take-task

Take Task

Claim a beads task and prepare the working environment.

IMPORTANT: If the spec below invokes any deferred tool (e.g. AskUserQuestion), you MUST load and call it as specified. Never skip the call, never substitute a default answer of your own — the tool invocation is part of the contract. This is critical.

Why This Exists

Multiple flows need "claim task + prepare branch": /lets:start, mid-session task switch, direct "візьми таск X". Centralizing ensures consistent branch naming, worktree handling, and session ref saving.

Flow

Step 1: Resolve Task

bd show <task-id>

Verify task exists. Then claim it:

bd update <task-id> --status=in_progress

Step 2: Check Uncommitted Changes

Before switching branches, check for uncommitted changes:

git status --short

If changes exist and branch switch is needed, ask user:

AskUserQuestion(
  questions=[{
    question: "Uncommitted changes on current branch. What to do?",
    header: "LETS",
    options: [
      { label: "Stash", description: "git stash, switch branch, remind to pop later" },
      { label: "Commit first", description: "Commit changes, then switch branch" },
      { label: "Stay", description: "Skip branch switch - work on current branch" }
    ],
    multiSelect: false
  }]
)

Handle response:

• Stash -> git stash, proceed with branch switch, remind to git stash pop later
• Commit first -> delegate to commit skill, then proceed with branch switch
• Stay -> skip branch switch, warn about mixed work. Stop here.

If staying on current branch (worktree, already correct) or no changes - skip this step.

Step 3: Worktree Check

GIT_DIR=$(git rev-parse --git-dir 2>/dev/null)

If in a worktree ($GIT_DIR contains worktrees/):

• Skip branch creation - use the current worktree branch as-is
• Auto-detect task ID from branch: worktree-<task-id>-<slug>
• Beads ID pattern: <prefix>-<alphanum>[.<number>]
• If task ID found in branch name: confirm with user via bd show
• Present: "In worktree, using branch: {branch}"
• Jump to Step 5

If in main repo ($GIT_DIR is .git):

• Continue with Step 4

Step 4: Branch Logic (main repo only)

Branch naming: feature/<task-id>-<slugified-title> Slug rules: lowercase, spaces to hyphens, remove special chars, max 50 chars. Examples: feature/proj-ch15-fix-proxy-config, feature/proj-ch5-add-mobile-api

Check current state:

• Already on correct branch -> do nothing, continue to Step 5
• Branch exists elsewhere -> git checkout <branch>
• Branch doesn't exist -> offer choice:

AskUserQuestion(
  questions=[{
    question: "How do you want to work on this task?",
    header: "LETS",
    options: [
      { label: "Branch (Recommended)", description: "Regular feature branch in current repo" },
      { label: "Worktree", description: "Separate directory for parallel work in another terminal" }
    ],
    multiSelect: false
  }]
)

Handle response:

• Branch -> git checkout -b <branch> {LETS_MERGE_BRANCH} (from LETS Config)
• Worktree -> run /lets:worktree create <task-id>-<slug>, then inform: "Worktree created. Open a new terminal and run:" cd {absolute-worktree-path} && claude "Then use /lets:start to pick a task." Stop here - the worktree session continues in a separate terminal.

Step 5: Save Session Start Reference

LETS_PROJECT_ROOT=$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)
BRANCH=$(git branch --show-current)
BRANCH_SLUG=$(echo "$BRANCH" | tr '/' '-')
mkdir -p "$LETS_PROJECT_ROOT/.lets/sessions"
git rev-parse HEAD > "$LETS_PROJECT_ROOT/.lets/sessions/.session-start-ref-${BRANCH_SLUG}"

Step 6: Context Recovery (existing branch)

If the branch already existed (continuing a multi-session task):

bd show <task-id>
bd comments <task-id>

Read the full description and ALL comments — they hold the multi-session context. Present: "Resuming {task title} ({task-id}). Last session: {summary from latest beads comment}"

Output

When triggered standalone (not via /lets:start):

Task claimed: **{task title}** (`{task-id}`)
Branch: {branch-name}

┌─ LETS ────────────────────────┐
│  Plan?    /lets:plan          │
│  Check?   /lets:check         │
└───────────────────────────────┘

When invoked by /lets:start - skip this output, the command has its own.

Anti-patterns

• Never create feature/ branch inside a worktree
• Never work without saving session start ref
• Never skip bd update --status=in_progress

Integration

User-facing skill. Auto-triggers on "take task X", "візьми таск". Primary consumer: /lets:start. See: grep -r "take-task" commands/ for command references.