TodoWrite

Route TODO checklists to the appropriate storage based on context, and enforce conversational/reporting discipline around TaskList items.

Routing Decision

New TODO arrives
  ├─ Only needed this session → /wip (TaskCreate/TodoWrite)
  ├─ Persists beyond session → file (fix_plan.md, TODO.md)
  └─ Team-shared → issue (GitHub Issues)

Topics

Topic	Storage	Lifetime	Tool / Guide
session	TaskCreate/TodoWrite	Session	→ /wip skill
file	fix_plan.md, TODO.md	While file exists	Write/Edit
issue	GitHub Issues	Permanent	gh issue create
conversation-id	—	Always-on	conversation-id.md — subject-prefix references in user-visible output. Enforced by resources/block-tasklist-id-in-conversation.sh (PreToolUse:AskUserQuestion, registered in settings.json)
completion-report	—	Always-on	completion-report.md — TaskUpdate completion format + file-change disclosure
fix-plan-sync	—	Always-on	fix-plan-sync.md — two-way sync between task medium and checklist medium
priority-prefix	—	Always-on	priority-prefix.md — priority/order via subject prefix (P{n}, PR-anchored, fix-* > P0)
media-separation	—	On-demand	media-separation.md — 3-layer model: tracking files vs RAG vs LLM Wiki
claude-task	Task JSON CLI	Permanent / Standalone	claude-task.md — standalone Python CLI tool (claude-task.py) for managing Task JSON files directly from terminal shell

Skip exceptions

TodoWrite can be skipped when:

• Running a single command (e.g., kubectl get, ls)
• A task with 2 or fewer trivial steps
• Information lookup only

AskUserQuestion can be skipped when:

• The user gave a clear directive
• The action is safe and reversible
• The general best practice is unambiguous

Session → /wip

Current session task tracking is handled by the wip skill:

/wip    # Track session work with TodoWrite/TaskCreate

File-based TODO

fix_plan.md (Ralph projects)

## Pending

- [ ] Item 1 — description
- [ ] Item 2 — description

## Completed

- [x] Done item — (completed: 2026-04-03, commit abc1234)

Rules:

• Move to Completed section on completion + timestamp
• Mark blocked items with [BLOCKED] tag
• Mark skipped items with [SKIPPED] tag

TODO.md (General projects)

# TODO

## High Priority
- [ ] Urgent item

## Normal
- [ ] Regular item

## Done
- [x] Completed item (2026-04-03)

Issue-based TODO

Team-shared TODOs go to GitHub Issues:

# Create issue (user approval required)
gh issue create --title "Item" --body "Description"

# List issues
gh issue list --label "todo"

Note: gh issue create only runs when user explicitly says "create an issue".

Routing Examples

Situation	Route	Reason
"Run this 5-step deploy"	/wip (session)	Session tracking is sufficient
"Fix this bug later"	file (fix_plan.md)	Persists beyond session
"Assign this to Jinju"	issue (GitHub)	Team sharing needed
"Note this from the review"	file (fix_plan.md)	Outside current PR scope