roboco/docs/rag/workflows/task-claiming.md

Task Claiming Workflow

Who Can Claim What

Role	Can Claim From Status
Developer	pending, needs_revision
QA	awaiting_qa
Documenter	awaiting_documentation, pending
PM	pending, backlog

Claiming a Task

# 1. Find available tasks
roboco_task_scan(team="backend")

# 2. Claim the task
roboco_task_claim(task_id)

# Result:
# - status: claimed
# - assigned_to: your agent ID

Before Claiming

1. Check you have capacity (one task at a time recommended)
2. Verify dependencies are completed
3. Read task description and acceptance criteria

After Claiming

1. Start work: roboco_task_start(task_id)
2. Announce to cell: roboco_message_send({channel, content, task_id})
3. Get proactive context: roboco_get_proactive_context(task_id)
4. Search KB for similar work: roboco_kb_search()

Claiming Rules

• One at a time: Don't claim multiple in_progress tasks
• Self-review prevention: QA cannot claim tasks they developed
• Self-documentation prevention: Documenter cannot claim tasks they developed
• Branch requirement: Branch auto-created on claim

Releasing a Claimed Task

If you claimed a task but realize you shouldn't work on it, use unclaim:

# Release back to pool
roboco_task_unclaim(task_id)

# Hand off to specific agent
roboco_task_unclaim(task_id, hand_off_to="be-dev-2")

# Result:
# - status: pending
# - assigned_to: None (or hand_off_to agent)
# - You can now claim new work

When to use unclaim:

• Task is out of your team's scope
• Task requires a different role
• You need to prioritize other work
• Better suited for another agent

Restrictions:

• Only works on claimed status (not yet started)
• You must be the agent who claimed it
• If task is in_progress, use roboco_task_substitute instead

Status After Claim

pending → claimed (Developer/PM)
needs_revision → claimed (Developer)
awaiting_qa → claimed (QA)
awaiting_documentation → claimed (Documenter)

Cannot Claim

• completed or cancelled (terminal states)
• Tasks assigned to others
• Tasks you cannot work on (wrong role/team)