Workflow Next

Analyze task state and recommend the best next action. Does NOT implement — only recommends.

Task Tracking

Detect at start:

command -v bd &> /dev/null && echo "beads" || echo "todowrite"

Process

Step 1: Check Session State

Before looking at tasks, check for incomplete prior work:

# Uncommitted changes?
jj status

# In-progress TodoWrite items?
# (Check TodoWrite for in_progress status)

If uncommitted changes exist:

⚠️  Uncommitted changes detected.

Recommendation: Run /check before starting new work.

Step 2: Gather Task State

With beads:

bd list --status=in_progress   # Active work
bd ready                       # Unblocked tasks
bd blocked                     # Blocked tasks
bd stats                       # Overall health

Without beads:

• Read TodoWrite
• Filter by status (pending, in_progress, completed)

Step 3: Analyze

In-progress work exists?

• Recommend continuing or closing before starting new
• Note stale items (started but not touched recently)

Blocked count high?

• Focus on tasks that unblock others
• Check for dependency chains nearing completion

Session continuity?

• If prior session left work incomplete, recommend resuming
• If starting fresh, prefer highest-impact ready task

Step 4: Recommend

With beads:

Recommendation: beads-XXX — [title]

Rationale: [Why this over others — priority, unblocking potential, urgency]

Alternatives:
1. beads-YYY — [reason this could be valid too]
2. beads-ZZZ — [another option]

To start: bd update beads-XXX --claim

Without beads:

Recommendation: [EPIC/N] — [title]

Rationale: [Why this over others]

To start: Mark as in_progress in TodoWrite

If no actionable work:

• Review and close completed tasks
• Create new work from backlog/roadmap
• Run /check to ensure prior work is closed

Decision Criteria

Priority order:

1. Complete in-progress work before starting new
2. Address uncommitted changes first
3. P0/P1 bugs and blockers take precedence
4. Tasks that unblock others provide higher leverage
5. Higher priority (lower number) before lower
6. Older tasks before newer at same priority

Quick Reference

Operation	With beads	Without beads
Show task	bd show <id>	Read TodoWrite
Find ready	bd ready	Filter pending todos
Filter by priority	bd list --priority=0	N/A
Start task	bd update --claim	Mark in_progress
Check changes	jj status	Same