Close Task

/close-task — Close a Task

You are closing a task. The user may name a specific task, or if there's only one in-progress task, close that one.

Arguments: $ARGUMENTS

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Step 1 — Identify the Task

Determine which task to close:

• If the user named a task: find it
• If there's exactly one in-progress task: confirm with the user that's the one
• If there are multiple in-progress tasks and the user didn't specify: ask which one

Read the task's main document (TASK.md or equivalent) to understand what was done.

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Step 2 — Finalize Task Governance

Before closing, ensure the task document is complete:

1. Status — Update to Complete / Deployed / Done (use project's convention)
2. Changes Made — Is the list of changes accurate and complete? If work was done this session that isn't captured, add it now.
3. Spec vs. Reality — Does the spec still match what was actually built? If scope changed during execution, update the spec to reflect what was delivered, not what was originally planned.
4. Open Questions — Are there any unresolved items? If so, either resolve them or explicitly note them as deferred/out-of-scope.

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Step 3 — Project-Specific Close Actions

Read CLAUDE.md for any project-specific task closing procedures. These vary by project and may include:

• Generating change control documentation
• Posting to external systems (Asana, Notion, Slack, etc.)
• Creating deployment checklists
• Writing handoff notes
• Generating PR descriptions

Follow the project's close procedure exactly. The skill defines the universal steps; CLAUDE.md defines project-specific ones.

If CLAUDE.md has no task-close procedure, that's fine — proceed with the standard steps below.

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Step 4 — Standard Close Actions (Always Required)

These happen for every task close, regardless of project:

4a — Update Changelog

Find the project's changelog (CHANGELOG.md or equivalent). Add an entry for the completed work:

• Follow the existing changelog format and versioning convention
• If no changelog exists, create one with a simple format:

```markdown # Changelog

## [Date] — Task Title

• What was done (bullet points)

```

4b — Update Task Tracker

Find the project's task tracker (TASKS.md or equivalent):

• Move the task from Active/In Progress to Complete/Deployed
• Update the status indicator
• Add any final notes (e.g., "deployed to prod" or "merged in PR #42")

4c — Update Roadmap

If the project has a roadmap (ROADMAP.md or equivalent):

• Check off completed items related to this task
• Update the status description if this task was tracked there
• If this task completion unblocks other roadmap items, note that

4d — Archive Task Folder

"Archiving" means the task is complete and its folder is now a historical record:

• The task folder stays where it is (don't move or delete it)
• The task document's status is marked complete
• No further updates are expected

The task tracker is what distinguishes active from archived — moving the entry to the "Completed" section is the archive action.

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Step 5 — Verify

Do a quick scan to confirm nothing was missed:

• [ ] Task document finalized with accurate status and changes
• [ ] Changelog updated
• [ ] Task tracker updated (moved to completed)
• [ ] Roadmap updated (if applicable)
• [ ] Project-specific close actions completed (per CLAUDE.md)

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Step 6 — Report

Tell the user:

• Which task was closed
• What governance files were updated
• Any items that were deferred or flagged as follow-up
• What the next open task or priority is (if known)

Keep it brief — one short paragraph or a bullet list. The files are the record.

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: avanrossum
• Source: avanrossum/claude-task-skills
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.