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Bug Report: RW Housekeeping Step Not Working

Type: Bug Report (BR)
Submitted: 2026-01-17
Submitted By: User
Priority: HIGH
Severity: MEDIUM
Status: FIXED
GitHub Issue: [TBD]
Version: v0.9.1.8+8

Summary​

The final housekeeping step (Step 13/17) of the Release Workflow (RW) is not working correctly. The TODO list still shows all rw-step-* todos as completed instead of being cleared/removed from the IDE todo list.

Description​

Problem Statement​

Issue: Housekeeping Step Doesn't Clear TODO List

After completing RW, Step 13 (Housekeeping) should clear all rw-step-* todos from the IDE todo list. However, the todos remain visible in the list, still showing as "12 of 12 complete" instead of being removed.

Expected Behavior:

  • Step 13 (Housekeeping) should clear/remove all rw-step-* todos from the IDE todo list
  • After RW completes, the IDE todo list should be clean with no rw-step-* todos remaining
  • The workflow should end with a clean state, ready for the next workflow

Observed Behavior:

  • Step 13 executes but doesn't actually clear the todos
  • All rw-step-* todos remain in the IDE todo list
  • Todos are marked as completed but not removed
  • The list still shows "12 of 12 complete" after RW finishes

Affected Component​

Primary Component: Release Workflow (RW) Step 13: Housekeeping Affected Areas:

  • packages/frameworks/workflow mgt/KB/Documentation/Developer_Docs/vwmp/release-workflow-agent-execution.md (Step 17: Housekeeping)
  • .cursorrules (Step 13: Housekeeping reference)
  • Agent execution of RW Step 13

Reproduction Steps​

  1. Run the Release Workflow (RW) for any version
  2. Complete all 12 steps (Steps 1-12)
  3. Observe Step 13 (Housekeeping) execution
  4. Check the IDE todo list after RW completes
  5. Observe that all rw-step-* todos are still present (marked as completed but not removed)

Impact​

  • IDE Clutter: TODO list accumulates rw-step-* todos from multiple RW runs
  • Reduced Visibility: Important todos may be hidden among completed RW todos
  • Workflow Incomplete: RW doesn't fully clean up after itself
  • User Confusion: Users expect a clean state after workflow completion

Root Cause Analysis​

Likely Cause: The current implementation in Step 13 marks todos as completed but doesn't actually remove them from the IDE todo list. The todo_write tool with merge: true and status: 'completed' updates the status but doesn't delete the todos.

Documentation Reference: From release-workflow-agent-execution.md Step 17:

# Clear all RW todos
todo_write(
    merge=True,
    todos=[
        {'id': 'rw-step-1', 'status': 'completed'},
        {'id': 'rw-step-2', 'status': 'completed'},
        # ... all RW steps
    ]
)

This pattern marks todos as completed but doesn't remove them.

Proposed Solution​

Solution Implemented:

  • Approach: Mark all rw-step-* todos as cancelled instead of completed
  • Rationale: todo_write tool doesn't support deletion. cancelled status hides todos from active list
  • Implementation: todo_write(merge=True, todos=[{'id': 'rw-step-*', 'status': 'cancelled'}, ...])
  • Limitation: Todos are marked as cancelled, not deleted. If Cursor adds deletion support, this can be updated.

Implementation Notes:

  • ✅ Works with Cursor's todo_write tool
  • ✅ Handles cases where todos don't exist (idempotent)
  • ✅ Does not affect other todos in the list (only rw-step-*)
  • ⚠️ Tool Limitation: todo_write doesn't support deletion, so cancelled status is used as workaround

Acceptance Criteria​

  • Step 13 (Housekeeping) successfully marks all rw-step-* todos as cancelled (hides them from active list) - ✅ FIXED (E6:S01:T35)
  • After RW completes, rw-step-* todos are marked as cancelled (hidden from active view) - ✅ FIXED (E6:S01:T35)
  • The IDE todo list is clean and ready for the next workflow - ✅ FIXED (E6:S01:T35)
  • Other todos (non-RW) are not affected by the cleanup - ✅ FIXED (E6:S01:T35)
  • The solution is idempotent (safe to run multiple times) - ✅ FIXED (E6:S01:T35)

Dependencies​

Related Work:

  • RW Step 13: Housekeeping implementation
  • Cursor todo_write tool capabilities
  • Workflow cleanup patterns

Assigned To​

Story: Story 1: BR Repo (PERPETUAL)
Task: Task 35 (E6:S01:T35)

References​

  • RW Documentation: packages/frameworks/workflow mgt/KB/Documentation/Developer_Docs/vwmp/release-workflow-agent-execution.md (Step 17: Housekeeping)
  • Cursor Rules: .cursorrules (Step 13: Housekeeping reference)

Version History​

  • v0.6.1.35+0 (2026-01-17): Bug report created
  • v0.6.1.35+1 (2026-01-17): Fixed - Updated RW Step 13 to mark todos as cancelled instead of completed. Implementation complete (E6:S01:T35).

This Bug Report is part of the Kanban Framework. See packages/frameworks/kanban/ for complete framework documentation.