Workflow: br Ticket Integration

When to Use

Invoke this skill whenever:

• A Jira ticket ID (e.g., RD-3891) is mentioned in the conversation
• Starting work on a new ticket
• Resuming work on a ticket from a previous session
• Transitioning between workflow phases (research → PRD → arch → plan → implementation)

Workflow

Phase 1: Task Discovery

1. Check if a br parent task exists for this ticket:

   bashCopy

   br list | grep RD-XXXX
   

   Or check by external reference:

   bashCopy

   br query "external_ref=RD-XXXX"
   

2. If parent task exists:

   • Load the task and its children
   • Identify the current active phase (child task in progress)
   • Resume work on that phase

3. If no parent task exists:

   • Ask user: "Should I create a br task for RD-XXXX to track this work?"
   • If yes → proceed to Phase 2
   • If no → continue without br tracking

Phase 2: Parent Task Creation

Create the parent task with:

br create "RD-XXXX - [Ticket Title]" \
  --type epic \
  --external-ref RD-XXXX \
  --description "Parent task for Jira ticket RD-XXXX"

Store parent task ID for creating children.

Phase 3: Phase Task Creation (User-Validated)

Ask user which phase to start with:

"Which phase should I start with?

1. Research
2. PRD (Product Requirements Document)
3. Architecture decisions
4. Implementation plan
5. Implementation"

Create the child task:

br create "Phase: [Phase Name]" \
  --type task \
  --parent [PARENT_ID] \
  --description "Working on [phase] phase for RD-XXXX"

Phase 4: Working Within Phase (Autonomous)

While working within a phase, you have autonomy to:

✅ DO (without asking):

• Update task status: br update [ID] --status in_progress
• Add context to description: br update [ID] --description "..."
• Mark subtasks complete in metadata
• Log files touched in task metadata
• Record decisions made
• Add blockers encountered
• Update checklist progress

Metadata Format (JSON in description or via labels):

{
  "jira_ticket": "RD-XXXX",
  "phase": "research",
  "obsidian_path": "work/tickets/RD-XXXX [Title]/research.md",
  "files_touched": ["src/file.ts"],
  "decisions": ["Decision 1", "Decision 2"],
  "blockers": [],
  "checklist": {
    "task1": "done",
    "task2": "in_progress",
    "task3": "pending"
  }
}

Phase 5: Phase Completion (User-Validated)

When phase is complete:

1. Update status: br update [ID] --status closed
2. Ask user: "[Phase] complete. Create next phase task?"
3. Options:
   • "Yes" → Create next sequential phase
   • "Skip to [phase]" → Create specific phase
   • "No" → Pause, parent task stays open

Phase 6: Ticket Completion (User-Validated)

When all phases complete:

• Ask user: "All phases complete. Close parent task for RD-XXXX?"
• If yes: br update [PARENT_ID] --status closed

Key Principles

1. Always check for existing tasks first — Don't duplicate
2. Ask before creating — Parent and phase tasks need user approval
3. Autonomous within phases — Freely update progress, context, files
4. Persist state in br — Files, decisions, blockers, checklist
5. Link to Obsidian — Store obsidian_path in metadata
6. External ref = Jira ticket — Always set --external-ref RD-XXXX

Quick Reference

Example Session

User: "Let's work on RD-3891"

Agent:

1. Checks: br list \| grep RD-3891 → No results
2. Asks: "Should I create a br task for RD-3891?"
3. User: "Yes, start with research"
4. Creates parent task #42
5. Creates child task #43 "Phase: Research" with parent #42
6. Works on research, updates metadata with findings
7. Research complete
8. Asks: "Research complete. Create PRD phase task?"
9. User: "Yes"
10. Creates child task #44 "Phase: PRD" with parent #42
11. Continues...