Local work tracking

rove work is tracked locally. There is no external issue tracker. Agents should not file or update tickets in any external system, or require its CLI authentication, during normal development.

Sources of truth

• Backlog + open issues: daemon-owned issue state.
• Current risks and follow-ups: HANDOFF.md at the repo root (local and gitignored; absent on a fresh clone).
• User-facing shipped behavior: ../packages/rove/CHANGELOG.md.
• Durable product and architecture decisions: docs/*.md.
• Proof of work: git commits and test output.

Issues / backlog: daemon issue store

The daemon owns active issue state so every worktree's agents and TUIs see the same data. Deliberately low-ceremony: no type taxonomy, just a status. The persisted daemon file is keyed by each repo's git common-dir, so the source checkout and its worktrees share one issue record:

{
  "version": 1,
  "repos": {
    "/path/to/repo/.git": {
      "repoRoot": "/path/to/repo",
      "nextId": 4,
      "issues": [
        { "id": 1, "title": "short imperative title", "status": "open", "created": "YYYY-MM-DD", "body": "context, repro, scope; one field, free text" }
      ]
    }
  }
}

• status: open → doing → done, plus hold for issues parked on purpose (waiting on a decision, blocked, deliberately deferred). hold is a parking lot, not a lifecycle step. Resume by flipping back to open. Held issues stay visible in the active file like every other status. Status is still the only dimension; don't add label/type fields.
• id: take nextId, then increment nextId. Ids are never reused.
• Adding: rove api issue-create --repo <path> --title .... The daemon stores the repo's issue record under the repo's git common-dir, so a source checkout and its task worktrees share the same issues.
• Closing: flip status to done. Done issues stay visible in the Done column until a future archive/export flow exists.
• Agent automation: use rove api issue-list, rove api issue-create, and rove api issue-update (which also moves a card with --status). From a task worktree, --repo . resolves to the same daemon issue record as the source checkout.

Code changes still land their user-facing line as a Changeset (see RELEASING.md). Issues are the backlog of what to do, the changelog is the record of what shipped. They're different things; an issue often closes by landing a change that carries its own changeset.

Local workflow

1. Read HANDOFF.md and the relevant docs before editing.
2. Check git status --short so user changes are not mistaken for agent changes.
3. Make a focused change.
4. Run the applicable checks from docs/HARNESS.md.
5. Add a Changeset for user-visible package behavior; the release workflow updates CHANGELOG.md. Do not edit the generated changelog by hand.
6. Commit when green, using the repository commit rules from AGENTS.md.

Recording follow-ups

Use repo-local artifacts instead of external tickets:

• Backlog / "we should do X" items go in the daemon issue tracker.
• Immediate operational notes for the next session go in HANDOFF.md.
• Durable design notes go in docs/.
• Release-facing changes go in a Changeset → CHANGELOG.md.

If a future request needs external tracking again, ask the user first. Do not file external tickets automatically.