claude-skills/skills/task-format/SKILL.md

name, version, description

name	version	description
task-format	0.1.0	Use when writing or editing a task block in a `.tasks/STATUS.md` board that an autonomous task-runner ("poller") will read — so the task is actually claimed, routed, and reported instead of silently skipped. Covers the exact block header, the status emoji, and the `**Weight:**` / `**Notify:**` / `**Requirements:**` fields the poller parses. Triggers: «оформить таску для поллера», «формат таски», «task block format», «make a task the poller will pick up», «add Weight/Notify», poller / agent-runner not claiming a task you wrote by hand.

task-format

The autonomous poller parses .tasks/STATUS.md line-by-line with strict regexes. A block runs only if its header and fields match exactly. Get the format wrong and the poller does not error — it silently skips the block, or claims it and then parks it. This is the canonical field reference.

Authoring a task for another project/agent via mcp__projects-meta__tasks_create? Use delegate-task — it drives the tool, which emits this format for you. This skill is the format itself: for hand-edited STATUS.md blocks and for understanding what the poller reads. For board working policy (claim/close/status), see using-tasks.

Canonical block (copy this)

## ⚪ [my-task-slug] — One-line description of the work.

**Status:** ready
**Where I stopped:** (not started)
**Next action:** First concrete step the claiming agent runs.
**Branch:** master
**Weight:** needs-claude
**Notify:** OpeItcLoc03/workshop
<!-- created-by: you@machine / from: OpeItcLoc03/workshop / 2026-06-11 -->

---

The two load-bearing rules

1. Header must match exactly: ## <emoji> [<slug>] — <description>

   • ## (h2, two hashes) — not ### , not a bullet.
   • One status emoji, then [slug] in square brackets, then — (space, em-dash —, space), then the description. A - hyphen or : will not match.
   • Slug: short, lowercase, kebab-case, Latin.
   • A header that doesn't match is not seen as a task at all.

2. Fields are **Label:** value lines — bold label, colon, space, value. Bullet-list fields (- **weight:** …) and prose ("notify workshop when done") are ignored — the poller never reads them.

Status emoji ↔ state

Emoji	State
⚪	ready	the only state the poller claims
🔴	active	claimed / in flight
🟡	paused	resumable
🔵	blocked	waiting on a **Blocker:**
🟢	done	kept until merged

**Status:** mirrors the emoji in words. ⚪ → ready. Do not use 🟢 for "ready" — 🟢 is done.

Fields the poller parses

Field	Format	Meaning
**Weight:**	cheap-ok | needs-claude | needs-human	Routing tier. Required for autonomous pickup — see below.
**Notify:**	<owner>/<repo>	Inbox target. Poller writes to that project's .claude-inbox/ on close / park / delivery-failure. Omit → no report; the steering loop never closes.
**Requirements:**	CSV, e.g. needs-db, needs-secrets	Hard capability gate. The agent must hold all listed capabilities or the task is skipped.
**Runtime allowed:**	CSV, e.g. claude-opus	Runtime whitelist. If set, only a listed runtime may claim.
**Consult policy:**	auto | human-only | strict-human	How a mid-run consult escalates. Default when absent: human-only.
**Blocker:**	CSV of blocker slugs	Only on 🔵 blocked. Auto-unblock flips the task to ⚪ when every blocker is 🟢.
**Next action:** / **Where I stopped:** / **Branch:**	free text	Core resumability fields.

**Owner:** / **Claim token:** / **Claim expires at:** are the claim stamp — the poller writes and clears them. Never author them by hand; a stale stamp on a ⚪ task blocks the poller.

Weight — the field that decides pickup

The poller routes each claimed task to a backend by its weight tier:

• cheap-ok — routine work, a cheap/weak model is fine.
• needs-claude — needs a capable model (refactors, anything where discipline matters, review).
• needs-human — never runs autonomously. The claim gate excludes it and the runner refuses to spawn. Use for anything touching critical infra: the poller/agent-runner itself, MCP servers, claim/close/heartbeat, deploy, CI/CD, git hooks.

No **Weight:** line → no backend tier matches → the poller claims the task, finds no route, and parks it to 🔵 blocked (no backend for weight_tier: unknown). So a task you want run must carry a Weight. If in doubt and the work is ordinary code, use needs-claude.

Common mistakes (from baseline failures)

Mistake	Fix
### Title or a - **id:** … bullet list	Use the exact ## <emoji> [slug] — desc h2 header + **Field:** lines.
🟢 for a ready task	🟢 is done. Ready is ⚪.
Inventing risk: low, tier: L, priority, claimable-by	The poller routes on **Weight:** with three fixed values only.
Notification written as prose / "Done-signal"	Use a real **Notify:** <owner>/<repo> field line.
Omitting Weight on a task you want auto-run	Always set Weight, or the task parks.
Hyphen or colon instead of — in the header	The separator is space + em-dash + space.

Verify

After editing, the block is correct when: header is ## <emoji> [slug] — …, the emoji matches **Status:**, every machine-read field is a **Label:** line (not a bullet), and a task meant for the poller has both **Weight:** (not needs-human unless intended) and **Notify:**.