backlog

/backlog — Backlog Viewer & Manager

View pending items across all four backlogs, or manage entries.

Runtime Gate (per ADR-094)

Canonical resolution: This is the Claude Cowork variant — namespaced-only. When both plugin-claude-code and plugin-claude-cowork are loaded in the same session (most common in Claude Desktop), bare /backlog resolves to aria-knowledge's variant — Code is the canonical owner of all 24 dual-port skills per ADR-094 §Part 1. To reach this skill, use the namespaced form: /aria-cowork:backlog. Do NOT match bare /backlog — that belongs to aria-knowledge.

Before Step 0: Check whether the Bash tool is available in this session. If Bash IS available (you are running in Claude Code or another runtime with shell access), surface the following notification and wait for explicit user confirmation:

⚠️ Runtime mismatch — you invoked aria-cowork's /backlog from a runtime with shell access.

Behavior is largely the same in both runtimes; for the Code-native variant (uses ~/.claude/aria-knowledge.local.md config), use /backlog (the aria-knowledge canonical).

Use /backlog instead? (y / n)

Wait for an explicit reply:

• y / yes — Use the Skill tool to invoke backlog (the bare-slash canonical, which routes to aria-knowledge when both ports are loaded) with the same arguments the user provided to this invocation. Do not proceed with this skill's steps; the aria-knowledge variant takes over and runs to completion. This is the default-yes path — auto-redirect is the helpful action.
• n / no — Proceed with this (aria-cowork) variant anyway despite the runtime mismatch. The user has explicitly opted in.
• No response / any other reply — Treat as "do not proceed" and exit cleanly without running either variant.

This gate applies even when mode = auto per ADR-094 §Part 3. Auto mode's "implicit-yes on all gates" rule is suspended for the runtime-mismatch check — auto trusts that the user invoked the correct variant, and this gate enforces that precondition. All other auto-mode gates remain bypassed. The friction cost is now low: on y, the auto-redirect runs the correct variant with the original args.

If Bash is NOT available (normal Cowork runtime), proceed to Step 0.

Step 0: Resolve config

The default knowledge folder is ~/Projects/knowledge/ (expand ~ to your home directory's absolute path). Read <knowledge_folder>/aria-config.md and extract knowledge_folder. If aria-config.md doesn't exist, stop: "aria-cowork is not configured. Run /aria-setup to get started."

Set backlog paths (absolute paths from knowledge_folder):

• <knowledge_folder>/intake/insights-backlog.md
• <knowledge_folder>/intake/decisions-backlog.md
• <knowledge_folder>/intake/extraction-backlog.md
• <knowledge_folder>/intake/rules-backlog.md

Step 1: Parse argument

• No argument: go to Step 2 (overview).
• insights, decisions, extraction, or rules: go to Step 3 (detail view).
• clear [type] [date]: go to Step 4 (clear entries).

Step 2: Overview mode

Read all four backlog files. For each, count the number of ### YYYY-MM-DD entries after the --- separator and find the most recent date. If any backlog file is missing, show "missing — run /aria-setup to repair" instead of a count for that file.

Output:

## Pending Backlogs
- Insights: N entries (latest: YYYY-MM-DD)
- Decisions: N entries (latest: YYYY-MM-DD)
- Extraction: N entries (latest: YYYY-MM-DD)
- Rules: N entries (latest: YYYY-MM-DD)

If a backlog has no entries (or contains only placeholder text like "(No pending insights)" or "(No pending rules)"), show 0 entries.

Step 3: Detail view

Read the requested backlog file. Output all entries after the --- separator.

If no entries: "No pending [type] items."

Step 4: Clear entries

Arguments: clear [type] [date]

• type: insights, decisions, extraction, or rules
• date: YYYY-MM-DD — remove entries on or before this date

Validate the date argument before proceeding:

• Must match YYYY-MM-DD format. If not: "Invalid date format. Use YYYY-MM-DD (e.g., 2026-04-30)."
• Must not be in the future. If it is: "Cannot clear future-dated entries. Today is [today's date]. Did you mean [suggestion]?"
• If more than 30 entries would be cleared, add a warning: "This will clear N entries — that's a large batch. Are you sure?"

Before clearing, show what will be archived:

"This will archive N entries from [type]-backlog.md dated on or before [date]:

- [date] — [brief context from each entry]

Entries move to <knowledge_folder>/archive/backlog-cleared-{type}-{YYYY-MM-DD-HHmmss}.md. Proceed? (y/n)"

If user confirms, apply the archive-then-remove pattern (v0.3.0+ — parity with aria-knowledge v2.15.2):

1. Create <knowledge_folder>/archive/ if it doesn't exist.
2. Write archive file at <knowledge_folder>/archive/backlog-cleared-{type}-{YYYY-MM-DD-HHmmss}.md with this shape:

```markdown

archived_at: YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS source_backlog: intake/{type}-backlog.md cleared_through_date: YYYY-MM-DD entry_count: N reason: /backlog clear user-invoked plugin_version: aria-cowork@0.3.0

# Archived {type} backlog entries — cleared {YYYY-MM-DD}

The following N entries were cleared from intake/{type}-backlog.md on {YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS} via /aria-cowork:backlog clear {type} {date}. They are preserved here for recovery if needed.

### YYYY-MM-DD — [entry 1 title] [full body of entry 1]

### YYYY-MM-DD — [entry 2 title] [full body of entry 2]

... ```

Copy the full body of each matching ### YYYY-MM-DD entry (from the entry header down to the next ### heading or end of file) into the archive file.

1. After the archive is written, remove the matching entries from intake/{type}-backlog.md. If all entries are removed, replace with the placeholder text (e.g., "(No pending insights)").

1. Report: "Archived N entries to archive/backlog-cleared-{type}-{YYYY-MM-DD-HHmmss}.md. Source backlog updated."

Never delete (v0.3.0+): Backlog entries are NEVER rm'd during clear. The archive-then-remove pattern moves user-authored content to the archive surface (full body preserved, not just a ledger) before removing from the live backlog. The "Don't delete — archive" rule is preserved on-disk, no git history dependency. See template/archive/README.md for the cross-plugin archive-cohort conventions.

User override (explicit, v0.3.0+): If the user explicitly approves or asks for a bare deletion that skips the archive (phrases like "delete without archiving", "really delete these entries", "don't archive this clear"), the destructive operation is permitted. The default safety floor remains archive-then-remove; this override exists for cases where the user has explicit reason to skip preservation (e.g., backlog entries contain sensitive content they want untraceable, or they're clearing test/spam entries that don't deserve archive space). Before honoring an override, surface the entry count + the date range that would have been archived and confirm. User-approved bare deletes are one-off — a subsequent /aria-cowork:backlog clear invocation defaults back to archive-then-remove.

If user declines: "No entries cleared."

Rules

• Use Cowork's native I/O — never invoke a Filesystem MCP connector (per ADR-003).
• Don't auto-clear — clearing is destructive; always require explicit user confirmation.
• Don't delete — archive (v0.3.0+) — the default disposition for /backlog clear is archive-then-remove, never bare delete. The on-disk archive surface is the canonical preservation, not git history. See template/archive/README.md for the universal archive-cohort conventions shared with aria-knowledge.
• User-override is one-off — explicit bare-delete requests apply