Next Task Skill

Finds the next uncompleted task from specs/tasks.md and delegates execution to the execute-task skill.

Workflow

Step 1: Load Tasks

Read the tasks file to find available tasks:

• Single file: specs/tasks.md
• Directory: specs/tasks/ (aggregated in sorted order)

Detection: Check for file first (takes precedence), then directory. When reading a directory, aggregate all .md files recursively with _index.md first, then numerically-prefixed files, then alphabetically.

Step 2: Find Next Task

Parse the tasks to find the next task to work on:

1. Look for all tasks with **Status:** Not Started

2. Check dependencies - filter to unblocked tasks (no incomplete dependencies)

3. Detect ambiguity:

   • Let candidates = unblocked not-started tasks
   • Let next_sequential = lowest numbered candidate (e.g., TASK-004)
   • Let completed_after = any complete task with number > next_sequential

4. If ambiguous (completed tasks exist after candidates): Present options to user with context about the gap:

   "Multiple tasks are available. Tasks 1,2,3,5 are complete.

   • TASK-004: [Title] - Earlier in sequence, may have been skipped intentionally
   • TASK-006: [Title] - Next sequential after completed work

   Which would you like to work on? (or use /groundwork:work-on N to select a specific task)"

   Wait for user selection before proceeding.

5. If unambiguous: Select the first unblocked, not-started task

Dependency check: A task is blocked if its Blocked by: field lists any task that is not Complete.

Tip: For direct task selection, use /groundwork:work-on N to work on a specific task by number.

Step 3: Handle Edge Cases

Situation	Response
No specs/ directory	"No specs directory found. Run /groundwork:design-product to start defining your project."
Missing tasks file	"Tasks file not found. Run /groundwork:create-tasks to generate tasks from your PRD and architecture."
No tasks in file	"No tasks found in specs/tasks.md. The file may need to be regenerated with /groundwork:create-tasks."
All tasks complete	"All tasks complete! Consider running /groundwork:source-product-specs-from-code to update documentation or plan the next phase."
Only blocked tasks	"All remaining tasks are blocked. Blocked tasks: [list]. Would you like to override and work on one anyway?"
Parse error	"Could not parse tasks.md. Expected format: ### TASK-NNN: Title with **Status:** field."

Step 4: Delegate to Execute Task

Once a task is identified, you MUST call the Skill tool: Skill(skill="groundwork:execute-task", args="TASK-NNN")

Do NOT load project context, present summaries, or begin task execution yourself. The execute-task skill handles the complete workflow. Call it NOW with the identified task identifier.