Load dh:dh-cli-usage before using <sam_cli/> or <dh_scripts/>.

Implementation Manager

Before dispatching or judging an attempt, read the work loop. Before interpreting the worker's response, load dh:subagent-contract. Workers read the runner contract before their first ledger command.

A skill for querying and managing feature implementation tasks. Provides programmatic access to task status for orchestrators coordinating multi-step feature implementations.

SAM MCP Tool Usage

Use the configured provider's native interface for native state. In a Beads workspace, use bd directly for CRUD, readiness, claims/status, and dependencies. Use SAM MCP or the DH CLI adapter for structured SAM plans, task metadata, artifacts, dispatch, and validation that bd does not provide. See Beads and workflow usage.

Structured SAM Commands

list

List all features with tasks tracked in the project's plan/ directory:

<sam_cli/> plan list

Output:

{
  "items": [
    {
      "plan_id": "P1",
      "feature": "prepare-host",
      "task_count": 8
    }
  ],
  "count": 1
}

status

Get detailed status for a specific feature:

<sam_cli/> plan status --plan-address P1

Output:

{
  "feature": "prepare-host",
  "total_tasks": 8,
  "completed": 8,
  "in_progress": 0,
  "not_started": 0,
  "ready_tasks": [],
  "tasks": [
    {
      "id": "1.1",
      "name": "Add Data Models to shared/models.py",
      "status": "complete",
      "dependencies": [],
      "agent": null,
      "priority": 1,
      "complexity": "low"
    }
  ]
}

ready-tasks

List tasks ready for execution (dependencies satisfied):

<sam_cli/> plan ready --plan-address P1

Output:

{
  "feature": "prepare-host",
  "ready_tasks": [
    {
      "id": "1.3",
      "name": "Create core/prepare.py Business Logic",
      "agent": "{resolved_agent}"
    }
  ],
  "count": 1
}

read

With P alone, plan read reads the plan document. With P/T, it reads that task with the sections its attempts recorded:

<sam_cli/> plan read --address P1/T01

Add --attempt {A} only when you hold that attempt; naming one you do not is refused as stale-attempt. For every task row with its derived columns, use plan status --plan-address P1 on a ledger plan.

dispatch

Open an attempt on a ready task. This is what sets it in-progress, starts its lease, and prevents a second runner from taking it. It prints the attempt number, which every command the runner issues carries back:

<sam_cli/> plan dispatch --address P1/T01

Prints leased when a runner already holds the task and not-ready when its dependencies have not landed; either way the task is not the one to start now.

The plan claim command writes to the content store rather than the ledger, so a task claimed that way leaves the ledger row where it was. Open attempts with dispatch.

update

Set plan-level fields on the ledger, such as the context manifest:

<sam_cli/> plan update --plan-address P1 --set context="Context Manifest content"

--set names the ledger column, so write field names with underscores. Setting a field replaces its whole value; read the current one with plan status --plan-address P1 and write back the result when you mean to add to it rather than replace it.

The same command's --context flag reaches the content store instead — the two stores hold different plans, and the flag chosen is what selects between them.

Task Schema

Tasks are represented as YAML frontmatter fields, defined in sam_schema/core/models.py. The SAM MCP tools validate all fields — do not parse tasks directly from storage.

---
task: T01
title: "Task title"
status: not-started
agent: {resolved_agent}
dependencies: []
priority: 1
complexity: medium
accuracy-risk: low
skills: []
---

Status Values

• not-started — task has not been started
• in-progress — task is claimed and being executed
• complete — task is done
• blocked — task cannot proceed
• deferred — task is intentionally postponed
• skipped — task was bypassed without execution
• failed — task execution ended in failure

Dependency Resolution

A task is "ready" when:

1. Status is not-started
2. All dependencies have status complete, deferred, or skipped (or no dependencies)

Hook Integration

The task_status_hook.py script settles the attempt a stopping sub-agent was launched for, via one Claude Code hook.

Hook Configuration

Command	Hook Event	Matcher	Purpose
/dh:execution	SubagentStop	(all)	Settle the attempt the stopping worker was launched for

How It Works

SubagentStop (settle):

A SubagentStop hook registered in hooks/hooks.json runs in the orchestrator's session when a sub-agent it launched stops, so it is the orchestrator's observation point. It records that the launch ended, and nothing else:

1. Reads the sub-agent's own initial prompt from agent_transcript_path and takes the plan address, the task id and the attempt number from it. The dispatch contract requires all three in the prompt ({plan}/{task}, attempt {A}), and the transcript is per-sub-agent, so parallel workers correlate to distinct attempts.
2. Runs plan settle --address {plan}/{task} --attempt {A} --return-text "{the final message}".

It writes no task status. The runner's own plan finish --result records the outcome and the orchestrator's plan accept / plan reclaim records the verdict — see ARCHITECTURE.md § "What a hook may write" for why a third writer of that one fact would drift from both. The worker's final message is stored verbatim as the attempt's return text, which is evidence the judge reads.

Every failure is reported on stderr, never absorbed: a prompt naming no attempt, a plan the ledger does not hold, and a settle the CLI refused. The hook still exits 0, because the SubagentStop critical path must not be blocked.

The orchestrator settles as its own next step too, and whichever gets there first wins — the other is answered already-settled. The hook exists for the launch whose orchestrator step never ran.

Timestamp Field Responsibilities

Field	Added By	When
**Started**	plan dispatch, when the orchestrator opens the attempt	When the worker is launched
**Completed**	plan finish with durable result complete, or plan accept on a returned task	When the runner or the judge records completion

Hook Runtime Controls

CLAUDE_SKILLS_DISABLED_HOOKS

Comma-separated list of hook IDs to disable. Each ID is stripped of whitespace. Empty segments are excluded. Unknown IDs are silently ignored for forward compatibility. Default when unset or empty: no hooks disabled.

The hook ID for this script: task-status:subagent-stop — the SubagentStop handler (settling the attempt).

Disabled hooks exit 0 (Claude Code treats non-zero hook exit as an error that kills the hook chain).

Example

# Disable the settle hook
export CLAUDE_SKILLS_DISABLED_HOOKS=task-status:subagent-stop

Integration with /execution

The /dh:execution orchestrator uses this skill to:

1. Query task status via <sam_cli/> plan status
2. Find ready tasks via <sam_cli/> plan ready
3. Open an attempt per task via plan dispatch, then launch the agent its agent field names, passing the address and the attempt number
4. Settle each launch with plan settle when it returns, then judge with plan read and close with plan accept or send back with plan reclaim