Status Command

Monitor your increment progress and work-in-progress limits with the /status command.

Overview

The /status command provides a high-level overview of all your increments, showing what's active, paused, completed, and helping you understand your current workload.

Intelligent Automation

SpecWeave automatically manages increment status. The system detects blockages, pauses work, and resumes when ready - you rarely need manual intervention.

Usage

/status                    # View all increments
/specweave:status          # Explicit namespace form

What It Shows

$ /specweave:status

📊 Increment Status Overview

📈 Overall Progress: 3/10 increments complete (30%)

▶️  Active (1):
  ● 0007-payment-integration [feature] (60% complete)
     Tasks: 25/42 completed
     Time: 1.2 weeks elapsed, 0.8 weeks remaining
     Last activity: 2 hours ago

⏸️  Paused (2):
  ⏸ 0005-kubernetes-migration [feature]
     Reason: Waiting for DevOps approval
     Paused: 7 days ago

  ⏸ 0006-notification-system [feature]
     Reason: Waiting for backend API
     Paused: 2 days ago

✅ Completed (3):
  ✓ 0001-core-framework
  ✓ 0002-core-enhancements
  ✓ 0004-plugin-architecture

📈 WIP Limit:
  ✅ Active increments: 1/1 (within limit)

💡 Suggestions:
  - 0006 ready to resume (backend API available)
  - 0005 stale (paused >7 days, consider abandoning or prioritizing)

Key Information:

• Active work: What you're currently working on
• Paused work: What's blocked and why
• Completed work: What's shipped
• WIP limits: Are you at capacity?
• Smart suggestions: What to do next

Why Status Monitoring Matters

The Problem: Lost Context

Without clear status visibility:

• ❌ Don't know what's in progress
• ❌ Can't see what's blocked
• ❌ No visibility into WIP limits
• ❌ Unclear what to work on next

The Solution: /status Command

Get instant visibility:

• ✅ See all active work
• ✅ Understand blockages
• ✅ Monitor WIP limits
• ✅ Get smart suggestions

Increment Statuses

Status	Meaning	Counts Toward WIP Limit?
active	Currently being worked on	✅ Yes
paused	Temporarily blocked (automatic)	❌ No
completed	All tasks done, shipped	❌ No
abandoned	Work cancelled	❌ No

WIP Limits

Default: ONE Active Increment

SpecWeave defaults to 1 active increment maximum. This enforces focus and prevents context switching.

Why 1? Research shows:

• 1 task = 100% productivity
• 2 tasks = 20% slower (context switching cost)
• 3+ tasks = 40% slower + more bugs

Configuring Limits

Edit .specweave/config.json:

{
  "limits": {
    "maxActiveIncrements": 1,  // Default: 1 active (focus)
    "hardCap": 2,               // Emergency ceiling (never exceeded)
    "allowEmergencyInterrupt": true
  }
}

Common Workflows

Workflow 1: Check Status Before Planning

# Before starting new work, check current status
$ /specweave:status

📊 Increment Status Overview
▶️  Active (1): 0007-payment-integration (60% complete)

# WIP limit reached, need to complete or pause current work first
$ /specweave:do 0007  # Continue current work

Workflow 2: Monitor Multiple Paused Increments

$ /specweave:status

⏸️  Paused (3):
  ⏸ 0005-kubernetes [feature] (45 days ago)  ⚠️ Stale!
  ⏸ 0006-notifications [feature] (7 days ago)
  ⏸ 0007-payments [feature] (2 days ago)

# Clean up stale work
$ /specweave:abandon 0005 --reason "Too old, requirements changed"
$ /specweave:resume 0007  # Resume most recent

Workflow 3: Understand Progress

$ /specweave:status

📈 Overall Progress: 8/15 increments complete (53%)

▶️  Active (1): 0009-authentication (80% complete)
✅ Completed (8): 0001, 0002, 0003, 0004, 0005, 0006, 0007, 0008

# Good progress! Close current and start next
$ /specweave:done 0009
$ /specweave:next  # Smart suggestion for what's next

Automatic Status Management (System Commands)

Mostly Automatic

SpecWeave automatically manages increment status. These commands are primarily used by the system internally. You rarely need to call them manually.

/pause - Pause Increment (Automatic)

SpecWeave automatically pauses when:

• 🚧 Missing dependencies (API keys, credentials, configuration)
• 👥 Waiting for external approvals or responses
• 🔄 Persistent compilation or test failures
• 📝 You explicitly indicate "I'm blocked"

Manual use only for:

• Business decisions (strategic pivot, deprioritization)
• Cases where SpecWeave hasn't detected blockage

/pause 0007 --reason "Pausing for hotfix"

Full pause documentation →

---

/resume - Resume Increment (Automatic)

SpecWeave automatically resumes when:

• ✅ API keys/credentials become available
• ✅ External services respond or approve
• ✅ Build/test issues are fixed
• ✅ Environmental dependencies are resolved

Manual use only for:

• Restarting explicitly abandoned work
• Cases where SpecWeave hasn't detected resolution

/resume 0007

Full resume documentation →

---

/abandon - Cancel Increment (Manual)

Use when:

• ✅ Requirements changed (business decision)
• ✅ Feature no longer needed (strategic pivot)
• ✅ Long-term postponement (deprioritized for quarters)

/abandon 0007 --reason "Pivot to enterprise, consumer features on hold"

Full abandon documentation →

When to Use /status

Daily standup:

$ /specweave:status
# Shows: Active work, paused work, completed work

Before planning new work:

$ /specweave:status
# Check: Am I at WIP limit? Can I start new increment?

Weekly retrospective:

$ /specweave:status
# Review: What's stale? What's blocked? What's shipped?

Team collaboration:

$ /specweave:status
# Share: Current focus, blockers, progress

Best Practices

1. Check Status Frequently

# Daily standup
$ /specweave:status

# Before planning new work
$ /specweave:status

# Weekly retrospective
$ /specweave:status

2. Clean Up Stale Work

$ /specweave:status

⏸️  Paused (3):
  ⏸ 0003 (45 days ago)  ⚠️ Too long!

# Either abandon or prioritize
$ /specweave:abandon 0003 --reason "Too old, requirements changed"

3. Trust the Automation

# ✅ Let SpecWeave manage status
$ /specweave:do  # System pauses automatically when blocked

# ❌ Don't manually pause unless business decision

4. Focus on One Thing

Single-tasking vs Multi-tasking:

Approach	Features Active	Time	Features Shipped
Multi-tasking	5 features	10 weeks	0 complete
Single-tasking	1 feature	10 weeks	5 complete

Result: 1 feature at a time = 5× more shipped

Related Commands

• /pause - Pause increment (mostly automatic)
• /resume - Resume increment (mostly automatic)
• /abandon - Cancel increment permanently
• /progress - Detailed progress for specific increment
• /next - Smart suggestion for what's next

Related Documentation

• Commands Overview - All SpecWeave commands
• Workflow Guide - Complete development workflow
• Getting Started - Quick start guide

Summary

Key Points:

• ✅ Use /status to monitor all increments
• ✅ Shows active, paused, completed work
• ✅ Displays WIP limits and smart suggestions
• ✅ Check frequently (daily standup, before planning, retrospectives)
• ✅ Trust automation - SpecWeave manages status automatically

Philosophy:

Visibility without intervention. SpecWeave manages status, you monitor progress.