Starting the Task

Use this checklist any time you begin work on a bd issue (or whenever the user says “start working on …”). It ensures the effort is grounded, observable, and reversible.

1. Understand the Task

   • Read the bd issue (and any linked discoveries or docs) end-to-end.
   • Confirm acceptance criteria, dependencies, and blockers. Ask clarifying questions before touching code.

2. Environment Readiness

   • Run cargo test (or the project’s canonical smoke suite) on main to ensure the baseline is green before you diverge.
   • If tests fail, stop and coordinate—don’t start stacking new work on a broken branch.

3. Branch & Tracking

   • Create a fresh branch for the effort, even if you expect a small change.

     git checkout -b <short-task-name>
     

   • bd update <id> --status in_progress --notes "Starting work" so the tracker reflects the new ownership/status.
   • If multiple repos are involved, repeat for each.