id: task-7.1 title: 'CLI: Kanban board detect remote task status' status: Done assignee: [] reporter: @MrLesk created_date: '2025-06-09' updated_date: '2025-06-09' labels: [] dependencies: [] parent_task_id: task-7

Description

Improve the Kanban board command so it checks all branches on the origin remote for task updates before rendering the board. Use git fetch to get the latest references and then iterate through each branch to collect task files using git ls-tree. Retrieve each task file with git show and merge the most recent status into the board view. If multiple branches contain the same task, adopt the frontmatter from the task that supplies the latest status so fields like title and assignee remain current.

Status conflicts can occur when the same task has different status values in multiple branches. In that case always display the last status found in the iteration order and respect the status sequence defined in config.yml. All frontmatter fields should also come from the task file that provided the chosen status.

Acceptance Criteria

• [x] backlog board view fetches and scans every branch under origin for task files.
• [x] The displayed status for each task reflects the most recent entry across all branches.
• [x] Status columns follow the configured order and fall back to the last seen status on conflicts, copying the full frontmatter from the task that provided the displayed status.

Implementation Notes

Added remote task status detection to the CLI kanban board view. Key technical details:

Git Operations Enhanced:

• Added fetchRemote(), listRemoteBranches(), listFilesInTree(), and showFile() methods to GitOperations class in src/git/operations.ts
• These methods use git commands: fetch, branch -r, ls-tree -r --name-only, and show respectively

Board View Logic (src/cli.ts:428-454):

• Fetches latest remote references using core.gitOps.fetchRemote()
• Iterates through all remote branches from core.gitOps.listRemoteBranches()
• For each branch, scans .backlog/tasks directory using core.gitOps.listFilesInTree()
• Retrieves and parses task files using core.gitOps.showFile() and parseTask()
• Merges task status based on configured status order - later statuses override earlier ones
• Preserves all frontmatter (title, assignee, etc.) from the task providing the winning status
• Gracefully handles remote access errors (offline scenarios, missing remotes)

Status Conflict Resolution:

• Uses statuses.indexOf() to determine status progression order from config.yml
• Condition newIdx > currentIdx || currentIdx === -1 || newIdx === currentIdx ensures the most advanced status wins
• When status indices are equal, the last seen task (iteration order) takes precedence
• Entire task object is replaced (not just status) to maintain frontmatter consistency

Testing:

• Comprehensive test in src/test/cli.test.ts verifies remote status merging with bare git repositories
• Test creates a feature branch with updated task status and verifies main branch picks up the advanced status