description: Continue implementing the next task for a GitHub-published feature

Continue Feature Implementation

This command finds and implements the next available task for a feature that has been published to GitHub.

Prerequisites

• The GitHub CLI (gh) must be authenticated
• The feature must have been published to GitHub (github.md exists in the feature folder)
• The feature folder should be attached to the conversation

Instructions

1. Locate the Feature

Look for the feature folder attached to the conversation. It should be at /specs/{feature-name}/ and contain:

• requirements.md - Feature requirements (for context)
• implementation-plan.md - Original task breakdown
• github.md - GitHub references (required)

If no folder is attached, ask the user to drag the feature folder into the conversation.

2. Read GitHub References

Parse github.md to extract:

• feature_name from frontmatter
• epic_issue number from frontmatter
• repository from frontmatter

If github.md doesn't exist, inform the user:

"This feature hasn't been published to GitHub yet. Run /publish-to-github first to create the GitHub issues and project."

3. Query Open Issues

List all open issues for this feature:

gh issue list \
  --label "feature/{feature_name}" \
  --state open \
  --json number,title,body,labels \
  --limit 100

4. Identify Current Phase

From the issues returned:

1. Skip the Epic issue (has label epic)
2. Identify phase issues by title format: Phase N: {Phase Title}
3. Identify any complex task issues (non-epic, non-phase issues)
4. Sort phase issues by phase number (Phase 1 before Phase 2, etc.)

5. Select Next Work Item

Priority order:

1. Complex task issues first: If there are open complex task issues belonging to the current phase, work on the one with the lowest issue number
2. Phase issue tasks: Otherwise, look at the earliest open phase issue and find the first unchecked task in its checklist

To find the next task in a phase issue:

1. Read the phase issue body
2. Parse the ## Tasks section
3. Find the first unchecked item: - [ ] (not - [x])
4. If all tasks are checked, the phase is complete - close it and move to next phase

If no work is available:

• If all phases are closed: Report "🎉 All tasks for {feature_name} are complete!"
• If current phase has all tasks checked: Close the phase issue and continue to next phase

6. Display Task Information

Before implementing, show:

For a task from a phase issue:

📋 Next Task: {task description}

Phase: {phase number} - {phase title}
Issue: #{phase-issue-number}
Task: {task number} of {total tasks in phase}

Proceeding with implementation...

For a complex task issue:

📋 Next Task: #{issue-number} - {title}

Phase: {phase number}
Type: Complex task (separate issue)
Parent Phase Issue: #{phase-issue-number}

## Task Description
{task description from issue body}

Proceeding with implementation...

7. Set Issue Status to "In Progress"

Before starting implementation, update the issue status on the GitHub Project board. This is required when project_number exists in github.md.

Note: Update the phase issue (or complex task issue if working on one) to "In Progress".

IMPORTANT: Do NOT rely on labels like "status/in-progress" as they may not exist in the repository. Always update the Project board status directly.

#### Step 7a: Add a comment indicating work has started

gh issue comment {issue-number} --repo {repository} --body "🚀 **Status Update**: Implementation started

Working on this task now..."

#### Step 7b: Get the project item ID for this issue

gh project item-list {project_number} --owner {owner} --format json

Parse the JSON output to find the item where content.number matches your issue number. Extract the id field - this is the {item_id}.

Example: For issue #8, find the item with "content": {"number": 8, ...} and note its "id" value (e.g., "PVTI_lAHOBLPcNM4BJm9zzgh_JP0").

#### Step 7c: Get the Status field ID and option IDs

gh project field-list {project_number} --owner {owner} --format json

From the output, find the field with "name": "Status". Extract:

• id - this is the {status_field_id} (e.g., "PVTSSF_lAHOBLPcNM4BJm9zzg5uLNA")
• options array - find the option with "name": "In Progress" and note its id as {in_progress_option_id} (e.g., "47fc9ee4")

#### Step 7d: Construct the project ID

The project ID follows the pattern PVT_kwHO{owner_id}M4{project_suffix}. You can derive it from the item IDs which contain the same pattern, or use:

gh project view {project_number} --owner {owner} --format json

#### Step 7e: Update the project item status to "In Progress"

gh project item-edit \
  --project-id {project_id} \
  --id {item_id} \
  --field-id {status_field_id} \
  --single-select-option-id {in_progress_