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skill Claude Code CX Codex Cursor GitHub Copilot official · Anthropic

update — Claude Code skill: sync tasks and memory

Skill reconciles TASKS.md and memory/ against your tracker, chat and email, flags missed todos and memory gaps. Handy when your task list has drifted from what you actually promised.

Install into Claude Code · Skills CLI (Vercel) All methods and platforms ↓
npx skills add anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins --skill update -a claude-code
Open on GitHub

What update does

The skill runs in two modes. Default mode pulls open tasks from external sources — Asana, Linear or Jira if an MCP is connected, plus GitHub Issues via gh issue list --assignee=@me — and diffs them against TASKS.md. New items are offered for adding, completed ones for closing, and entries that vanished from the tracker get flagged as possibly stale.

Then it decodes each task. People, projects, acronyms and links are matched against memory files; unknowns are grouped and asked about one by one. Answers land in people/, projects/ and glossary.md. The skill also extracts links, status changes and deadlines from tasks, enriching memory as it goes.

--comprehensive adds a deep scan of chats, email, calendar and documents through available MCP sources. Promises like "I'll send mockups by Friday" that never made it into TASKS.md surface as possible missing tasks. New people and projects appear grouped by mention frequency. Nothing is written without confirmation.

What it helps with

  • pull new tasks from Asana, Linear or Jira into TASKS.md
  • flag overdue tasks or ones sitting in Active for 30+ days
  • decode acronyms and names that lack context
  • catch untracked todos from chat and email
  • fill memory gaps for unknown people and projects

Example prompts for the agent

  • /productivity:update
  • /productivity:update --comprehensive

How to install update

1Skills CLI (Vercel)

npx skills add anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins --skill update -a claude-code

2Manually: put the files in place

~/.claude/skills/update/SKILL.md

Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/update/

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Questions about update

How do I install update in Claude Code?

Run npx skills add anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins --skill update -a claude-code. The skill lands in ~/.claude/skills/update/SKILL.md.

What does the update skill do?

Diffs tasks from external trackers against TASKS.md, decodes people and projects, fills memory gaps. With --comprehensive it also scans chat, email, calendar and documents.

Does the skill add tasks and memories automatically?

No. Every change is proposed and waits for your confirmation. Tasks and memory entries are never auto-added.

Source text

SKILL.md · Apache-2.0
---
name: update
description: Sync tasks and refresh memory from your current activity. Use when pulling new assignments from your project tracker into TASKS.md, triaging stale or overdue tasks, filling memory gaps for unknown people or projects, or running a comprehensive scan to catch todos buried in chat and email.
argument-hint: "[--comprehensive]"
---

# Update Command

> If you see unfamiliar placeholders or need to check which tools are connected, see [CONNECTORS.md](../../CONNECTORS.md).

Keep your task list and memory current. Two modes:

- **Default:** Sync tasks from external tools, triage stale items, check memory for gaps
- **`--comprehensive`:** Deep scan chat, email, calendar, docs — flag missed todos and suggest new memories

## Usage

```bash
/productivity:update
/productivity:update --comprehensive
```

## Default Mode

### 1. Load Current State

Read `TASKS.md` and `memory/` directory. If they don't exist, suggest `/productivity:start` first.

### 2. Sync Tasks from External Sources

Check for available task sources:
- **Project tracker** (e.g. Asana, Linear, Jira) (if MCP available)
- **GitHub Issues** (if in a repo): `gh issue list --assignee=@me`

If no sources are available, skip to Step 3.

**Fetch tasks assigned to the user** (open/in-progress). Compare against TASKS.md:

| External task | TASKS.md match? | Action |
|---------------|-----------------|--------|
| Found, not in TASKS.md | No match | Offer to add |
| Found, already in TASKS.md | Match by title (fuzzy) | Skip |
| In TASKS.md, not in external | No match | Flag as potentially stale |
| Completed externally | In Active section | Offer to mark done |

Present diff and let user decide what to add/complete.

### 3. Triage Stale Items

Review Active tasks in TASKS.md and flag:
- Tasks with due dates in the past
- Tasks in Active for 30+ days
- Tasks with no context (no person, no project)

Present each for triage: Mark done? Reschedule? Move to Someday?

### 4. Decode Tasks for Memory Gaps

For each task, attempt to decode all entities (people, projects, acronyms, tools, links):

```
Task: "Send PSR to Todd re: Phoenix blockers"

Decode:
- PSR → ✓ Pipeline Status Report (in glossary)
- Todd → ✓ Todd Martinez (in people/)
- Phoenix → ? Not in memory
```

Track what's fully decoded vs. what has gaps.

### 5. Fill Gaps

Present unknown terms grouped:
```
I found terms in your tasks I don't have context for:

1. "Phoenix" (from: "Send PSR to Todd re: Phoenix blockers")
   → What's Phoenix?

2. "Maya" (from: "sync with Maya on API design")
   → Who is Maya?
```

Add answers to the appropriate memory files (people/, projects/, glossary.md).

### 6. Capture Enrichment

Tasks often contain richer context than memory. Extract and update:
- **Links** from tasks → add to project/people files
- **Status changes** ("launch done") → update project status, demote from CLAUDE.md
- **Relationships** ("Todd's sign-off on Maya's proposal") → cross-reference people
- **Deadlines** → add to project files

### 7. Report

```
Update complete:
- Tasks: +3 from project tracker (e.g. Asana), 1 completed, 2 triaged
- Memory: 2 gaps filled, 1 project enriched
- All tasks decoded ✓
```

## Comprehensive Mode (`--comprehensive`)

Everything in Default Mode, plus a deep scan of recent activity.

### Extra Step: Scan Activity Sources

Gather data from available MCP sources:
- **Chat:** Search recent messages, read active channels
- **Email:** Search sent messages
- **Documents:** List recently touched docs
- **Calendar:** List recent + upcoming events

### Extra Step: Flag Missed Todos

Compare activity against TASKS.md. Surface action items that aren't tracked:

```
## Possible Missing Tasks

From your activity, these look like todos you haven't captured:

1. From chat (Jan 18):
   "I'll send the updated mockups by Friday"
   → Add to TASKS.md?

2. From meeting "Phoenix Standup" (Jan 17):
   You have a recurring meeting but no Phoenix tasks active
   → Anything needed here?

3. From email (Jan 16):
   "I'll review the API spec this week"
   → Add to TASKS.md?
```

Let user pick which to add.

### Extra Step: Suggest New Memories

Surface new entities not in memory:

```
## New People (not in memory)
| Name | Frequency | Context |
|------|-----------|---------|
| Maya Rodriguez | 12 mentions | design, UI reviews |
| Alex K | 8 mentions | DMs about API |

## New Projects/Topics
| Name | Frequency | Context |
|------|-----------|---------|
| Starlight | 15 mentions | planning docs, product |

## Suggested Cleanup
- **Horizon project** — No mentions in 30 days. Mark completed?
```

Present grouped by confidence. High-confidence items offered to add directly; low-confidence items asked about.

## Notes

- Never auto-add tasks or memories without user confirmation
- External source links are preserved when available
- Fuzzy matching on task titles handles minor wording differences
- Safe to run frequently — only updates when there's new info
- `--comprehensive` always runs interactively

© anthropics · Apache-2.0 · anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins

See also

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