Divide and Conquer

Pick up a task and execute it by splitting the work into independent workstreams that run in parallel via subagents.

Instructions

The user's query is in $ARGUMENTS (a task ID like 077 or a task name/keyword).

• Look up the task: Run taskmd get $ARGUMENTS to find the task

• If not found, run taskmd list to show available tasks and ask the user which one they meant

• Read the task file with the Read tool to get the full description, subtasks, and acceptance criteria

• Mark the task as in-progress: Run taskmd set <ID> --status in-progress

• Start a worklog entry (if worklogs are enabled):

• Check .taskmd.yaml for worklogs: true -- only create worklogs if explicitly enabled

• If enabled, find or create the worklog file at tasks/<group>/.worklogs/<ID>.md (or tasks/.worklogs/<ID>.md for root tasks)

• Append a timestamped entry noting your approach and initial findings

• Plan and identify workstreams:

• Use EnterPlanMode to design the overall approach

• In the plan, include a reference to the original task ID and task file path

• Analyze the task and break it into independent workstreams — pieces of work that can proceed in parallel without depending on each other's output

• Examples of independent workstreams:

• Implementation code vs. tests vs. documentation

• Changes to separate packages or modules

• Backend changes vs. frontend changes

• If the task is simple enough that parallelization adds no benefit, just do it directly (skip to step 7)

• Launch subagents in parallel:

• Use the Agent tool to launch one subagent per independent workstream

• Give each subagent a clear, self-contained prompt describing exactly what to do, including relevant file paths and context

• Launch all independent subagents in a single message so they run concurrently

• Use isolation: "worktree" for subagents that modify files, to avoid conflicts

• Wait for all subagents to complete

• Coordinate and integrate:

• Review all subagent results for correctness

• If subagents ran in worktrees, merge their changes (review diffs, resolve any conflicts)

• If any subagent failed, handle the failure directly rather than re-launching

• Run tests and linting to verify the integrated result

• Check off subtasks (- [x] ) in the task file as they are completed

• Append worklog entries when you make key decisions, hit blockers, or complete significant subtasks

• Write a final worklog entry summarizing what was done, which workstreams ran in parallel, decisions made, and any open items

• Mark the task as done:

• Check .taskmd.yaml for workflow: pr-review -- if set, use the PR-review workflow below

• Solo workflow (default): Run taskmd set <ID> --status completed --verify

• The --verify flag will run any verification checks defined in the task before applying the status change

• If verification fails, fix the issues and try again

• PR-review workflow: Open a PR, then run taskmd set <ID> --status in-review --add-pr <PR-URL> and stop

Worklog Format

Each worklog entry uses a timestamp heading followed by free-form notes:

2026-02-15T10:30:00Z

Started divide-and-conquer execution of the search feature task.

Workstreams identified:

1. Core search implementation (subagent — worktree)
2. Test suite (subagent — worktree)
3. Documentation updates (subagent)

Completed:

• All subagents finished successfully
• Merged worktree changes
• Tests passing after integration

Decisions: Used full-text search with SQLite rather than Elasticsearch.