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progress-log

Productivity
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Use to propagate DAE state — turning handoff summaries into visible progress. Triggers — "/engineer.progress-log", "sync progress", "update the tracker", "reconcile the tracker", "refresh feature status".

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Source SKILL.md: https://github.com/swingerman/disciplined-agentic-engineering/blob/HEAD/engineer/skills/progress-log/SKILL.md

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progress-log

The propagation engine of DAE visibility. Skills emit handoff summaries; progress-log turns them into the two visible state layers — progress.md (the per-feature glanceable file) and the external tracker.

When the foundations say "the agentic summary contract handles propagation," this skill is that propagation. checkpoint: null.

When to use

  • Auto — invoked after a handoff-emitting skill changes a DAE-managed field (status change, checkpoint completion). Scope = the triggering feature.
  • Manual — /engineer.progress-log <slug> re-syncs one feature; --project reconciles all.

Not for: changing artifacts (feature-edit); validating consistency (consistency-check); a session wrap-up (session-summary).

Workflow

  1. Resolve + scope — resolve the methodology root + manifest via ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/dae_resolve.py (see references/resolving.md); the manifest carries the tracker config. Scope = one feature (auto / <slug>) or all (--project).
  2. Read new handoffs — handoffs/*.md not yet reflected in progress.md (compare timestamps against the last-synced marker).
  3. Update progress.md — per handoff: update the Checkpoints table row (if checkpoint: set), append to Verification reports (if a verification skill), append to the Handoff log, recompute the CURRENT header — the fixed, parseable first line of progress.md: > ▶ CP<N> <Stage> — <m>/<n> criteria met | NEXT: <action> | BLOCKED: <none|reason>. Derive <m>/<n> from the latest handoff's exit_criteria block for the current checkpoint, NEXT from its recommended_next, and BLOCKED from any unmet criterion that needs a human (else none). If the handoff carries a cloud_session_url and its PR isn't merged yet, set NEXT: review cloud PR <url> and record the session/PR link in the Handoff log — this is the signal next reads to surface the feature as DISPATCHED.
  4. Recompute tracked state — derive the TrackedFeature record from local truth (feature.md + progress.md).
  5. Sync the tracker — driver upsert(TrackedFeature) per references/tracker.md: local-wins on DAE-managed fields, tracker-managed fields (comments, labels) preserved. local = no-op (the feature files are the tracker). Write the result to progress.md's "Tracker sync" line. 5b. Sync the roadmap (if the feature came from one) — if feature.md carries a roadmap_ref, keep the strategic item's lifecycle in step with the feature: on status: in-progress ensure the item is in-progress with the feature's slug back-linked; on status: done (CP8 complete / PR merged) mark it shipped. Driver per references/roadmap.md (local = ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/dae_roadmap.py mark <roadmap_ref> <status> <slug>; MCP/CLI/API-backed = the connected channel). If manifest.roadmap.type is none or the host is unreachable, skip with a one-line note — never block the tracker sync. Note the result on progress.md's "Tracker sync" line.
  6. (--project only) Drift report — driver reconcile() per references/tracker.md; surface anything unexpected (orphan tracker entry, untracked local feature).

Handoff exemption

progress-log does NOT emit a handoff summary — it is the single exception to the agentic summary contract. It is the mechanism that processes handoffs; emitting one would trigger another progress-log run, looping. Its record of work is the progress.md "Tracker sync" line. (Documented in the Foundation Design.)

Logging a fix closure

When the fix skill reaches its Close step, append the rendered closure entry to each feature_refs[*]/progress.md of the fix artifact.

Use ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/dae_fix.py helper render_fix_closure_entry(rec, followups_summary) to build the entry. Append it to each affected feature's progress.md under a new H2 section (the helper produces a complete H2 + bullets block).

Fix closures use the same propagation contract as feature handoffs: visible at the feature level so contributors browsing that feature see the bug history without having to discover .engineer/fixes/.

ATDD team teardown

When progress-log observes a feature advancing to status: done (CP8 complete or PR merged), check whether an atdd-<slug> team exists. If it does, propose teardown per the atdd:atdd-team lifecycle — auto-dispatch at autonomy high/medium, surface and wait at low. nexthq saw a team idle for 5 days after its feature shipped because nothing claimed responsibility for cleanup.

References

  • Foundation Design — progress.md schema, agentic summary contract + this exemption (Section 5)
  • references/tracker.md — the tracker drivers, TrackedFeature, local-wins reconciliation
  • references/roadmap.md — the roadmap drivers; shipping a roadmap item on feature done
  • Tracker Integration — sync triggers, the column schema