Find Code Tasks
Overview
This skill finds and displays all code tasks (.code-task.md files) in the repository, showing their frontmatter status and metadata. Use it to get a quick overview of pending work, find tasks by status, or check the state of the task backlog.
When to Use
- Starting a work session to see what tasks are available
- Checking status of tasks before/after running code-assist
- Finding tasks by status (pending, in_progress, completed)
- Getting a summary of task backlog
- Exporting task data for reporting
Parameters
- filter (optional): Filter tasks by status
- pending - Show only pending tasks - in_progress - Show only in-progress tasks - completed - Show only completed tasks - (none) - Show all tasks
- format (optional, default: "table"): Output format
- table - Human-readable table with status symbols - json - JSON array for programmatic use - summary - Counts by status only
- tasks_dir (optional, default: ".ralph/tasks/"): Directory to search for tasks
Usage Examples
# Show all tasks in table format
/find-code-tasks
# Show only pending tasks
/find-code-tasks filter:pending
# Get JSON output for tooling
/find-code-tasks format:json
# Quick summary of task counts
/find-code-tasks format:summary
# Search custom directory
/find-code-tasks tasks_dir:tools/Steps
1. Run Task Status Script
The script is colocated with this skill at .claude/skills/find-code-tasks/task-status.sh.
Execute it with appropriate arguments:
# Default: table format, all tasks
.claude/skills/find-code-tasks/task-status.sh
# With filter
.claude/skills/find-code-tasks/task-status.sh --pending
.claude/skills/find-code-tasks/task-status.sh --in_progress
.claude/skills/find-code-tasks/task-status.sh --completed
# With format
.claude/skills/find-code-tasks/task-status.sh --json
.claude/skills/find-code-tasks/task-status.sh --summary
# Custom tasks directory
TASKS_DIR=tools/ .claude/skills/find-code-tasks/task-status.sh2. Present Results
Display the output to the user. For table format, the output includes:
| Symbol | Status |
|---|---|
| ○ | pending |
| ● | in_progress |
| ✓ | completed |
| ■ | blocked |
3. Suggest Next Actions
Based on the results, suggest relevant actions:
- If there are pending tasks: "Run
/code-assist.ralph/tasks/<task-name>.code-task.mdto start a task" - If there are in_progress tasks: "There are tasks already in progress - consider completing those first"
- If all tasks are completed: "All tasks are done! Use
/code-task-generatorto create new tasks"
Output Examples
Table Format (default)
TASKS STATUS
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
TASK STATUS DATE
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
○ add-task-frontmatter-tracking pending 2025-01-15
○ enhance-headless-tool-output pending -
● fix-ctrl-c-freeze in_progress 2025-01-14
✓ replay-backend completed 2025-01-13
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Total: 4 tasksSummary Format
Task Summary
────────────
○ Pending: 10
● In Progress: 2
✓ Completed: 5
────────────
Total: 17JSON Format
[
{"task": "add-task-frontmatter-tracking", "status": "pending", "created": "2025-01-15", "started": null, "completed": null},
{"task": "fix-ctrl-c-freeze", "status": "in_progress", "created": "2025-01-14", "started": "2025-01-14", "completed": null}
]Frontmatter Schema
Tasks with frontmatter tracking have this structure:
---
status: pending | in_progress | completed | blocked
created: YYYY-MM-DD # Date task was created
started: YYYY-MM-DD # Date work began (null if not started)
completed: YYYY-MM-DD # Date work finished (null if not done)
---Tasks without frontmatter are shown as pending with null dates.
Integration with Other Skills
- code-task-generator: Creates new tasks with frontmatter
- code-assist: Updates task status when starting/completing work
- ralph-code-assist: Runs tasks through Ralph orchestrator
Troubleshooting
No Tasks Found
If no tasks are displayed:
- Verify the tasks directory exists:
ls.ralph/tasks/ - Check file extension is
.code-task.md - Try specifying directory:
/find-code-tasks tasks_dir:./
Script Not Found
If the task-status.sh script is not found:
- Ensure you're in the repository root
- Check the script exists:
ls.claude/skills/find-code-tasks/task-status.sh - Make it executable:
chmod +x.claude/skills/find-code-tasks/task-status.sh
Frontmatter Not Parsed
If dates show as - for tasks with frontmatter:
- Ensure frontmatter starts with
---on line 1 - Check YAML syntax is valid
- Verify field names match:
status,created,started,completed