/track

Track Patch Series

Track a new patch series for ongoing monitoring.

Usage: /track <message-id> [friendly-name]

Arguments:

• $1: Message-ID of the patch series (e.g., [email protected])
• $2: (Optional) Friendly name for the series (e.g., cache-aware-scheduling)

Process

1. Validate input: Ensure message-id is provided
2. Fetch series: Use b4 mbox $1 to download the thread
3. Parse series metadata:
   • Extract version from cover letter subject (v22, v23, RFC v4, etc.)
   • Extract series title
   • Identify authors
4. Check for existing tracking (version detection):
   • Search all tracked series in .claude/tracked-series/
   • Compare series title using fuzzy matching (normalize spaces, case, punctuation)
   • If potential match found:
     • Compare version numbers (new version should be higher)
     • Prompt user: "This appears to be v23 of already-tracked series 'proxy-exec-donor-migration' (currently at v22). What would you like to do?"
       • [U]pdate existing tracking to v23 → run /update-version <friendly-name> <message-id>
       • [N]ew separate tracking → continue with new tracking
       • [C]ancel → abort
5. Generate friendly name: If not provided and tracking as new series:
   • Derive from title (lowercase, hyphens, remove special chars)
   • Ensure uniqueness in .claude/tracked-series/
6. Create tracking directory: .claude/tracked-series/<friendly-name>/
7. Save snapshot: Move mbox file to tracking directory with timestamp
8. Create metadata: Generate metadata.json with enhanced schema:

   {
     "message_id": "...",
     "message_id_history": ["..."],
     "friendly_name": "...",
     "title": "Donor Migration for Proxy Execution",
     "version": "v22",
     "version_history": ["v22"],
     "authors": ["John Stultz", "Peter Zijlstra"],
     "first_tracked": "2025-10-16",
     "last_updated": "2025-10-16",
     "status": "under-review",
     "mbox_files": ["2025-10-16.mbox"],
     "summary_files": ["2025-10-16-summary.md"],
     "notes": "Initial tracking of v22...",
     "version_notes": {
       "v22": "Initial tracking. 6-patch subset for donor migration."
     }
   }
   

9. Index code for analysis: Run semcode-index -s . to enable semantic code analysis
10. Generate initial summary: Create comprehensive summary using the same process as /summarize

• Use semcode MCP tools for deep technical analysis:
  • diff_functions: Extract changed functions from patches
  • find_function/find_type: Get full context for modified code
  • find_callchain: Understand call relationships and impact
  • grep_functions: Search for patterns and related code
• Save as <date>-summary.md

11. Update index: Add entry to .claude/tracked-series/index.md

Output

Confirm tracking setup and display summary of the series.