skill-status

Show where you are in the workflow and what to do next — use for progress checks and orientation

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Project Status Dashboard

Overview

Display current project status, roadmap progress, blockers, and intelligent next-action suggestions based on workflow state.

Core principle: Read state → Display dashboard → Route intelligently.

When to Use

Use this skill when user asks:

"What's the status?" or "Show me progress"
"Where am I in the workflow?"
"What should I do next?"
"What's the current phase?"
"Are there any blockers?"
"What have I been working on?" or "Summarize recent work"
"Update project memory" or "Update CLAUDE.md"

Do NOT use for:

Creating new projects (use /octo:embrace)
Modifying state (use octo-state.sh write_state)
Detailed phase planning (use flow-* skills)

The Process

Phase 1: Check Project Initialization

Step 1: Verify .octo/ Directory Exists

# Check if project is initialized
if [[ ! -d ".octo" ]]; then
    echo "No project initialized"
    exit 1
fi

If .octo/ does not exist:

## Project Status

**Status:** Not initialized

No Claude Octopus project found in this directory.

### Get Started

Run `/octo:embrace [your project description]` to initialize a new project and start the Double Diamond workflow.

**Example:**

/octo:embrace build a user authentication system

This will:
1. Create .octo/ directory structure
2. Initialize STATE.md, PROJECT.md, ROADMAP.md
3. Begin Discover phase (research and exploration)

Stop here - do not proceed to Phase 2.

Phase 2: Read Current State

Step 1: Execute octo-state.sh read_state

# Read current state from STATE.md
./scripts/octo-state.sh read_state

Expected output format:

schema=1.0
last_updated=2026-02-02T10:30:00Z
current_phase=2
current_position=define-requirements
status=in_progress

Step 2: Parse State Variables

Extract key-value pairs:

current_phase - Phase number (1-4)
current_position - Specific position within phase
status - Current workflow status
last_updated - Last state modification timestamp

Phase 3: Read Roadmap

Step 1: Read ROADMAP.md

# Read roadmap for phase overview
cat .octo/ROADMAP.md

Step 2: Extract Phase Information

Parse ROADMAP.md to identify:

Phase names (Discover, Define, Develop, Deliver)
Phase descriptions
Success criteria for each phase
Dependencies between phases

Phase 4: Display Dashboard

Step 1: Build Status Dashboard

## Project Status

**Phase:** Phase {current_phase} - {phase_name}
**Position:** {current_position}
**Status:** {status}
**Last Updated:** {last_updated}

### Roadmap Progress

- [x] Phase 1: Discover - complete
- [ ] Phase 2: Define - in_progress  <-- YOU ARE HERE
- [ ] Phase 3: Develop - not_started
- [ ] Phase 4: Deliver - not_started

### Current Phase Details

**Phase 2: Define (Grasp)**
- **Goal:** Clarify requirements and scope
- **Position:** {current_position}
- **Status:** {status}

### Blockers

{blockers or "None"}

### Suggested Next Action

{intelligent routing based on status}

Step 2: Determine Phase Completion Status

Map current_phase and status to completion markers:

Phase	Status	Marker
1	complete	`[x] Phase 1: Discover - complete`
2	in_progress	`[ ] Phase 2: Define - in_progress <-- YOU ARE HERE`
3	not_started	`[ ] Phase 3: Develop - not_started`
4	not_started	`[ ] Phase 4: Deliver - not_started`

Phase 5: Intelligent Routing

Step 1: Map Status to Suggestion

Use this routing table:

Status	Suggestion
`ready`	"Run `/octo:embrace [description]` to start the workflow"
`planning`	"Continue planning in current phase. Use `/octo:define` to refine requirements."
`building`	"Continue implementation. Use `/octo:develop` to build features."
`in_progress`	"Continue with current phase. Check .octo/phases/phase{N}/ for details."
`blocked`	"Review blockers above. Use `/octo:issues` to track and resolve issues."
`complete`	"Phase complete. Proceed to next phase or run `/octo:ship` to finalize."
`complete_with_gaps`	"Phase complete with known gaps. Review .octo/ISSUES.md before proceeding."
`shipped`	"Project delivered! Review .octo/LESSONS.md for retrospective."
`paused`	"Project paused. Resume with `/octo:embrace` or check .octo/STATE.md for context."

Step 2: Phase-Specific Routing

If status=in_progress, provide phase-specific guidance:

Phase 1 (Discover):

Continue research and exploration.
- Use `/octo:research [topic]` for multi-AI research
- Use `/octo:debate [question]` for decision support

Phase 2 (Define):

Continue requirements clarification.
- Use `/octo:prd` to write product requirements
- Use `/octo:define` to refine scope

Phase 3 (Develop):

Continue implementation.
- Use `/octo:develop` to build features
- Use `/octo:tdd` for test-driven development
- Use `/octo:review` for code quality checks

Phase 4 (Deliver):

Continue validation and delivery.
- Use `/octo:deliver` for final review
- Use `/octo:security` for security audit
- Use `/octo:ship` to finalize delivery

Example Outputs

Example 1: Project Not Initialized

## Project Status

**Status:** Not initialized

No Claude Octopus project found in this directory.

### Get Started

Run `/octo:embrace [your project description]` to initialize a new project and start the Double Diamond workflow.

**Example:**

/octo:embrace build a user authentication system

Example 2: Active Project in Define Phase

## Project Status

**Phase:** Phase 2 - Define (Grasp)
**Position:** define-requirements
**Status:** in_progress
**Last Updated:** 2026-02-02T10:30:00Z

### Roadmap Progress

- [x] Phase 1: Discover - complete
- [ ] Phase 2: Define - in_progress  <-- YOU ARE HERE
- [ ] Phase 3: Develop - not_started
- [ ] Phase 4: Deliver - not_started

### Current Phase Details

**Phase 2: Define (Grasp)**
- **Goal:** Clarify requirements and scope
- **Position:** define-requirements
- **Status:** in_progress

### Blockers

None

### Suggested Next Action

Continue requirements clarification.
- Use `/octo:prd` to write product requirements
- Use `/octo:define` to refine scope
- Check `.octo/phases/phase2/` for detailed plans

Example 3: Blocked Project

## Project Status

**Phase:** Phase 3 - Develop (Tangle)
**Position:** implement-auth
**Status:** blocked
**Last Updated:** 2026-02-02T14:15:00Z

### Roadmap Progress

- [x] Phase 1: Discover - complete
- [x] Phase 2: Define - complete
- [ ] Phase 3: Develop - blocked  <-- YOU ARE HERE
- [ ] Phase 4: Deliver - not_started

### Current Phase Details

**Phase 3: Develop (Tangle)**
- **Goal:** Implement features
- **Position:** implement-auth
- **Status:** blocked

### Blockers

- Missing OAuth provider credentials
- Database schema not finalized
- API rate limiting not configured

### Suggested Next Action

Review blockers above. Use `/octo:issues` to track and resolve issues.

**To unblock:**
1. Configure OAuth credentials in .env
2. Finalize database schema with `/octo:define`
3. Set up rate limiting configuration

Phase 6: Recent Activity Summary (Cross-Session)

When the user asks "what have I been working on", "summarize recent work", or "update project memory", generate a cross-session activity summary.

Step 1: Gather Recent Activity

# Recent git commits (last 7 days or last 20 commits)
git log --oneline --since="7 days ago" --no-merges 2>/dev/null | head -20

# Recent tags/releases
git tag --sort=-creatordate | head -5

# Recent branches worked on
git branch --sort=-committerdate | head -5

# Recent orchestration results (if any)
ls -lt ~/.claude-octopus/results/ 2>/dev/null | head -10

Step 2: Summarize Activity

Build a concise summary grouped by theme:

## Recent Activity (Last 7 Days)

### Commits
- [theme 1]: brief summary of related commits
- [theme 2]: brief summary of related commits

### Releases
- v8.10.0 - Gemini CLI headless fix
- v8.9.0 - Contextual Codex model routing

### Active Branches
- main (current)

### Orchestration Sessions
- [count] workflows executed, [count] synthesis files generated

Step 3: Suggest CLAUDE.md Updates

If the recent activity reveals patterns not captured in CLAUDE.md, suggest specific additions:

### Suggested CLAUDE.md Updates

Based on recent activity, consider adding:
- [specific suggestion based on new patterns, conventions, or decisions]
- [specific suggestion based on new tooling or workflow changes]

Only suggest updates that reflect durable project knowledge (conventions, architecture decisions, provider configs) — NOT transient status like "currently working on X".

Integration with Other Skills

With flow-* skills

User asks "what's next?"
→ skill-status shows current phase
→ User runs /octo:develop to continue

With skill-task-management

User asks "show status"
→ skill-status displays dashboard
→ skill-task-management shows active todos

With /octo:embrace

User asks "status" but no .octo/ exists
→ skill-status suggests /octo:embrace
→ User initializes new project

Best Practices

1. Always Check for .octo/ First

Good:

if [[ ! -d ".octo" ]]; then
    echo "Not initialized"
    exit 1
fi

Poor:

# Assume .octo/ exists and fail later
cat .octo/STATE.md

2. Use octo-state.sh for State Reading

Good:

./scripts/octo-state.sh read_state

Poor:

# Parse STATE.md manually
grep "Current Phase" .octo/STATE.md

3. Provide Actionable Next Steps

Good:

Continue with `/octo:develop` to implement features.
Check `.octo/phases/phase3/` for implementation plan.

Poor:

You're in phase 3.

Red Flags - Don't Do This

Action	Why It's Wrong
Modify STATE.md directly	Use octo-state.sh write_state instead
Skip .octo/ existence check	Will fail with confusing errors
Show status without next action	User doesn't know what to do
Hardcode phase names	Read from ROADMAP.md for accuracy
Ignore blockers	User needs to know what's blocking progress

Quick Reference

User Input	Action Required
"status"	Check .octo/ → Read state → Display dashboard
"what's next"	Read state → Route based on status/phase
"where am I"	Display current phase and position
"show progress"	Display roadmap with completion markers
"any blockers"	Extract and display blockers from STATE.md
"what have I been working on"	Git log + results → Cross-session activity summary
"update project memory"	Activity summary → Suggest CLAUDE.md additions

The Bottom Line

Status check → Read state + roadmap → Display dashboard + intelligent routing
Otherwise → User doesn't know where they are or what to do next

Check initialization. Read state. Display clearly. Route intelligently.

Repository: nyldn/claude-octopus
Path: .claude/skills/skill-status/SKILL.md
Commit: 9f39f0c

Last updated: 2 days ago
First committed: 2 months ago

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