Goal Backlog

Turn a swampy task list back into a groomed pool: one goal at a time, decide what's still real, what's next, and what can go — so /week-plan pulls from decisions you already made instead of a flat dump.

Usage

• /goal-backlog — Walk every group, one goal at a time
• /goal-backlog Q3-2026-goal-2 — Groom one goal only

The one rule that overrides everything

Never delete or move a task silently. Every exit from the backlog is the user's decision, and before any line is removed or relocated you show the exact lines that will change. Completing a task through the Work MCP is the only exit that needs no preview, because nothing is removed.

Step 1: Load the backlog

Call get_goal_backlog(goal_id="all") (or the single goal ID the user named).

Handle the response per CLAUDE.md's feature_status convention:

• off (Quarter Goals room off): one calm line with the returned user_message, no error tone, and stop — there is nothing to groom without goals.
• not_installed / broken: surface the returned user_message and its fix path, then stop.
• unknown, or the tool errors: say the backlog could not be checked. Do not improvise a grooming pass from grep.

If the pool is empty (open_task_count is 0), say so plainly and stop — no invented work.

Then show a one-screen overview in plain language, largest and stalest groups first:

"27 open tasks. Goal 2 (Launch mobile beta) holds 14 — 9 untouched for 3+ weeks. Goal 1 holds 6, all fresh. 5 tasks serve a pillar but no goal, and 2 are linked to nothing at all. Where do you want to start?"

Staleness comes from each task's staleness_days (age since the task was created); a group's stale_count uses the 3-week line the tool reports. Say "sat untouched for 3+ weeks" — never dress the number up as activity data it isn't.

Step 2: Groom one goal at a time

For the chosen group, show: the count, the stale flags, tentative (?) links, and the current next-up order if one exists. Keep it to one screen; titles and ages, not raw metadata.

Work through three passes, in this order:

2a. Settle the doubtful links

For each task marked tentative, ask one short question — "Does 'Draft partner FAQ' really serve this goal?" — and call confirm_goal_link(task_id, action="confirm") or action="clear". Cleared tasks fall back to their pillar group; mention that so they don't seem to vanish.