Tasks

Definition

A task is a durable unit of work stored in workspace-local Orbit state. It carries a title, description, acceptance criteria, lifecycle state, context, review notes, and audit history.

Use tasks for work an agent can execute and a human can review. Do not use a task as a scratch note when no observable outcome exists.

Lifecycle

The common path is:

proposed -> backlog -> in-progress -> review -> done

Human-created direct tasks may enter the backlog immediately. Proposed tasks must be approved before normal execution. Review tasks are approved or rejected after the agent produces work.

Statuses

Status	Purpose
proposed	Awaiting human approval before entering the backlog.
friction	Agent self-reported friction awaiting triage. Creation-only — a task cannot return to friction after triage.
backlog	Approved and queued for work.
someday	Future-scoped — wanted but not yet actionable. Agents skip someday tasks.
in-progress	Actively being worked on.
review	Implementation complete; awaiting review/merge. Requires an execution_summary.
done	Accepted and closed. Terminal — no further transitions.
blocked	Temporarily paused (waiting on a dependency or decision).
archived	Soft-deleted. Restorable to backlog via the dedicated orbit task archive command.
rejected	Declined. Can be re-opened to backlog or in-progress.

Transition rules

Transitions are permissive by default — any move is allowed unless it violates one of these invariants:

1. Done is terminal. No transitions out of done.
2. Archived requires orbit task archive. A bare --status archived update is rejected.
3. Friction is creation-only. A task that leaves friction cannot return.
4. in-progress → review requires an execution_summary.

Quality Bar

A good task states:

• what should change
• where the change should happen
• how to observe success
• which files or selectors matter when known

Acceptance criteria should be testable. Prefer “command X exits successfully” or “file Y contains Z” over “the behavior feels better.”