Ctx Task Add

If the user provides only a topic, ask:

1. "What specifically needs to happen?" → Scope the work
2. "Why does this matter?" → Capture motivation
3. "Is this high, medium, or low priority?" → Set priority

Execution

ctx add task "Task description" \
  --session-id SESSION --branch BRANCH --commit HASH \
  [--priority high|medium|low] [--section "Phase N"]

Provenance flags (--session-id, --branch, --commit) are required. Get these values from the hook-relayed provenance line in your context (e.g., Session: abc12345 | Branch: main @ 68fbc00a).

Prefer this skill over raw ctx add task: the conversational approach lets you automatically pick up session ID, branch, and commit from the provenance line already in your context window.

Placement: Without --section, the task is inserted before the first unchecked task in TASKS.md. Use --section only when you need a specific section (e.g., --section "Maintenance").

Example: specific and actionable:

ctx add task "Add --cooldown flag to ctx agent to suppress repeated output within a time window. Use tombstone file per session for isolation." \
  --session-id abc12345 --branch main --commit 68fbc00a \
  --priority medium

Example: with context for why:

ctx add task "Investigate ctx init overwriting user-generated content in context files. Commit a9df9dd wiped 18 decisions from DECISIONS.md. Need guard to prevent reinit from destroying user data." \
  --session-id abc12345 --branch main --commit 68fbc00a \
  --priority high

Example: scoped subtask:

ctx add task "Add topic-based navigation to blog when post count reaches 15+" \
  --session-id abc12345 --branch main --commit 68fbc00a \
  --priority low

Bad examples (too shallow):

ctx add task "Fix bug"              # What bug? Where?
ctx add task "Improve performance"  # Of what? How?
ctx add task "Authentication"       # That's a topic, not a task
# Also bad: missing --session-id, --branch, --commit

Quality Checklist

Before recording, verify:

• Task starts with a verb (Add, Fix, Implement, Investigate, Update)
• Someone unfamiliar with the session could act on it
• Not a duplicate of an existing task in TASKS.md (check first)
• Priority set if the user indicated urgency

Confirm the task was added.