Status -- Feature Progress & Next Actions

Overview

Read the current feature state and translate it into actionable guidance. Status is the orientation layer -- run it at session start, after completing work, or when uncertain about what to do next.

Core principle: Status is not a passive display. It is a diagnostic. Detect problems, highlight what needs attention, and tell the user exactly what command to run next.

When to Use

• Session start (always)
• After a task completes or fails
• When the user asks "what's next?" or "where are we?"
• Before starting any new work (to check for zombies, blockers, or stale state)

Step 1: Gather State

Run maestro status (or maestro status --feature <name> for a specific feature).

If no active feature is set:

• Report: "No active feature. Run maestro feature-active <name> to set one, or maestro feature-list to see available features."
• If no features exist at all: "No features found. Run maestro feature-create <name> to start."
• Stop.

The status output contains these fields:

• feature: name and status (planning | approved | executing | completed)
• plan: exists (yes/no), approved (yes/no), comment count
• tasks: total, pending, in_progress, done counts, plus individual task list with statuses
• zombies: stale in_progress tasks where the session is missing or expired
• blocked: tasks blocked by unfinished dependencies
• context: file count and byte total for saved context
• nextAction: the system's recommended next step

Step 2: Identify the Feature Phase

Map the status output to one of four phases. This determines what to emphasize in the report.

Phase determines what sections to show:

• Discovery: Emphasize context files, suggest brainstorming or design skills, de-emphasize tasks (none exist).
• Planning: Emphasize plan status and comments. If comments exist, highlight them -- they may contain unresolved feedback.
• Pre-Execution: Single clear action: run maestro task-sync.
• Execution: Full task breakdown with progress, conditions, and next action. This is the most detailed phase.
• Completion: Brief summary. Show done count. Suggest maestro feature-complete.

Step 3: Detect Conditions Requiring Attention

Scan the status output for these conditions. Each one requires a specific callout in the report.

Severity determines formatting:

• High: Mark with [!] prefix. These block progress and must be resolved first.
• Medium: Mark with [~] prefix. These represent interrupted work that should be resumed.
• Low: Mark with --> prefix. These are informational next steps.

Step 4: Present the Status Report

Format the report using phase-aware rules. See reference/output-templates.md for concrete examples of every phase and condition.

General formatting rules:

1. Lead with the headline: Feature name, phase, and overall health in one line.
2. Show problems first: Any High or Medium conditions appear before the task list.
3. Task list: Show all tasks with status markers. Use alignment for readability.
4. Progress bar: For execution phase, show completion as done/total with percentage.
5. Next action: Always end with the specific command to run next.
6. Suppress empty sections: Do not show "Blockers: None" or "Zombies: None". Only show sections that have content.

Phase-specific rules:

• Discovery: Show context file count if any. Suggest maestro:brainstorming or maestro:design skills.
• Planning: Show plan status prominently. If comments exist, show count and suggest maestro plan-read. If plan is draft, suggest maestro plan-write or maestro plan-approve.
• Execution: Full task table. Group by status: in_progress first, then partial/blocked/failed, then pending, then done (collapsed if many).
• Completion: Brief summary. Show done count. Suggest maestro feature-complete.

Step 5: Recommend Next Action

The nextAction field from maestro status provides the primary recommendation. Use it as the base, then layer on context-aware guidance.

Enhancement rules based on phase and conditions:

Compound conditions: When multiple conditions coexist (e.g., zombie + blocked), prioritize by severity. Address the highest-severity condition first in the recommendation.

Relationship to Other Commands and Skills

Status is the observability layer across the maestro workflow:

Run maestro status before and after every significant action to stay oriented.