Resume Increment Command

Usage: /sw:resume <increment-id>

Purpose

Resume a paused or backlog increment when:

From Backlog: Ready to start planned work
From Paused: Blocker resolved (API keys arrived, approval granted)
From Paused: Ready to continue after deprioritization
From Paused: Prerequisite completed (can now proceed)

Behavior

Normalize increment ID:
- If ID contains dash (e.g., "0153-feature-name"), extract numeric portion before first dash → "0153"
- Convert to 4-digit format (e.g., "1" → "0001", "153" → "0153")
- Both formats work: /sw:resume 0153 or /sw:resume 0153-feature-name
Validates increment exists and is "paused" or "backlog"
Calculates pause/backlog duration (days, hours)
Updates metadata.json:
- status: "paused" or "backlog" → "active"
- Clears pausedReason and pausedAt (if paused)
- Clears backlogReason and backlogAt (if backlog)
- Updates lastActivity timestamp
Displays context (duration, last activity)
Suggests next actions (/sw:do to continue/start work)

Examples

Resume from backlog

/sw:resume 0032

✅ Increment 0032 activated from backlog
📦 Was in backlog for: 5 days
💡 Reason: Low priority, focus on 0031 first
📋 Start work with: /sw:do

Resume paused work after a few days

/sw:resume 0006

✅ Increment 0006 resumed
⏱️  Was paused for: 3 days, 4 hours
💡 Last activity: Created translation pipeline
📋 Continue with: /sw:do

Resume paused work after a few hours

/sw:resume 0007

✅ Increment 0007 resumed
⏱️  Was paused for: 2 hours
📋 Continue with: /sw:do

Edge Cases

Already Active

/sw:resume 0006

⚠️  Increment 0006 is already active
   No action needed. Continue with: /sw:do

Cannot Resume Completed

/sw:resume 0005

❌ Cannot resume increment 0005
   Status: completed
   Increment is already complete

Resume Abandoned (Confirmation Required)

/sw:resume 0008

⚠️  Increment 0008 is abandoned
   Reason: Requirements changed

   Are you sure you want to resume? [y/N]: y

✅ Increment 0008 resumed
⚠️  Note: Was abandoned 5 days ago
💡 Review spec.md to ensure still relevant
📋 Continue with: /sw:do

Increment Not Found

/sw:resume 9999

❌ Increment not found: 9999
💡 Check paused increments: /sw:status --paused

Implementation

This command uses the MetadataManager to update increment status:

import { MetadataManager, IncrementStatus } from '../src/core/increment/metadata-manager';

// Read current metadata
const metadata = MetadataManager.read(incrementId);

// Validate can resume
if (metadata.status === IncrementStatus.COMPLETED) {
  throw new Error('Cannot resume completed increment');
}

// Calculate duration based on status
let duration;
if (metadata.status === IncrementStatus.PAUSED && metadata.pausedAt) {
  duration = calculateDuration(metadata.pausedAt, new Date());
  console.log(`Was paused for: ${duration}`);
} else if (metadata.status === IncrementStatus.BACKLOG && metadata.backlogAt) {
  duration = calculateDuration(metadata.backlogAt, new Date());
  console.log(`Was in backlog for: ${duration}`);
}

// Update status to active
MetadataManager.updateStatus(incrementId, IncrementStatus.ACTIVE);

// Display context
console.log(`Last activity: ${getLastActivity(incrementId)}`);

Status Flow

backlog ──resume──> active (start work)
   │
paused ──resume──> active (continue work)
   │
abandoned ──resume──> active (with confirmation)

Related Commands

/sw:pause <id> - Pause active increment
/sw:backlog <id> - Move increment to backlog
/sw:status - Show all increment statuses
/sw:status --paused - Show only paused increments
/sw:status --backlog - Show only backlog increments
/sw:do - Continue/start work after resuming

Best Practices

✅ Review spec.md first - Especially after long pauses

✅ Check for changes - Dependencies, requirements may have changed

✅ Update estimates - If scope changed during pause

✅ Communicate - Let team know you're resuming (if collaborative)

❌ Don't blindly resume - Re-validate context first

❌ Don't resume abandoned without review - Understand why it was abandoned

Automatic Suggestions

When you run /sw:status, stale paused/backlog increments trigger suggestions:

/sw:status

🗂️  Backlog (2):
  📦 0032-feature-a [feature]
     In backlog: 5 days
     Reason: Low priority
     💡 Ready to start? → /sw:resume 0032

⏸️  Paused (2):
  🔄 0006-stripe [feature]
     Paused: 3 days ago
     Reason: Waiting for API keys
     💡 Check if API keys arrived → /sw:resume 0006

  🔄 0007-refactor [refactor]
     Paused: 10 days ago
     Reason: Deprioritized
     ⚠️  STALE! Consider resuming or abandoning

Context Recovery

After resuming, the command shows helpful context:

/sw:resume 0006

✅ Increment 0006 resumed

📊 Status before pause:
   - Progress: 30% (6/20 tasks done)
   - Last completed: T-005 (Create translation pipeline)
   - Paused reason: Waiting for Stripe API keys

💡 Next steps:
   1. Review spec.md (requirements may have changed)
   2. Check dependencies (are API keys available?)
   3. Continue with: /sw:do

📋 Quick commands:
   /sw:do           # Resume work
   /sw:progress     # See detailed progress
   /sw:validate     # Check increment health

Command: /sw:resume Plugin: specweave (core) Version: v0.7.0 Part of: Increment 0007 - Smart Status Management

/resume