create-item

create-item — Container-Anchored Work Item Creation

Create MCP work items intelligently from conversation context. This skill handles container anchoring, tag inference, structure decisions, and note pre-population so you don't have to.

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Step 1 — Infer intent from conversation

Determine from context (or from $ARGUMENTS if provided):

• Title — what is the work item?
• Type — bug / feature / tech debt / observation / action item / general task
• Priority — high / medium / low (default: medium)
• Scope — single item, or feature with 2+ clear distinct subtasks?

If title or type cannot be inferred with confidence, use AskUserQuestion with concrete options. Do not ask open-ended questions.

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Step 2 — Scan containers

query_items(operation="overview", includeChildren=true)

Classify the existing structure:

Pattern	Classification
Depth-0 item with category-named children (Bugs, Features, etc.)	Hierarchical — project root exists
Category-named items at depth 0, no project root	Flat — use category containers directly
No items at all	Empty — offer to create project root

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Step 3 — Container anchoring

Category mapping

Item type	Target category container	Signal keywords
Bug / error / crash / unexpected behavior	Bugs	bug, error, crash, broken, failure, wrong, exception
Feature / enhancement / new capability	Features	feature, add, implement, new, support, capability, enhancement
Tech debt / refactor / cleanup / improvement	Tech Debt	refactor, cleanup, simplify, debt, improve, migrate, restructure
Observation / friction / optimization / missing capability	Observations	slow, performance, optimize, latency, friction, missing, gap, observe
Action item / follow-up / reminder / TODO	Action Items	todo, follow up, remind, action, track, check
General / unclear	Best-effort match — ask if uncertain

Anchoring decision tree

Hierarchical structure:
  Matching category found under project root → use as parentId
  Category missing under project root → create it, then use as parentId

Flat structure:
  Matching category at depth 0 → use as parentId
  Category missing at depth 0 → create it, then use as parentId

Empty (no project root exists):
  → AskUserQuestion: "No project root container exists yet.
    Would you like to create one for this project?"
  → Yes: create project root → create category under it → create item
  → No: create category container at depth 0 → create item under it

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Step 4 — Apply tags via schema discovery

Read .taskorchestrator/config.yaml to discover available note schemas (this is a file read, not an MCP call). In Docker, the config is mounted at a path controlled by the AGENT_CONFIG_DIR env var — read $AGENT_CONFIG_DIR/.taskorchestrator/config.yaml if that variable is set, otherwise use .taskorchestrator/config.yaml relative to the working directory. Each schema key is a tag that activates gate enforcement when applied to an item.

Error handling: If the config file is not found, cannot be read, or contains invalid YAML, skip schema-based tagging and create the item without tags. Inform the user: "No schema config found — item created without schema tags." Do not abort item creation due to a missing or malformed config.

Infer the best schema match from context:

Context signal	Schema to apply
Feature, enhancement, new capability	Match against feature-related schema keys in config (if any exist)
Bug, error, crash, unexpected behavior	Match against bug-related schema keys in config (if any exist)
Observation, friction, optimization, missing capability	Match against observation-related schema keys in config (if any exist)

If the inferred schema key exists in the config, apply it as the item's tags value. If the key does not exist in the config (e.g., no bug-fix schema defined), leave tags empty — do not apply a tag that has no matching schema.

When no confident match can be inferred:

• If a schema named default exists in the config, apply it as the fallback — this lets users control what happens to unclassified items
• Otherwise, ask the user which schema to apply via AskUserQuestion, listing the available schema keys from the config
• Include a "No schema" option for items that should be schema-free

If no config file exists, skip tagging entirely — all items will be schema-free.

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Step 5 — Create the item(s)

Single item (bug, observation, standalone task, action item):

manage_items(operation="create", items=[{
  title: "<inferred title>",
  summary: "<1-2 sentence description from context>",
  priority: "<inferred priority>",
  tags: "<tags or omit>",
  parentId: "<category container UUID>"
  // Additional fields like `complexity` are optional — omit if not relevant
}])

Work tree (feature with 2+ distinct subtasks clearly described):

create_work_tree(
  root={title, summary, priority, tags},
  children=[{ref: "t1", title: "..."}, {ref: "t2", title: "..."}, ...],
  parentId="<category container UUID>"
)

Default to single item when scope is unclear. Use create_work_tree only when the conversation explicitly names multiple distinct subtasks.

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Step 6 — Pre-fill required notes

Check expectedNotes in the create response. For each note where required: true and role: "queue":

• Extract relevant content from the conversation
• Check each expectedNotes entry for a guidance field — use it as the authoring instruction for note content. Guidance takes precedence over free-form inference.
• Batch all notes into a single call rather than one call per note:

  manage_notes(operation="upsert", notes=[
    {itemId: "<uuid>", key: "reproduction-steps", role: "queue", body: "..."},
    {itemId: "<uuid>", key: "root-cause",          role: "queue", body: "..."}
  ])
  

• If conversation content is too sparse for a meaningful note body, leave it — do not fabricate content

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Step 7 — Report

✓ Created: [title] (`short-id`)
  Path: [container path, e.g. "Features" or "Project Root › Features"]
  Tags: [tags, or "none"]
  Notes pre-filled: [key names, or "none"]

If a new category container was created, add one line:

  ↳ Created new container: [category name] under [parent]

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Troubleshooting

No containers found in overview

• Cause: Fresh workspace with no existing structure
• Solution: The skill handles this automatically — it will offer to create a project root and category containers via AskUserQuestion

Wrong container chosen for the item

• Cause: Item type was ambiguous or the category mapping didn't match intent
• Solution: Move the item after creation with manage_items(operation="update", items=[{id: "<uuid>", parentId: "<correct-container-uuid>"}])

Tags not matching a schema — expectedNotes is empty

• Cause: The tag string doesn't match any key in .taskorchestrator/config.yaml, or the config hasn't been loaded
• Solution: Verify the tag matches a note_schemas: key exactly. If the config was recently changed, run /mcp to reconnect the server

Expected notes not returned after item creation

• Cause: MCP server caches schemas on first access — config changes require reconnect
• Solution: Run /mcp in Claude Code to reconnect the server, then retry the create operation