🎫 Claims & Work Coordination
/development-tools/claims--work-coordination
The Claims system manages who is working on what — whether human or agent. It prevents conflicts, enables handoffs, and balances work across your team.
Why Use Claims?
| Problem | Solution |
|---|---|
| Two agents working on the same file | Claims prevent duplicate work |
| Agent stuck on a task | Mark as stealable, another agent takes over |
| Need to hand off work | Structured handoff with context |
| Unbalanced workload | Automatic rebalancing across agents |
How Claims Work
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ CLAIMS LIFECYCLE │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ ┌─────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌─────────────┐ │
│ │ UNCLAIMED│───▶│ CLAIMED │───▶│ STEALABLE│───▶│ HANDED OFF │ │
│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│ │ Open for│ │ Agent or │ │ Stuck or │ │ New owner │ │
│ │ claiming│ │ human │ │ abandoned│ │ continues │ │
│ └─────────┘ └──────────┘ └──────────┘ └─────────────┘ │
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ └──────────────┴────────────────┴───────────────┘ │
│ COMPLETED │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘Claims Commands
| Command | What It Does | Example |
|---|---|---|
issues list | See all issues and their status | npx ruflo@latest issues list |
issues claim | Claim an issue for yourself/agent | npx ruflo@latest issues claim #123 --as coder-1 |
issues release | Release your claim | npx ruflo@latest issues release #123 |
issues handoff | Hand off to another worker | npx ruflo@latest issues handoff #123 --to reviewer |
issues status | Update progress on claimed work | npx ruflo@latest issues status #123 --progress 75 |
issues stealable | List abandoned/stuck issues | npx ruflo@latest issues stealable |
issues steal | Take over stealable issue | npx ruflo@latest issues steal #123 |
issues load | View agent workloads | npx ruflo@latest issues load |
issues rebalance | Redistribute work evenly | npx ruflo@latest issues rebalance --dry-run |
issues board | Visual board view | npx ruflo@latest issues board |
Visual Board View
bash
npx ruflo@latest issues board┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ CLAIMS BOARD │
├───────────────┬───────────────┬───────────────┬─────────────────────┤
│ UNCLAIMED │ ACTIVE │ STEALABLE │ COMPLETED │
├───────────────┼───────────────┼───────────────┼─────────────────────┤
│ #127 Add auth │ #123 Fix bug │ #120 Refactor │ #119 Update docs │
│ #128 Tests │ (coder-1) │ (stale 2h) │ #118 Security fix │
│ │ #124 API work │ │ #117 Performance │
│ │ (reviewer) │ │ │
└───────────────┴───────────────┴───────────────┴─────────────────────┘Handoff Workflow
When you need to pass work to someone else:
bash
npx ruflo@latest issues handoff #123 \
--to security-architect \
--reason "Needs security review" \
--progress 80
npx ruflo@latest issues accept #123 --as security-architect
Load Balancing
bash
npx ruflo@latest issues load
npx ruflo@latest issues rebalanceMCP Tools
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
claims_claim | Claim an issue |
claims_release | Release a claim |
claims_handoff | Request handoff |
claims_accept-handoff | Accept handoff |
claims_status | Update status |
claims_list | List claims |
claims_stealable | List stealable |
claims_steal | Steal issue |
claims_load | Get load info |
claims_board | Visual board |
claims_rebalance | Rebalance work |