Block Task

Block Task

Mark a task as blocked, document the reason, and suggest alternatives.

Arguments

$ARGUMENTS — First word is the task ID, rest is the block reason. Both optional.

Prerequisites

Verify .backlog/ exists.

Workflow

1. Identify Task

Parse $ARGUMENTS for task ID (first word if it matches TSK-XXX, XXX, or a number).

If no ID, check for active tasks and ask which to block. Look in both tasks/active/ and tasks/pending/.

2. Get Block Reason

If reason provided in $ARGUMENTS (words after the ID), use it. Otherwise ask.

Suggest common categories:

• Dependency: "Waiting for TSK-XXX to complete"
• External: "Waiting for API credentials / third-party response"
• Technical: "Discovered a technical limitation"
• Clarification: "Requirements are unclear, need user input"

3. Block Task via CLI

node "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/dist/bin/flowstate.js" task-block {{ID}} --reason "{{REASON}}"

The CLI sets status: blocked and blocked-by in frontmatter, adds a progress log entry. The task file stays in its current directory (pending or active).

4. Auto-Capture Technical Insight

If the blocker is Technical (a limitation discovered, not waiting on an external party), auto-draft a learning silently from the reason + recent conversation context. Derive title, tags, and body (Context / Insight / Application) from that context — do NOT ask the user. Link to the blocked task with --task TSK-{{ID}}.

cat <<'BODY' | node "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/dist/bin/flowstate.js" learning-create --title "{{TITLE}}" --tags "{{TAGS}}" --task TSK-{{ID}} --body -
{{BODY_DRAFTED_FROM_CONTEXT}}
BODY

Skip silently for Dependency / External / Clarification blockers — those don't yield reusable insights.

5. Confirm and Suggest

Print the confirmation with unblocked alternatives and any auto-captured learning. Do NOT prompt for follow-up actions:

Blocked TSK-{{ID}}: {{REASON}}

Captured: LRN-XXX — {{TITLE}}            ← only if Step 4 created one

Unblocked alternatives:
- TSK-XXX: {{TITLE}}

/flowstate:report can file this as a finding if it needs broader visibility.

Unblocking

To unblock a task:

node "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/dist/bin/flowstate.js" task-unblock {{ID}} --resolution "{{TEXT}}"

Then use /flowstate:start-task if needed.