Team Coordination Skill

Load with: base.md

Purpose: Enable multiple Claude Code sessions across a team to coordinate and work together without conflicts. Manages shared state, todo claiming, decision syncing, and session awareness.

Core Philosophy

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  TEAM CLAUDE CODE                                               │
│  ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────  │
│  Multiple devs, multiple Claude sessions, one codebase.         │
│  Coordination > Speed. Communication > Assumptions.             │
│                                                                 │
│  Before you start: Check who's working on what.                 │
│  Before you claim: Make sure nobody else has it.                │
│  Before you decide: Check if it's already decided.              │
│  Before you push: Pull and sync state.                          │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Team State Structure

When a project becomes multi-person, create this structure:

_project_specs/
├── team/
│   ├── state.md              # Who's working on what right now
│   ├── contributors.md       # Team members and their focus areas
│   └── handoffs/             # Notes when passing work to others
│       └── [feature]-handoff.md
├── session/
│   ├── current-state.md      # YOUR session state (personal)
│   ├── decisions.md          # SHARED - architectural decisions
│   └── code-landmarks.md     # SHARED - important code locations
└── todos/
    ├── active.md             # SHARED - with claim annotations
    ├── backlog.md            # SHARED
    └── completed.md          # SHARED

Team State File

_project_specs/team/state.md
:

markdown

# Team State

*Last synced: [timestamp]*

## Active Sessions

| Contributor | Working On | Started | Files Touched | Status |
|-------------|------------|---------|---------------|--------|
| @alice | TODO-042: Add auth | 2024-01-15 10:30 | src/auth/* | 🟢 Active |
| @bob | TODO-038: Fix checkout | 2024-01-15 09:00 | src/cart/* | 🟡 Paused |
| - | - | - | - | - |

## Claimed Todos

| Todo | Claimed By | Since | ETA |
|------|------------|-------|-----|
| TODO-042 | @alice | 2024-01-15 | Today |
| TODO-038 | @bob | 2024-01-14 | Tomorrow |

## Recently Completed (Last 48h)

| Todo | Completed By | When | PR |
|------|--------------|------|-----|
| TODO-037 | @alice | 2024-01-14 | #123 |

## Conflicts to Watch

| Area | Contributors | Notes |
|------|--------------|-------|
| src/auth/* | @alice, @carol | Carol needs auth for TODO-045, coordinate |

## Announcements

- [2024-01-15] @alice: Refactoring auth module, avoid touching until EOD
- [2024-01-14] @bob: New env var required: STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET

Contributors File

_project_specs/team/contributors.md
:

markdown

# Contributors

## Team Members

| Handle | Name | Focus Areas | Timezone | Status |
|--------|------|-------------|----------|--------|
| @alice | Alice Smith | Backend, Auth | EST | Active |
| @bob | Bob Jones | Frontend, Payments | PST | Active |
| @carol | Carol White | DevOps, Infra | GMT | Part-time |

## Ownership

| Area | Primary | Backup | Notes |
|------|---------|--------|-------|
| Authentication | @alice | @bob | All auth changes need @alice review |
| Payments | @bob | @alice | Stripe integration |
| Infrastructure | @carol | @alice | Deploy scripts, CI/CD |
| Database | @alice | @carol | Migrations need sign-off |

## Communication

- Slack: #project-name
- PRs: Always tag area owner for review
- Urgent: DM on Slack

## Working Hours Overlap

EST: |████████████████████| PST: | ████████████████████| GMT: |████████████| 6am 12pm 6pm 12am EST

Best overlap: 9am-12pm EST (all three)

undefined

Workflow

Starting a Session

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  START SESSION CHECKLIST                                        │
│  ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────  │
│  1. git pull origin main                                        │
│  2. Read _project_specs/team/state.md                           │
│  3. Check claimed todos - don't take what's claimed             │
│  4. Claim your todo in active.md                                │
│  5. Update state.md with your session                           │
│  6. Push state changes before starting work                     │
│  7. Start working                                               │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Claiming a Todo

active.md

, add claim annotation:

markdown

## [TODO-042] Add email validation

**Status:** in-progress
**Claimed:** @alice (2024-01-15 10:30 EST)
**ETA:** Today

...

During Work

Update
```
state.md
```
if you touch new files
Check
```
decisions.md
```
before making architectural choices
If you make a decision, add it to
```
decisions.md
```
immediately
Push state updates every 1-2 hours (keeps team in sync)

Ending a Session

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  END SESSION CHECKLIST                                          │
│  ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────  │
│  1. Commit your work (even if WIP)                              │
│  2. Update your current-state.md                                │
│  3. Update team state.md (status → Paused or Done)              │
│  4. If passing to someone: create handoff note                  │
│  5. Unclaim todo if abandoning                                  │
│  6. Push everything                                             │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Creating a Handoff

When passing work to another team member, create:

_project_specs/team/handoffs/auth-feature-handoff.md
:

markdown

# Handoff: Auth Feature (TODO-042)

**From:** @alice
**To:** @bob
**Date:** 2024-01-15

## Status

70% complete. Core auth flow works, need to add:
- [ ] Password reset flow
- [ ] Email verification

## What's Done

- Login/logout working
- JWT tokens implemented
- Session management done

## What's Left

1. Password reset - see src/auth/reset.ts (skeleton exists)
2. Email verification - need to integrate SendGrid

## Key Decisions Made

- Using JWT not sessions (see decisions.md)
- Tokens expire in 7 days
- Refresh tokens stored in httpOnly cookies

## Watch Out For

- The `validateToken` function has a weird edge case with expired tokens
- Don't touch `authMiddleware.ts` - it's fragile rn

## Files to Start With

1. src/auth/reset.ts - password reset
2. src/email/verification.ts - email flow
3. tests/auth.test.ts - add tests here

## Questions?

Slack me @alice if stuck

Conflict Prevention

File-Level Awareness

Before modifying a file, check state.md for who's touching what:

markdown

## Active Sessions

| Contributor | Working On | Started | Files Touched | Status |
|-------------|------------|---------|---------------|--------|
| @alice | TODO-042 | ... | src/auth/*, src/middleware/* | 🟢 Active |

If you need to touch

src/auth/*

and Alice is working there:

Check if it's truly conflicting (same file? same functions?)
Coordinate via Slack before proceeding
Add a note to "Conflicts to Watch" section

Pre-Push Check

Before pushing, always:

bash

git pull origin main
# Resolve any conflicts
git push

PR Tagging

Always tag area owners in PRs:

markdown

## PR: Add password reset flow

Implements TODO-042

cc: @alice (auth owner), @bob (reviewer)

### Changes
- Added password reset endpoint
- Added email templates

### Testing
- [ ] Unit tests pass
- [ ] Manual testing done

Decision Syncing

Before Making a Decision

Pull latest
```
decisions.md
```
Check if decision already exists
If similar decision exists, follow it (consistency > preference)
If new decision needed, add it and push immediately

Decision Format

markdown

## [2024-01-15] JWT vs Sessions for Auth (@alice)

**Decision:** Use JWT tokens
**Context:** Need auth for API and mobile app
**Options:**
1. Sessions - simpler, server-side state
2. JWT - stateless, works for mobile
**Choice:** JWT
**Reasoning:** Mobile app needs stateless auth, JWT works across platforms
**Trade-offs:** Token revocation is harder, need refresh token strategy
**Approved by:** @bob, @carol

Commands

Check Team State

bash

# See who's working on what
cat _project_specs/team/state.md

# Quick active sessions check
grep "🟢 Active" _project_specs/team/state.md

Claim a Todo

Edit
```
_project_specs/todos/active.md
```
Add claim annotation to todo
Update
```
_project_specs/team/state.md
```
Commit and push

Release a Claim

Remove claim annotation from todo
Update state.md (remove from Claimed Todos)
Commit and push

Git Hooks for Teams

Pre-Push Hook Addition

Add team state sync check to pre-push:

bash

# In .git/hooks/pre-push (add to existing)

# Check if team state is current
echo "🔄 Checking team state..."
git fetch origin main --quiet

LOCAL_STATE=$(git show HEAD:_project_specs/team/state.md 2>/dev/null | md5)
REMOTE_STATE=$(git show origin/main:_project_specs/team/state.md 2>/dev/null | md5)

if [ "$LOCAL_STATE" != "$REMOTE_STATE" ]; then
    echo "⚠️  Team state has changed on remote!"
    echo "   Run: git pull origin main"
    echo "   Then check _project_specs/team/state.md for updates"
    # Warning only, don't block
fi

Claude Instructions

At Session Start

When user starts a session in a team project:

Check for
```
_project_specs/team/state.md
```
If exists, read it and report:
- Who's currently active
- What todos are claimed
- Any conflicts to watch
- Recent announcements
Ask what they want to work on
Check if it's already claimed
Help them claim and update state

During Session

Before touching files, check if someone else is working there
Before making decisions, check decisions.md
Remind user to update state periodically

At Session End

Prompt user to update state.md
Ask if they need to create a handoff
Remind them to push state changes

Single → Multi-Person Conversion

When a project needs team coordination:

Run
```
/check-contributors
```
Create
```
_project_specs/team/
```
structure
Initialize
```
state.md
```
and
```
contributors.md
```
Add claim annotations to active todos
Update CLAUDE.md to reference team-coordination.md skill

Quick Reference

Status Icons

🟢 Active - Currently working
🟡 Paused - Stepped away, will return
🔴 Blocked - Needs help/waiting on something
⚪ Offline - Not working today

Claim Format

markdown

**Claimed:** @handle (YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM TZ)

Daily Standup Template

markdown

## Standup [DATE]

### @alice
- Yesterday: Finished TODO-042 auth flow
- Today: Starting TODO-045 password reset
- Blockers: None

### @bob
- Yesterday: Fixed checkout bug
- Today: Payment webhook integration
- Blockers: Need STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET from @carol

Checklist

Starting Work

```
git pull origin main
```
Read
```
team/state.md
```
Check todo not claimed
Claim todo in
```
active.md
```
Update
```
state.md
```
Push state changes

Ending Work

Commit all changes
Update
```
current-state.md
```
Update
```
team/state.md
```
Create handoff if needed
Push everything

team-coordination

NPX Install

Tags

SKILL.md Content

Team Coordination Skill

Core Philosophy

Team State Structure

Team State File

Contributors File

Workflow

Starting a Session

Claiming a Todo

During Work

Ending a Session

Creating a Handoff

Conflict Prevention

File-Level Awareness

Pre-Push Check

PR Tagging

Decision Syncing

Before Making a Decision

Decision Format

Commands

Check Team State

Claim a Todo

Release a Claim

Git Hooks for Teams

Pre-Push Hook Addition

Claude Instructions

At Session Start

During Session

At Session End

Single → Multi-Person Conversion

Quick Reference

Status Icons

Claim Format

Daily Standup Template

Checklist

Starting Work

Ending Work