/add-task - Draft Task Creation

Create a draft task file that captures the user's intent with structured metadata, proper classification, and dependency tracking — ready for refinement by /plan-task.

• Purpose — Transform a user prompt into a well-structured draft task file with an action-oriented title, type classification, and optional dependencies
• Output — Task file at .specs/tasks/draft/<name>.<type>.md

/add-task "Task description" [dependency-file-paths...]

Arguments

Workflow Diagram

           +--------------+  +---------------+
           |  User Prompt |  | Dependencies  |
           +------+-------+  +-------+-------+
                  |                   |
                  +-------+-----------+
                          |
                          v
               +------------------------+
               | Phase 1: Setup         |
               |  Ensure Dir Structure  |
               +-----------+------------+
                           |
                           v
               +------------------------+
               | Phase 2: Analyze       |
               |  Parse User Request    |
               |          |             |
               |          v             |
               |  Classify Type         |
               |          |             |
               |          v             |
               |  Create Action Title   |
               +-----------+------------+
                           |
                           v
               +------------------------+
               | Phase 3: Generate      |
               |  Generate File Name    |
               |          |             |
               |          v             |
               |  Verify Uniqueness     |
               |          |             |
               |          v             |
               |  Write Task File       |
               +-----------+------------+
                           |
                           v
               +------------------------+
               |    Draft Task File     |
               +------------------------+

How It Works

Phase 1: Setup Directory Structure

Creates the full task lifecycle directory structure if it does not exist:

Phase 2: Analyze Input

1. Parse the user request — extracts the core objective, identifies implied type, and notes any provided dependencies
2. Classify type — determines the appropriate task type based on the description:

1. Create title — generates an action-oriented title starting with a verb (Add, Fix, Update, Implement, Remove, Refactor)

Phase 3: Generate Task File

1. Generate file name from the title:

   • Lowercase, hyphen-separated, 3-5 words max
   • Appended with type extension: <short-name>.<type>.md
   • Example: "Add validation to login form" → add-validation-login-form.feature.md

2. Verify uniqueness across all status folders (draft/, todo/, in-progress/, done/)

3. Write task file to .specs/tasks/draft/ with this structure:

---
title: <ACTION-ORIENTED TITLE>
depends_on: <list of dependency task files>
---

## Initial User Prompt

<exact user input as provided>

## Description

// Will be filled in future stages by a business analyst

The depends_on field is only included when dependencies are explicitly provided.

File Naming Convention

Usage Examples

# Simple feature request
/add-task "Add user profile view with name, email, and avatar"

# Bug report
/add-task "Fix login timeout on slow connections"

# Refactoring task
/add-task "Restructure authentication module for better testability"

# Task with dependency
/add-task "Add role-based access control" @.specs/tasks/draft/implement-user-auth-service.feature.md

# Multiple dependencies
/add-task "Implement dashboard analytics" @.specs/tasks/draft/implement-auth.feature.md @.specs/tasks/draft/add-user-tracking.feature.md

# Test task
/add-task "Add unit tests for payment processing service"

# CI/CD task
/add-task "Add GitHub Actions workflow for automated testing"

Artifacts Generated

.specs/
└── tasks/
    └── draft/
        └── <name>.<type>.md    # Draft task file (ready for /plan-task)

What Happens Next

After creating a draft task, proceed with the SDD workflow:

1. Plan — Run /plan-task to refine the draft into a full specification with architecture, implementation steps, and verification rubrics
2. Implement — Run /implement-task to execute the planned steps with quality-gated verification
3. Ship — Use /git:commit and /git:create-pr to deliver

/add-task "Add validation to form inputs"
/plan-task @.specs/tasks/draft/add-validation-form-inputs.feature.md
/implement-task

Best Practices

• Keep descriptions focused — one task per prompt; decompose large features into multiple dependent tasks.
• Provide dependencies explicitly — use task file paths as additional arguments when tasks have ordering requirements.
• Use natural language — the agent infers type and title from your description; no special formatting is needed.
• Review the draft — verify the generated title and type before running /plan-task.
• Decompose before planning — creating smaller tasks with dependencies produces better specifications than one large task.