nightshift:add-task

Add a new task file to shift $ARGUMENTS and update the table with a corresponding status column.

Steps

1. Resolve the shift

   • If $ARGUMENTS is non-empty, treat it as the shift name.
   • Otherwise, list directories in .nightshift/ (excluding archive/):
     • If none exist, report "No active shifts. Use /nightshift:create first." and stop.
     • If exactly one exists, auto-select it.
     • If multiple exist, use the AskUserQuestion tool to let the user pick.

2. Get task details

   Use the AskUserQuestion tool (open-ended) to ask:

   "Describe this task. What should the agent do for each item? Include the tools needed, step-by-step instructions, and how to verify success."

   From the response, derive:

   • A snake_case task name (e.g., create_page, update_spreadsheet). Hyphens break qsv column selectors — never use them.
   • A Configuration section listing tools.
   • A Steps section with numbered instructions referencing {column_name}, {ENV:VAR}, {SHIFT:FOLDER|NAME|TABLE} template variables as appropriate.
   • A Validation section with verification criteria.

3. Check for task-name conflicts

   • If .nightshift/<shift>/<task-name>.md already exists, report the conflict and ask for a different name.
   • Run flock -x .nightshift/<shift>/table.csv qsv headers --just-names .nightshift/<shift>/table.csv and confirm the task name is not already a column header.

4. Create the task file

   Ask the user (via AskUserQuestion) which optional execution-config fields they want to set. Skip any they don't need:

   • model — Claude Code model identifier for this task's dev subprocesses (haiku, sonnet, opus, or a full model ID). Omit to use the user's default.
   • working_dir — directory each dev subprocess cds into before running. May reference a table.csv column via {column_name} (most common: {repo_path} paired with a repo_path column). Useful when the task operates on a different repository than the workspace.
   • worktree — true|false. When true, each dev runs inside a fresh git worktree of working_dir on a unique branch. Requires working_dir to also be set. Requires a one-time claude invocation in each target directory to accept Claude Code's workspace-trust dialog.

   Write .nightshift/<shift>/<task-name>.md. Include only the Configuration fields the user opted into:

   ## Configuration
   
   - tools: <tool1>, <tool2>
   # - model: sonnet
   # - working_dir: {repo_path}
   # - worktree: true
   
   ## Steps
   
   1. <step description>
   2. <step description>
   
   ## Validation
   
   - <criterion 1>
   - <criterion 2>
   

   If the user set worktree: true but did NOT set working_dir, surface a clear error and ask them to either set working_dir or drop worktree: true. The combination is invalid.

5. Add status column to table.csv

   flock -x .nightshift/<shift>/table.csv qsv enum --constant todo --new-column <task-name> .nightshift/<shift>/table.csv > .nightshift/<shift>/table_tmp.csv && mv .nightshift/<shift>/table_tmp.csv .nightshift/<shift>/table.csv
   

   This adds a column with the task name as header, initialized to todo for all existing rows. If the table is empty, only the header is added.

6. Update manager.md task order

   • If ## Task Order currently shows the placeholder (no tasks yet — use ...), replace it with 1. <task-name>.
   • Otherwise, append as the next numbered item.

7. Show result

   ## Task Added: <task-name>
   
   **Shift:** <shift>
   **File:** `.nightshift/<shift>/<task-name>.md`
   
   ### Configuration
   - tools: <tools>
   
   ### Steps
   1. ...
   
   ### Validation
   - ...
   
   Table updated: <N> items now have `<task-name>: todo`
   Manager updated: task order now includes `<task-name>`
   

Guardrails

• Always create all three sections (Configuration, Steps, Validation).
• Initialize all existing table rows with todo for the new column.
• Validate snake_case task naming. No hyphens.
• Never overwrite an existing task file.