Operational Protocol: Colony Progress Tracker
Applies when your spawn message has db_path: and colony_id: fields. The DB is your durable working memory — tells you what's done, what to skip, which SOP gates you owe.
Access via terminal_exec running sqlite3 "<db_path>" "...". Tables: tasks (queue), steps (per-task decomposition), sop_checklist (hard gates).
Claim: assigned task (check this FIRST)
If your spawn message includes a task_id: field, the queen pre-assigned a specific row to you. Claim that row by id — do not use the generic next-pending pattern below:
sqlite3 "<db_path>" <<'SQL'
UPDATE tasks SET status='claimed', worker_id='<worker-id>',
claim_token=lower(hex(randomblob(8))),
claimed_at=datetime('now'), updated_at=datetime('now')
WHERE id='<task_id>' AND status='pending'
RETURNING id, goal, payload;
SQL
Empty output → another worker raced you or the row is already done. Stop and report. Non-empty → that row is yours, proceed to "Load the plan".
Claim: next pending (fallback when no task_id is assigned)
If your spawn message did NOT include task_id: — you are a generic fan-out worker racing on a shared queue. Use the generic next-pending claim:
sqlite3 "<db_path>" <<'SQL'
UPDATE tasks SET status='claimed', worker_id='<worker-id>',
claim_token=lower(hex(randomblob(8))),
claimed_at=datetime('now'), updated_at=datetime('now')
WHERE id=(SELECT id FROM tasks WHERE status='pending'
ORDER BY priority DESC, seq, created_at LIMIT 1)
RETURNING id, goal, payload;
SQL
Empty output → queue drained, exit. Otherwise the returned id is yours. Never SELECT-then-UPDATE — races.
Load the plan
sqlite3 "<db_path>" "SELECT seq, id, title, status FROM steps WHERE task_id='<task-id>' ORDER BY seq;"
sqlite3 "<db_path>" "SELECT key, description, required, done_at FROM sop_checklist WHERE task_id='<task-id>';"
Skip any step where status='done'. That's the point — don't redo completed work.
Execute a step
Before tool calls:
sqlite3 "<db_path>" "UPDATE steps SET status='in_progress', worker_id='<worker-id>', started_at=datetime('now') WHERE id='<step-id>';"
After success (one-line evidence: path, URL, key result):
sqlite3 "<db_path>" "UPDATE steps SET status='done', evidence='<what you did>', completed_at=datetime('now') WHERE id='<step-id>';"
MANDATORY: SOP gate check before marking task done
sqlite3 "<db_path>" "SELECT key, description FROM sop_checklist WHERE task_id='<task-id>' AND required=1 AND done_at IS NULL;"
- Empty → proceed to "Mark task done".
- Non-empty → each row is work you still owe. Do it, then check it off:
sqlite3 "<db_path>" "UPDATE sop_checklist SET done_at=datetime('now'), done_by='<worker-id>', note='<why>' WHERE task_id='<task-id>' AND key='<key>';"
Never mark a task done while this SELECT returns rows. This gate exists specifically to stop you from declaring success while skipping required steps.
Mark task done / failed
# Success:
sqlite3 "<db_path>" "UPDATE tasks SET status='done', completed_at=datetime('now'), updated_at=datetime('now') WHERE id='<task-id>' AND worker_id='<worker-id>';"
# Unrecoverable failure:
sqlite3 "<db_path>" "UPDATE tasks SET status='failed', last_error='<one sentence>', completed_at=datetime('now'), updated_at=datetime('now') WHERE id='<task-id>' AND worker_id='<worker-id>';"
The AND worker_id=? guard means a reclaimed row won't accept your write — treat zero rows affected as "your claim was revoked, stop."
Loop
After done/failed → claim the next task. Exit only when claim returns empty.
Errors + debug
- "database is locked": retry with 100ms → 1s backoff, max 5 attempts.
busy_timeout=5000 handles most contention silently.
- Queue health:
SELECT status, count(*) FROM tasks GROUP BY status;
- Your in-flight work:
SELECT id, goal, status FROM tasks WHERE worker_id='<worker-id>';
Anti-patterns (will break the queue)
- Don't DDL (CREATE/ALTER/DROP).
- Don't DELETE — failed tasks stay as
failed for audit.
- Don't skip Protocol 4 (SOP gate) before marking done.
- Don't hold a task >15min without updates — the stale-claim reclaimer revokes your claim.
- Don't invent task IDs. Workers update existing rows; only the queen enqueues new ones.
anthropics/skills180k
