Task Extractor

Extract, track, and verify completion of multiple tasks from a single user message. Use when any message contains 3+ actionable items, a prompt dump with mixed instructions, or a compound request. Prevents task drop by saving to TASK_QUEUE.md before executing. Reports completion status per item.

Parse multi-task messages → numbered queue → execute sequentially → verify each → report.

Activation

Trigger on ANY user message containing 3+ distinct actionable items. Signs:

• Multiple sentences starting with verbs ("build", "fix", "send", "check", "add", "research")
• Comma-separated or period-separated instructions
• Mixed topics in one paragraph
• "also", "and then", "plus", "oh and", "one more thing"

If uncertain whether to activate: activate. False positives (structuring a 2-item request) cost nothing. False negatives (dropping task #7 of 12) cost trust.

Step 1: EXTRACT (before any execution)

Parse the message into individual tasks. Each task gets:

• Number (sequential)
• Summary (one line, imperative verb)
• Type: BUILD | FIX | RESEARCH | SEND | DEPLOY | CONFIG | OTHER
• Estimated effort: QUICK (< 5 min) | MEDIUM (5-30 min) | HEAVY (30+ min / sub-agent)

Write to workspace/TASK_QUEUE.md:

markdown

# TASK_QUEUE — [date] [time]
# Source: [channel]
# Total: [N]
# Status: IN PROGRESS

| # | Task | Type | Effort | Status | Artifact |
|---|------|------|--------|--------|----------|
| 1 | [summary] | BUILD | HEAVY | ⏳ | |
| 2 | [summary] | FIX | QUICK | ⏳ | |
| 3 | [summary] | SEND | QUICK | ⏳ | |
...

Step 2: RECEIPT

Reply to the user with the extracted checklist BEFORE starting work:

text

📋 Extracted [N] tasks from your message:

1. ⏳ [task summary]
2. ⏳ [task summary]
3. ⏳ [task summary]
...

Starting now. I'll check each off as I go.

Do NOT ask "is this right?" unless genuinely ambiguous. Convert ambiguity into a task and execute. Ryan's rule: don't interrogate, just do.

Step 3: EXECUTE

Work through tasks in dependency order (not necessarily numerical order):

• Independent QUICK tasks first (batch them in parallel tool calls)
• MEDIUM tasks next
• HEAVY tasks: spawn sub-agents with clear scope

For each completed task, update TASK_QUEUE.md:

• ⏳ → ✅ (done) or ❌ (failed) or ⚠️ (partial) or 🔄 (spawned sub-agent)
• Fill in the Artifact column (file path, URL, commit hash, or "n/a")

Step 4: RECONCILE

After all tasks are attempted (or sub-agents spawned), reply with the final checklist:

text

📋 Task Report ([completed]/[total]):

1. ✅ [task] → [artifact]
2. ✅ [task] → [artifact]
3. 🔄 [task] → sub-agent running, will announce when done
4. ❌ [task] → [reason for failure]
5. ⚠️ [task] → [what was done, what's left]

Step 5: VERIFY (on sub-agent completion)

When a sub-agent announces completion:

• Update TASK_QUEUE.md
• If ALL tasks are now ✅/❌, send final summary
• If tasks remain ⏳, continue working

Rules

1. NEVER skip the extract step. Even if the answer seems obvious. The extract step IS the safety net.
2. NEVER mark a task ✅ without evidence. Evidence = file exists, command succeeded, API returned 200, deploy URL works.
3. If a task fails, say WHY. Not just ❌ — include the error, the blocker, or what's needed.
4. Sub-agent tasks get 🔄 until completion event arrives. Don't mark them ✅ optimistically.
5. TASK_QUEUE.md is the source of truth. If context overflows, re-read it. If a session restarts, re-read it.
6. One TASK_QUEUE at a time. If a new multi-task message arrives while one is active, append to the existing queue (renumber).
7. Checkpoint at 5 completed tasks. Update the user with progress so far.

Edge Cases

"Do X and also Y but wait on Z"

• X and Y get ⏳, Z gets 🕐 (blocked — note the dependency)

Sub-agent timeout

• Mark as ⚠️, note what was attempted, offer to retry or take over manually

User changes mind mid-execution

• Update TASK_QUEUE.md, cross out cancelled tasks with strikethrough, continue with remaining

Overlapping tasks

• If task 3 and task 7 are really the same thing, merge them. Note in Artifact: "merged with #3"

Anti-patterns

• ❌ Reading the message, immediately jumping into task #1 without extracting all tasks
• ❌ Marking a sub-agent task ✅ before the completion event
• ❌ Saying "I'll get to that" and then forgetting
• ❌ Only reporting on the tasks you completed, silently dropping the ones you didn't
• ❌ Asking "which one should I do first?" — just prioritize by dependency + effort and go