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Manage task context

Use task context for local working memory that should survive agent sessions but must not enter a package repository. The live context directory is gitignored; _local.template/ is only the tracked onboarding example.

Execution status

Task-context commands modify gitignored, user-local state and are not run by CI. Maintainers execute this procedure manually; inspect the selected task and generated context before launching an agent.

Create or select a task

scripts/set_task_context.sh --new "Update the ecosystem contract"
scripts/set_task_context.sh --task update-the-ecosystem-contract

The task slug names a folder containing task-info.md, task-plan.md, task-log.md, and task-scratchpad.md. Keep decisions that affect other contributors in tracked documentation or code; keep transient planning here.

To use a context directory outside Spine, add --context PATH. Do not store credentials, private data, or unpublished results in either location.

Choose launch behavior

All three launchers support the same modes:

./codex.sh --task-selection=auto
./claude.sh --task-selection=chat
./cursor.sh --no-user-context
  • The default launcher mode presents the shell selector.
  • auto reuses the active task.
  • chat defers selection to the agent when the launcher is interactive.
  • --no-user-context skips the layer for one launch.

See the launcher reference for repository discovery and editor-specific behavior.

Clear the active task

scripts/set_task_context.sh --none

Clearing selection does not delete the task folder. Archive completed contexts using the task-management procedure available to your agent, or move them to the local archive deliberately after durable decisions have been recorded.