Resume Feature Workflow

Resume a feature implementation workflow that was interrupted or paused. Reads the plan file to determine current state and continues from the appropriate checkpoint.

Usage

/resume-feature plans/feature-dark-mode-20260105.md

The command reads the plan file, analyzes the current state, and continues the workflow from where it left off.

When to Use

Use resume-feature when:

• Implementation was interrupted (system crash, user stopped work)
• You paused at approval gate to review plan
• Implementation agent failed mid-execution
• You want to continue after manual changes to plan
• Switching between features (resume later)

How It Works

The command analyzes the plan file to determine:

1. Current phase: Analysis / Planning / Validation / Implementation / Completed
2. Completion status: What's done, what's pending
3. Next action: What should happen next

Then continues the workflow from the appropriate checkpoint.

Workflow States and Resumption

State 1: Analysis Complete, Planning Not Started

Plan file shows:

• Requirements analysis section filled
• Implementation plan section empty
• Status: "Analysis"

Resumption:

1. Read requirements from plan file
2. Calculate complexity score (skip if already in plan)
3. Continue to planning phase (senior-engineer + optional arch advisor)
4. Proceed with normal workflow from there

State 2: Planning Complete, Validation Not Started

Plan file shows:

• Requirements and implementation plan filled
• Validation results section empty
• Status: "Planning"

Resumption:

1. Delegate to feature-plan-validator
2. Update plan with validation results
3. Get user approval
4. Continue to implementation

State 3: Validation Complete, Implementation Not Started

Plan file shows:

• Requirements, plan, and validation results filled
• Implementation steps unchecked
• Status: "Planning" or "Validation"

Resumption:

1. Show plan summary to user
2. Get user approval (if not already given)
3. Delegate to implementation agent
4. Continue monitoring implementation

State 4: Implementation In Progress

Plan file shows:

• Some implementation step checkboxes marked
• Others still unchecked
• Status: "Implementation"
• Progress notes showing last completed step

Resumption:

1. Show current progress summary
2. Identify last completed step
3. Ask user: "Continue implementation from step X?"
4. If yes: Delegate to implementation agent with context about resumption
5. Agent reads plan, sees completed steps, continues from next step

State 5: Implementation Complete

Plan file shows:

• All implementation steps checked
• Status: "Completed" or "Ready for Review"

Resumption:

1. Show completion summary
2. Offer post-implementation options:
   • Code review (if not done)
   • Create PR (if not done)
   • Update related issue (if applicable)
3. Execute user choices

State 6: Fully Complete

Plan file shows:

• All steps completed
• PR created
• Code review done
• Status: "Completed"

Resumption:

1. Show summary: "This feature is complete!"
2. Display links to PR, issue, etc.
3. No further action needed
4. Optional: Archive or move plan file

Detailed Workflow

1. Read and Parse Plan File

# Verify file exists
if ! [ -f "$ARGUMENTS" ]; then
    echo "Error: Plan file not found: $ARGUMENTS"
    exit 1
fi

Use Read tool to access plan file. Parse:

• Status field
• Current Phase field
• Checkbox states in Implementation Steps
• Validation Results section presence
• Completion markers

2. Determine Current State

Create state assessment:

## Workflow State Assessment

**File**: $ARGUMENTS
**Status**: [from plan file]
**Current Phase**: [from plan file]

**Completed**:
- [x] Requirements analysis
- [x] Complexity assessment
- [x] Implementation planning
- [?] Plan validation
- [?] User approval
- [?] Implementation
- [ ] Completion

**Next Action**: [Determined action]

Show this to user for transparency.

3. Ask User Confirmation

Use AskUserQuestion:

Question: "Resume feature workflow from [next-action]?"
Options:
- "Yes, continue workflow" (Recommended)
- "No, let me review the plan first"
- "No, I've made manual changes - re-validate plan"
- "No, start implementation from scratch"

If user chooses to review:

• Show plan file location
• Wait for user to say they're ready
• Re-ask confirmation

If user says they made changes:

• Re-run validation on modified plan
• Update validation results
• Continue with normal workflow

If user wants fresh start:

• Ask which phase to restart from
• Clear appropriate sections
• Continue from that phase

4. Resume Workflow

Based on determined state and user confirmation:

Resume Planning:

Continuing implementation planning...
[Delegates to senior-engineer and optional arch advisor]
[Updates plan file with planning results]
[Continues to validation phase]

Resume Validation:

Validating implementation plan...
[Delegates to feature-plan-validator]
[Updates plan with validation results]
[Asks for user approval]

Resume Implementation:

Resuming implementation from step X...
[Shows current progress]
[Delegates to implementation agent with resume context]

Context provided to agent:
- Plan file path
- Last completed step
- Instruction to continue from next unchecked step
- Note: This is a resumption, check completed items before proceeding

Complete Workflow:

Implementation already complete!
Offering post-implementation options...
[Code review / PR creation / Issue update]

5. Continue Normal Workflow

From the resumption point, follow the standard workflow:

• If resuming implementation: Monitor progress, update todos
• If resuming validation: Validate, get approval, implement
• If completing: Offer post-impl options

6. Update TodoWrite

Create or update TodoWrite based on current state:

- [x] Requirements analysis (from plan file)
- [x] Complexity assessment (from plan file)
- [x] Implementation planning (from plan file)
- [x] Plan validation (if done)
- [ ] User approval (if pending)
- [ ] Implementation (mark in_progress)
- [ ] Completion

Edge Cases

Modified Plan File

If user manually edited plan file:

• Re-validate plan before continuing
• Ensure modifications don't break workflow
• Update validation results section

Corrupted Plan File

If plan file is malformed or missing critical sections:

Error: Plan file appears corrupted or incomplete.
Missing required sections: [list]

Options:
1. Restore from backup (if available)
2. Start new workflow with same requirements
3. Manual recovery (specify what to fix)

Conflicting State

If plan says "Completed" but implementation steps aren't all checked:

Warning: Plan status is "Completed" but some steps appear incomplete.

Completed: X/Y implementation steps

Options:
1. Mark remaining steps as complete (if done outside plan)
2. Resume implementation for incomplete steps
3. Review plan file to fix inconsistency

Multiple Interruptions

If workflow was resumed multiple times:

• Plan file tracks "Last Updated" timestamp
• Implementation notes show resumption points
• All valid - just continue from current state

Best Practices

Before Resuming

1. Review plan file - Check what was done, what's pending
2. Check codebase - Verify no conflicts with other changes
3. Understand context - Read implementation notes for any issues encountered

During Resumption

1. Trust the plan - Checkboxes indicate what's done
2. Let agent continue - Don't re-implement completed steps
3. Monitor progress - Watch for issues from the interruption

After Resumption

1. Verify completeness - Ensure nothing was skipped
2. Test thoroughly - Interrupted work may have edge cases
3. Update plan - Document the resumption and any challenges

Examples

Example 1: Interrupted During Implementation

$ /resume-feature plans/feature-dark-mode-20260105.md

Reading plan file: plans/feature-dark-mode-20260105.md

Workflow State Assessment:
- Status: Implementation
- Current Phase: Implementation
- Progress: 5/12 implementation steps completed
- Last update: 2026-01-05 14:32:00

Next Action: Resume implementation from Step 6

Resume feature workflow from Step 6?
> Yes, continue workflow

Resuming implementation...
[Senior engineer agent invoked]

Implementation agent: Reading plan file...
Implementation agent: Steps 1-5 already complete
Implementation agent: Continuing from Step 6...
[Progress continues]

Example 2: Paused at Approval Gate

$ /resume-feature plans/feature-auth-improvements-20260105.md

Reading plan file: plans/feature-auth-improvements-20260105.md

Workflow State Assessment:
- Status: Planning
- Current Phase: Validation
- Progress: Plan validated (✅ APPROVED)
- Last update: 2026-01-05 10:15:00

Next Action: Get user approval to proceed with implementation

Resume feature workflow from user approval?
> Yes, continue workflow

Plan Summary:
- Feature: JWT Authentication Improvements
- Complexity: 6/8 (architecture advisor involved)
- Files to modify: 8 files
- Implementation phases: 3 phases
- Recommended agent: senior-engineer
- Validation: ✅ APPROVED

Ready to proceed with implementation?
> Yes, proceed with senior-engineer

[Implementation begins]

Example 3: After Manual Changes

$ /resume-feature plans/feature-pagination-20260105.md

Reading plan file: plans/feature-pagination-20260105.md

Workflow State Assessment:
- Status: Planning
- Current Phase: Validation
- Last update: 2026-01-05 09:45:00

Next Action: Re-validate plan (manual changes detected)

Resume feature workflow from re-validation?
> Yes, I made changes - re-validate plan

Re-validating modified plan...
[feature-plan-validator invoked]

Validation Results:
- Completeness: PASS
- Feasibility: FEASIBLE
- Clarity: CLEAR

Overall: ✅ APPROVED WITH NOTES
Note: Modified approach for pagination state looks good

Ready to proceed with implementation?
> Yes, proceed with senior-engineer

[Implementation begins]

Integration with Other Commands

Initial creation:

/feature-from-issue 42        # Creates plan, starts workflow
[... user interrupts ...]
/resume-feature plans/feature-[name]-[date].md   # Continues

Multiple resumptions:

/resume-feature plans/feature-x.md    # Resume once
[... work on something else ...]
/resume-feature plans/feature-x.md    # Resume again later

After implementation:

/resume-feature plans/feature-x.md    # Resume completed feature
> Offer code review / PR creation

Error Messages

File Not Found

Error: Plan file not found: plans/missing.md

Available plan files in plans/:
- feature-dark-mode-20260105.md
- feature-auth-20260104.md

Check the file path and try again.

Invalid Plan File

Error: File is not a valid feature plan: plans/other-doc.md

Required sections missing:
- Feature title (# Feature: ...)
- Status field
- Requirements Analysis section

This doesn't appear to be a feature plan file.

Cannot Determine State

Warning: Unable to determine workflow state from plan file.

The plan file exists but current state is unclear.

Manual inspection needed:
- File: plans/feature-x.md
- Review Status and Current Phase fields
- Check Implementation Steps checkboxes
- Verify Validation Results section

Would you like to start fresh or manually specify resumption point?

Tips for Successful Resumption

1. Don't modify plan structure - Agents expect specific format
2. Update checkboxes accurately - Checked = actually complete
3. Add notes for context - Helps agents understand state
4. Keep Status field current - Indicates overall progress
5. Don't skip validation - If plan changed, re-validate
6. Review before resuming - Understand what was done

Resumability Design

The entire feature workflow system is designed for resumability:

• Plan file is single source of truth - All state persists there
• Checkboxes track progress - Granular completion indicators
• Notes document decisions - Context for resumption
• Status fields indicate phase - Easy to determine next action
• Validation is rerunnable - Can re-validate modified plans
• Agents read state - Implementation agent checks completed items

This means workflows can be:

• Interrupted at any point
• Resumed hours or days later
• Resumed by different users (shared plan file)
• Resumed after manual changes
• Resumed multiple times

The workflow is robust, stateful, and designed for real-world interruptions.