---

name: track-management description: Track lifecycle management patterns. Use when creating tracks, updating track status, generating track IDs, parsing plan files, or managing track metadata.

Track Management

This skill provides patterns for managing Conductor tracks throughout their lifecycle.

Track ID Generation

Format

Track IDs follow the pattern: shortname_YYYYMMDD

Rules

1. Derive shortname from track description (lowercase, underscores, no special characters)
2. Use current date in YYYYMMDD format
3. Keep shortname concise (2-4 words max)

Examples

• "Add user authentication" → user_auth_20260110
• "Fix login page bug" → login_bug_20260110
• "Create dashboard UI" → dashboard_ui_20260110

Status Markers

Conductor uses checkbox-style markers to track status:

Usage in tracks.md

Copy- [ ] **Track: Add user authentication**
- [~] **Track: Create dashboard UI**
- [x] **Track: Fix login bug**

Usage in plan.md

Copy# Phase 1: Setup

- [x] Task: Initialize project structure
    - [x] Create directory layout
    - [x] Set up package.json
- [~] Task: Configure testing framework
    - [x] Install Jest
    - [ ] Write initial test
- [ ] Task: Conductor - User Manual Verification 'Phase 1: Setup' (Protocol in workflow.md)

Track File Structure

Each track is stored in conductor/tracks/<track_id>/ with these files:

Copyconductor/tracks/<track_id>/
├── metadata.json    # Track metadata
├── spec.md          # Feature specification
└── plan.md          # Implementation plan

Metadata Schema

The metadata.json file contains:

Copy{
  "track_id": "user_auth_20260110",
  "type": "feature",
  "status": "new",
  "created_at": "2026-01-10T14:30:00Z",
  "updated_at": "2026-01-10T14:30:00Z",
  "description": "Add user authentication with login and registration"
}

Fields

Plan Parsing

Reading Tasks

When parsing plan.md:

1. Look for phase headings (e.g., # Phase 1: Setup)
2. Find task lines matching - [ ] Task: or - [~] Task: or - [x] Task:
3. Find sub-tasks indented under tasks (4 spaces): - [ ] ...

Extracting Status

CopyLine: "- [~] Task: Configure testing framework"
Status: in_progress
Task: "Configure testing framework"

Finding Commit SHAs

Completed tasks may have commit SHAs appended:

Copy- [x] Task: Initialize project (abc1234)

Extract SHA: abc1234

Phase Checkpoints

Completed phases have checkpoint markers:

Copy# Phase 1: Setup [checkpoint: def5678]

tracks.md Format

The main tracks file (conductor/tracks.md) lists all tracks:

Copy# Project Tracks

This file tracks all major tracks for the project. Each track has its own detailed plan in its respective folder.

---

- [ ] **Track: Add user authentication**
  *Link: [./conductor/tracks/user_auth_20260110/](./conductor/tracks/user_auth_20260110/)*

---

- [~] **Track: Create dashboard UI**
  *Link: [./conductor/tracks/dashboard_ui_20260110/](./conductor/tracks/dashboard_ui_20260110/)*

Parsing tracks.md

1. Split content by --- separator
2. For each section, find:
   • Status marker: - [ ], - [~], or - [x]
   • Description: Text after **Track: and before **
   • Link: Path in *Link: [...](...)*

Track Lifecycle

1. Creation

• Generate unique track ID
• Create directory structure
• Write metadata.json, spec.md, plan.md
• Add entry to tracks.md

2. Implementation

• Update tracks.md status to [~]
• Execute tasks from plan.md
• Update plan.md as tasks complete
• Commit changes with git notes

3. Completion

• Update tracks.md status to [x]
• Synchronize project documentation
• Offer archive/delete options

4. Archive (Optional)

• Move track folder to conductor/archive/
• Remove entry from tracks.md
• Commit changes

5. Delete (Optional)

• Permanently delete track folder
• Remove entry from tracks.md
• Commit changes

Duplicate Prevention

Before creating a new track:

1. List existing tracks in conductor/tracks/
2. Extract shortnames from existing track IDs
3. If proposed shortname matches an existing one, halt and suggest alternatives

Example check:

Copyls conductor/tracks/
# Output: user_auth_20260108  dashboard_ui_20260109

# If user wants "user_auth", warn that it already exists