FP Workflow Skill

Agent work session patterns for the FP CLI

Core Workflow Concepts

Issue Status Lifecycle

Issues have three states:

1. todo - Planned, not yet started (no VCS tracking)
2. in-progress - Actively being worked on (VCS base captured)
3. done - Completed (VCS tip captured)

Issue Priority

Issues can have an optional priority: low, medium, high, or critical.

• Priority affects display order: within the same status, higher priority issues appear first
• Sort order: critical → high → medium → low → (no priority)
• Use --priority flag when creating or updating issues

VCS-Based Change Tracking

FP automatically tracks changes using your version control system (git or jj):

• When issue becomes in-progress: Captures current VCS ref as the base commit
• When issue becomes done: Captures current VCS ref as the tip commit
• Range (base..tip): Shows exactly what changed for this issue

This replaces manual snapshots - VCS handles all change tracking automatically.

Work Session Flow

1. Session Start → Get your agent name
2. Find Work → Discover next actionable task (status: todo)
3. Claim Work → Mark issue as in-progress (captures base ref)
4. Do Work → Implement, test, iterate
5. COMMIT → Commit changes before logging (enforced by hooks)
6. Log Progress → Add comments after committing
7. Complete → Mark as done (captures tip ref)
8. Hand Off → Log final status before session ends

Commit-First Rule

You must commit before logging progress. The plugin enforces this with PreToolUse hooks that block fp comment and fp issue update calls when uncommitted changes exist.

The workflow rhythm is: code → commit → log → repeat

This ensures:

• VCS history accurately reflects progress
• Comments reference committed work, not in-flight changes
• Context survives compaction (commits are durable)

Essential Commands

1. Identify Yourself

Check who you are:

fp agent whoami

This tells you your agent name (e.g., "swift-falcon"). Your identity is set automatically when your session starts and stored in the $FP_AGENT_NAME environment variable.

Note: Use $FP_AGENT_NAME in commands. If the variable is not set (e.g., in subagents), get your name with:

FP_AGENT_NAME=$(fp agent whoami 2>&1 | grep "Name:" | awk '{print $2}')

2. Find Next Task

See the full issue tree:

fp tree

This shows all issues with their hierarchy, status, and dependencies.

List tasks by status:

fp issue list --status todo         # Available to pick up
fp issue list --status in-progress  # Currently being worked on
fp issue list --status done         # Completed work
fp issue list                       # All issues

Analyze dependencies: When looking at the tree output, identify tasks that:

• Have no dependencies, OR
• Have all dependencies in "done" status
• Are not already being worked on (check recent activity)

3. Claim Work

Start working on an issue:

fp issue update --status in-progress FP-2

When you mark an issue as in-progress, the system automatically:

• Captures the current VCS ref as the base commit
• Sets this as your current issue in the workspace

Log that you're starting:

fp comment FP-2 "Starting work. First step: [describe what you'll do]"

4. View Changes

See what's changed since you started:

fp issue diff FP-2        # Full diff
fp issue diff FP-2 --stat # Just file stats

List changed files:

fp issue files FP-2

For parent issues with children, these commands automatically aggregate changes from all descendants.

5. Manually Assign Commits

If automatic VCS tracking missed commits (e.g., you forgot to mark the issue as in-progress before starting work), use fp issue assign to retroactively link commits:

fp issue assign FP-2              # Assign current HEAD to issue
fp issue assign FP-2 --rev abc123 # Assign specific commit
fp issue assign FP-2 --rev a1,b2  # Assign multiple commits
fp issue assign FP-2 --reset      # Clear all assigned revisions

This adds an Issue: FP-2 trailer to the commit message and updates the issue's revision tracking.

6. Log Progress

Add comments as you make progress:

fp comment FP-2 "Completed schema design. Added User, Session, Token models to src/models/"

7. Mark Completion

When work is done:

fp issue update --status done FP-2
fp comment FP-2 "Task completed. [Summary of what was done]"

This automatically captures the current VCS ref as the tip commit.

Best Practices

Starting a Session

1. Check your identity:

   fp agent whoami
   

2. Review recent activity:

   fp log --limit 10
   

3. Check the current state:

   fp tree
   

4. Look for available work:

   fp issue list --status todo         # Not started
   fp issue list --status in-progress  # In progress (maybe continue)
   

5. If continuing work, load context:

   fp context FP-2
   

   This shows the issue details.

During Work

1. Comment frequently - At minimum:

   • When you start a task
   • When you complete a significant milestone
   • When you discover important information
   • When you encounter problems

2. Check your progress:

   fp issue diff FP-2 --stat  # Quick view of changed files
   fp issue files FP-2        # List of files changed
   

3. Keep status current:

   • todo when not yet started
   • in-progress when actively working
   • done when complete

Ending a Session

1. Log your progress:

   fp comment FP-2 "End of session. Completed: [list]. Next steps: [list]"
   

2. Update status appropriately:

   • If done: --status done
   • If partially done: keep as in-progress with clear comment about state

3. Don't leave issues in limbo - Always leave a comment explaining state

Common Patterns

Pattern: Pick Up Where You Left Off

# 1. Check what's currently in progress
fp issue list --status in-progress

# 2. Load context for the issue
fp context FP-5

# 3. Review recent activity
fp log FP-5 --limit 5

# 4. See what's changed so far
fp issue diff FP-5 --stat

# 5. Continue work and log
fp comment FP-5 "Resuming work. Current focus: [what you're doing]"

Pattern: Taking Over From Another Agent

# 1. Identify the issue
fp issue show FP-3

# 2. Review what was done
fp log FP-3

# 3. See the changes made so far
fp issue diff FP-3 --stat

# 4. Load full context
fp context FP-3

# 5. Log that you're taking over
fp comment FP-3 "Taking over. Will continue with: [next steps]"

Pattern: Breaking Down Work

# While working on FP-4, you realize it's too big

# 1. Create sub-issues
fp issue create --title "Authentication middleware" --parent FP-4
fp issue create --title "Authorization checks" --parent FP-4
fp issue create --title "Token refresh logic" --parent FP-4

# 2. Document in parent
fp comment FP-4 "Broke down into sub-tasks: FP-10, FP-11, FP-12. Will work on these sequentially."

# 3. Work on sub-issues
fp issue update --status in-progress FP-10

Pattern: Checking Parent Issue Progress

# For a parent issue, see aggregated changes from all children
fp issue diff FP-1 --stat   # Shows all changes across descendants
fp issue files FP-1         # Lists all files changed by descendants

Pattern: Fixing Tracking After the Fact

If you made commits before marking an issue as in-progress (so the base ref wasn't captured), use fp issue assign to manually link commits:

# 1. Find the commits you made for this issue
jj log   # or: git log --oneline

# 2. Assign them to the issue
fp issue assign FP-5 --rev abc123,def456

# 3. Verify the issue now tracks those commits
fp issue diff FP-5 --stat

Anti-Patterns (Avoid These)

❌ Logging before committing

# BAD: Log progress with uncommitted changes (will be blocked by hooks)
# ... make changes ...
fp comment FP-2 "Added auth middleware"  # BLOCKED - uncommitted changes

# GOOD: Commit first, then log
# ... make changes ...
jj describe -m "Add auth middleware" && jj new  # or: git commit -am "..."
fp comment FP-2 "Committed: Added auth middleware"  # ALLOWED

❌ Silent progress (no comments)

# BAD: Work on issue for 2 hours without any comments
# Context is lost if session compacts

# GOOD: Commit and comment at key milestones
jj describe -m "Create base models" && jj new
fp comment FP-2 "Committed: Created base models"
# ... work ...
jj describe -m "Add validation logic" && jj new
fp comment FP-2 "Committed: Added validation logic"

❌ Leaving work in ambiguous state

# BAD: End session without final comment
fp issue update --status in-progress FP-2  # Still in progress, but what's the state?

# GOOD: Clear handoff
fp comment FP-2 "End of session. Completed auth middleware. TODO: Add rate limiting. File: src/middleware/auth.ts is 80% done."

❌ Not using VCS tracking

# BAD: Manually tracking what files changed

# GOOD: Let fp handle it
fp issue diff FP-2 --stat   # See exactly what changed
fp issue files FP-2         # Get the file list

Integration with Context Commands

Loading Context for Work

Use fp context to get issue details:

# Load context for specific issue
fp context FP-2

# Load with child issues
fp context FP-2 --include-children

# Machine-readable format (for processing)
fp context FP-2 --format json

Session Start Context

When your session starts, the SessionStart hook automatically runs:

fp context --session-start --session-id <id>

This provides:

• Your agent identity
• Current open issues
• Recent activity summary

Pre-Compact Context

Before context compaction, the PreCompact hook runs:

fp context --current --format compact

This preserves critical information about what you were working on.

Querying Activity

View Recent Activity

# Last 20 activities (default)
fp log

# Last 50 activities
fp log --limit 50

# Activity for specific issue
fp log FP-2

# Activity by specific agent
fp log --author swift-falcon

# Your own activity
fp log --author $FP_AGENT_NAME

Understanding Activity Log

The activity log shows:

• Timestamp
• Author (agent or user)
• Issue ID
• Action type and details

Use this to:

• Understand what happened while you were away
• See who worked on what
• Track status transitions
• Find recent comments

Quick Reference

Start Session Checklist

• fp agent whoami - Know who you are
• fp tree - See the full picture
• fp log --limit 10 - Check recent activity
• fp issue list --status todo - See available work
• fp issue list --status in-progress - See current work

During Work Checklist

• Mark issue as in-progress to start tracking
• Commit before logging (hooks enforce this)
• Comment after each commit to document progress
• Use fp issue diff/files to see progress
• Keep status current (todo → in-progress → done)

End Session Checklist

• Add final comment with progress and next steps
• Update status appropriately
• Ensure all changes are logged
• Don't leave work in ambiguous state

Troubleshooting

"I don't know what to work on"

fp tree                           # See full picture
fp issue list --status todo       # See available work
fp issue list --status in-progress  # See active work
# Pick tasks with no dependencies or all dependencies done

"Lost context after compaction"

fp context FP-X              # Reload issue details
fp log FP-X --limit 10       # Read recent activity
fp issue diff FP-X --stat    # See what's changed
fp tree                      # Understand issue hierarchy

"What changed in this issue?"

fp issue diff FP-X           # Full diff
fp issue diff FP-X --stat    # File stats only
fp issue files FP-X          # List of changed files

Summary

The FP workflow is designed for seamless agent collaboration:

1. Always identify yourself with fp agent whoami
2. Find actionable work using fp tree and fp issue list --status todo
3. Claim with status in-progress to start VCS tracking
4. Code → Commit → Log (commit-first is enforced by hooks)
5. View changes with fp issue diff and fp issue files
6. Mark done when complete (captures final commit ref)
7. Hand off cleanly with clear final comments

The commit-first rule ensures VCS history accurately reflects progress and comments reference durable, committed work.