work-until

Invoked as /work-until <condition> — e.g. “lint is clean in src/”, or resume (new chat OK).

Parent keeps the until and the ledger; subagents keep the sweat. Handoff lives in session files—not in a bloated parent window.

Layout: session-layout.md.

Step 1 — Parse intent

Field	Required	Notes
Until	yes*	*from session when resuming
Goal	yes*	*skip when resuming
Instructions	no	defaults to goal
Max	no	default 10
Mode	no	auto or human-gate
Recon	no	iter 0 read-only map

Resume

resume, /work-until resume, continue, resume <hint> — no new until-clause.

bash <SKILL_DIR>/scripts/resolve-resume.sh [hint]

No sessions → stop. Recommend one (id, goal, until, status, iter, path). Wait yes / pick / cancel—never auto-continue. yes → master.md + meta.md; Step 3 from iteration_count + 1. pick → ≤5 candidates; confirm again. New goal on resume → new session unless user says otherwise.

Until gate

Vague until → ask once; do not start. exit-examples.md.

Confirm (first iteration)

≤5 lines: until, goal, max, mode, recon, session id + path, new vs resume. Risky goals → explicit confirm.

Step 2 — Session

New: bash <SKILL_DIR>/scripts/init-session.sh [kebab-slug] → meta.md + master.md (master-template.md). Resume: Step 1.

Step 2b — Recon (optional)

Unfamiliar scope or user asks map: explore readonly, recon-template.md → validate → merge → iter 1 from Recommended next. Skip for narrow scope.

Step 3 — Iteration

For i from start to max:

1. compact-master.sh <session_dir>/master.md 150
2. handoff.md (handoff-template.md)
3. One subagent (run_in_background: false) — table below
4. worker-template.md
5. validate-report.sh <session_dir>/report.md — invalid → retry once; stop
6. Merge master.md; meta.md → active; archive → reports/<NN>.md
7. Exit: done → verify (exit-examples.md); pass → done / fail → next · blocked → stop · continue → stall check · i == max → max-reached

Human-gate: stop after merge until user replies. Stall: same blocker twice or two empty continue → blocked. Parent tokens: report + merge only; write handoff; no re-reads except verify.

Step 4 — Finish

≤25 lines; session id + path. End: Continue later: resume or resume <slug>

Subagents

Situation	Type
Recon (0)	explore, readonly: true
Edits	generalPurpose
Audit	explore, readonly: true
CLI/tests	shell

Anti-patterns

Auto-resume · shared mutable state · child edits master.md · until-less start · parent does worker work · auto-continue in human-gate · timed polling

References

worker-template.md · recon-template.md · exit-examples.md · examples.md