Executing Tasks From Any Source

Overview

The /project:do:task workflow supports both GitHub issues and Basic Memory artifacts through intelligent source detection. This skill explains the dual-source execution pattern.

Core principle: Detect input format → Fetch from appropriate source → Execute unified workflow → Update both channels.

When to Use This Skill

• Executing tasks from GitHub issues (traditional issue-based workflow)

• Executing tasks from Basic Memory artifacts (Johnny Decimal format: 5.1.1-task-* )

• Switching between task sources within the same project

• Building tools/agents that need to support both task sources

Quick Reference: Source Detection

Input Format Example Source Worktree Name

Issue number 123 or #123

GitHub API feature/123-auth-implementation

Johnny Decimal 5.1.1-task-auth

Basic Memory feature/5.1.1-task-auth

Detection logic:

if [[ $ARGUMENTS =~ ^#?[0-9]+$ ]]; then

GitHub issue - pure digits with optional

ISSUE_NUM=$(echo $ARGUMENTS | tr -d '#') SOURCE="github" elif [[ $ARGUMENTS =~ ^[0-9]+(.[0-9]+)+.* ]]; then

Basic Memory artifact - Johnny Decimal format

ARTIFACT_ID=$ARGUMENTS SOURCE="basicmemory" else echo "Error: Invalid task format. Use GitHub issue (#123) or Johnny Decimal artifact (5.1.1-task-name)" exit 1 fi

GitHub Issue Execution Path

Step 1: Fetch Issue Details

Fetch issue using GitHub CLI

gh issue view $ISSUE_NUM --json title,body,author,labels,assignees,linkedIssues

Extract components:

- Title: Issue headline

- Body: Full description with acceptance criteria

- Author: Original creator

- Labels: Topic tags (feature, bug, etc)

- Assignees: Current assignee

- LinkedIssues: Related/parent issues

Step 2: Worktree Creation

Pass to using-git-worktrees skill:

feature_identifier: "{ISSUE_NUM}-{slug}" Example: "123-add-user-authentication"

Step 3: Status Updates (In-Progress)

Add in-progress label

gh issue edit $ISSUE_NUM --add-label "in-progress"

Add comment

gh issue comment $ISSUE_NUM -b "Implementation started. Tracking in worktree."

Remove ready/todo labels

gh issue edit $ISSUE_NUM --remove-label "ready,todo"

Step 4: Status Updates (Completed)

Update labels

gh issue edit $ISSUE_NUM --remove-label "in-progress" gh issue edit $ISSUE_NUM --add-label "completed"

Add completion comment with PR link

gh issue comment $ISSUE_NUM -b "Completed in PR #{PR_NUMBER}. See changes above."

Basic Memory Artifact Execution Path

Artifact Structure

Tasks in Basic Memory use this structure:

title: "5.1.1-task-user-authentication" folder: "5-tasks" entity_type: "task" entity_metadata: tags: ["authentication", "user-system"] status: "pending" priority: "high" epic_id: "2.1.1-epic-auth-system" dependencies: []

Task: Implement User Authentication

Description

Detailed task description...

Acceptance Criteria

• Criterion 1
• Criterion 2

Dependencies

• depends_on [[2.1.0-epic-auth-system]]

Step 1: Fetch Artifact Details

Use basicmemory_read_note with Johnny Decimal lookup

Tool extracts: title, content, frontmatter (status, epic_id, dependencies)

from 5-tasks folder matching the artifact ID

Frontmatter fields parsed:

- status: "pending" | "in-progress" | "completed"

- epic_id: Parent epic reference (e.g., "2.1.1-epic-auth")

- priority: "high" | "medium" | "low"

- dependencies: List of related artifacts

Step 2: Worktree Creation

Pass to using-git-worktrees skill:

feature_identifier: "{JOHNNY_DECIMAL}-{slug}" Example: "5.1.1-task-user-authentication"

Step 3: Status Updates (In-Progress)

Use basicmemory_edit_note to update frontmatter

basicmemory_edit_note( identifier: "5.1.1-task-auth", operation: "find_replace", find_text: "status: pending", content: "status: in-progress" )

Add implementation note

basicmemory_edit_note( identifier: "5.1.1-task-auth", operation: "append", content: "\n## Implementation Log\n- Started implementation in worktree\n" )

Step 4: Status Updates (Completed)

Update status to completed

basicmemory_edit_note( identifier: "5.1.1-task-auth", operation: "find_replace", find_text: "status: in-progress", content: "status: completed" )

Add PR link to artifact

basicmemory_edit_note( identifier: "5.1.1-task-auth", operation: "append", content: "\n- Completed in PR: https://github.com/repo/pulls/123\n" )

Unified Workflow Steps (Apply to Both Sources)

Once task is fetched from its source, the remaining workflow is identical:

Deep Technical Analysis (Step 2)

• Extract user story

• Map acceptance criteria

• Determine technical scope

• Check dependencies

• Consider edge cases

System Impact Assessment (Step 3)

• Frontend changes needed?

• Backend changes needed?

• Database migrations?

• Testing strategy?

Human Validation Check (Step 4)

• Stop and ask if architectural decisions needed

• Stop and ask if security/performance critical

• Wait for explicit approval

Implementation (Steps 6-12)

• Design test strategy

• Plan implementation approach

• Execute core implementation

• Run comprehensive tests

• Update documentation

• Quality validation

Completion (Steps 13-15)

• Update task status (source-specific)

• Create pull request linking to task

• Monitor code review

• After merge: update parent issue/epic

Common Patterns

Pattern 1: Check task dependencies before starting

GitHub:

Get linked issues that are blockers

gh issue view $ISSUE_NUM --json linkedIssues --jq '.linkedIssues[] | select(.url | contains("blocked"))'

Basic Memory:

Read the artifact to find depends_on relations

basicmemory_read_note("5.1.1-task-auth")

Check frontmatter: dependencies: [...] or look for "depends_on [[...]]" in content

Pattern 2: Get parent context

GitHub:

Find linked parent issue (PRD/Feature)

gh issue view $ISSUE_NUM --json linkedIssues
| jq '.linkedIssues[] | select(.title | contains("Feature") or contains("PRD"))'

Basic Memory:

Fetch parent epic using epic_id from frontmatter

basicmemory_read_note("2.1.1-epic-auth-system")

Pattern 3: Update related items after completion

GitHub:

Update parent issue with progress

gh issue comment $PARENT_ISSUE_NUM -b "Completed task #{ISSUE_NUM}"

Link completed task to parent

gh issue edit $ISSUE_NUM --add-label "merged"

Basic Memory:

Update parent epic

basicmemory_edit_note( identifier: "2.1.1-epic-auth", operation: "append", content: "\n- Completed: [[5.1.1-task-user-authentication]]\n" )

Error Handling

Invalid Task Format

if [[ ! $ARGUMENTS =~ ^(#?[0-9]+|[0-9]+(.[0-9]+)+.*)$ ]]; then echo "❌ Invalid task format" echo "GitHub issue: 123 or #123" echo "Basic Memory: 5.1.1-task-name" exit 1 fi

GitHub Issue Not Found

if ! gh issue view $ISSUE_NUM 2>/dev/null; then echo "❌ GitHub issue #$ISSUE_NUM not found" echo "Check the issue number and try again" exit 1 fi

Basic Memory Artifact Not Found

if ! basicmemory_read_note($ARTIFACT_ID) 2>/dev/null; then echo "❌ Basic Memory artifact $ARTIFACT_ID not found in 5-tasks/" echo "Check the artifact ID matches Johnny Decimal format: N.N.N-task-*" exit 1 fi

Integration Points

Called by:

• /project:do:task workflow (main entry point)

• Agent task execution systems

• Task queuing systems

Pairs with:

• using-git-worktrees

• Creates isolated workspace

• executing-plans

• For comprehensive implementation

• subagent-driven-development

• For delegated work

• finishing-a-development-branch

• For cleanup after completion

Best Practices

• Always verify task exists before starting workflow

• Check dependencies before implementing

• Use consistent worktree naming - helps with resumption

• Update status in source before creating worktree

• Document completion in both PR comment and task artifact

• Keep frontmatter clean - avoid manual formatting in Basic Memory

• Link related tasks - use relations/dependencies properly

Red Flags

Never:

• Start implementation without fetching task details first

• Ignore dependency warnings

• Proceed with failing tests without asking

• Forget to update task status when switching sources

• Mix GitHub and Basic Memory references inconsistently

Always:

• Detect source format before proceeding

• Fetch complete task context

• Verify dependencies before starting

• Update task status at start and completion

• Link PR to task in both channels