ia-file-todos

SKILL.md

---
name: ia-file-todos
class: tool
description: >-
  File-based todo and task tracking in the todos/ directory. Use when creating,
  triaging, listing, or managing todo files, tracking work items, managing the
  backlog, converting PR comments to tracked tasks, or checking todo status
  and dependencies.
disable-model-invocation: true
---

# File-based todo tracking

## File naming convention

```
{issue_id}-{status}-{priority}-{description}.md
```

- **issue_id**: Sequential number (001, 002, 003...) -- never reused
- **status**: `pending` (needs triage), `ready` (approved), `complete` (done)
- **priority**: `p1` (critical), `p2` (important), `p3` (nice-to-have). Mapping from the `ia-code-review` severity scale: Critical→p1, Important→p2, Medium→p3, Minor→p3.
- **description**: kebab-case, brief description

Examples: `001-pending-p1-mailer-test.md`, `002-ready-p1-fix-n-plus-1.md`, `005-complete-p2-refactor-csv.md`

## File Structure

Use [todo-template.md](./assets/todo-template.md) as a starting point. YAML frontmatter:

```yaml
---
status: ready              # pending | ready | complete
priority: p1               # p1 | p2 | p3
issue_id: "002"
tags: [typescript, performance, database]
dependencies: ["001"]      # Issue IDs this is blocked by
---
```

**Required sections:** Problem Statement, Findings, Proposed Solutions, Recommended Action, Acceptance Criteria, Work Log

**Optional sections:** Technical Details, Resources, Notes

## Key Distinctions

**File-todos system (this skill):** Markdown files in `todos/` directory for development/project tracking. Used by humans and agents.

**Application Todo model:** Database model for user-facing task management. Different from this file-based system.

**TodoWrite tool:** In-memory task tracking during agent sessions. Temporary, not persisted to disk.

## Verify

Before considering a todo file correctly written, confirm:

- `issue_id` is unique and sequentially the next number in `todos/` (never reused).
- All required frontmatter fields are present: `status`, `priority`, `issue_id`.
- `status` and `priority` values match the filename and their enums (`pending|ready|complete`, `p1|p2|p3`).

## References

- [workflows.md](./references/workflows.md) - Creating, triaging, dependencies, work logs, completing todos, integration table
- [quick-reference.md](./references/quick-reference.md) - Bash commands for finding work, dependencies, searching
- [todo-template.md](./assets/todo-template.md) - Template for new todo files