned, respond: "No in-progress tasks to pause."

Step 3: Create Pause State for Each Task

For each in-progress task, update its status to capture pause state:

# For each in-progress task, update with pause notes
tc task update <id> --status paused --notes "Paused: <reason>. Resume with /continue." --json

This preserves the pause reason and context directly on the task for later resumption.

Step 4: Update Initiative Context

// Store pause context in Memory Copilot
await initiative_update({
  currentFocus: `Paused: ${pauseReason}`,
  nextAction: `Resume with /continue to restore paused tasks`,
  decisions: [{
    decision: `Paused work on ${allTasks.length} task(s)`,
    rationale: pauseReason
  }]
});

Step 5: Return Confirmation

return `
## Work Paused

**Reason:** ${pauseReason}

**Checkpoints Created:** ${allTasks.length} task(s)
${allTasks.map(t => `  - ${t.title} (${t.id})`).join('\n')}

**Expiry:** Extended (manual checkpoint)
**Resume:** Use \`/continue\` to resume from these checkpoints

All task states have been preserved. You can safely work on other initiatives.
`;

Implementation Notes

Pause State Identification

Paused tasks are identified by:

• Task status set to paused
• Notes field containing pause reason and resume instructions

This allows /continue to detect and prioritize paused tasks.

Multi-Task Pause Support

The command updates ALL in-progress tasks, not just one. This ensures:

• Complete state preservation across parallel streams
• No lost work when context switching
• Easy resume of entire work context

Edge Cases

No in-progress tasks:

• Return friendly message: "No in-progress tasks to pause."
• Do NOT error - this is a valid state

Initiative switching:

• Paused task state persists across initiative changes
• /continue can find paused tasks from previous initiative
• User must explicitly link back to old initiative to access old paused tasks

Example Output

Successful pause:

## Work Paused

**Reason:** Switching to urgent production bug

**Checkpoints Created:** 2 task(s)
  - Implement user authentication endpoint (TASK-abc123)
  - Add password reset flow (TASK-def456)

**Expiry:** Extended (manual checkpoint)
**Resume:** Use `/continue` to resume from these checkpoints

All task states have been preserved. You can safely work on other initiatives.

No tasks to pause:

No in-progress tasks to pause.

Tip: Use /protocol to start new work, or /continue to resume existing tasks.

Integration with /continue

The /continue command checks for paused tasks BEFORE loading standard initiative context:

# /continue enhancement (implemented separately)
tc task list --status paused --json
# If paused tasks found, show resume options
# User can choose to resume paused task or continue with standard flow

See continue.md for pause detection logic.