execute

Execute the active plan by creating an isolated worktree and tracking todos. Supports both simple and phased plans.

Usage

/para:execute                    # Auto-detect plan; prompts for phase if phased
/para:execute --phase=N          # Execute specific phase
/para:execute --no-worktree      # Skip worktree creation; fall back to git checkout -b

What It Does

1. Read the active plan from context/context.md
2. Detect simple vs phased plan (presence of phased_execution in JSON)
3. For phased plans, determine which phase to execute (prompt if not specified; verify previous phases are completed)
4. Fetch latest and create an isolated git worktree: git fetch origin main && git worktree add .para-worktrees/{task-name} -b para/{task-name} origin/main (or para/{task-name}-phase-N)
5. Extract checkbox items (- [ ] ...) from the plan's Implementation Steps section as todos. The checkbox text becomes both the todo item and the eventual commit message.
6. Update context/context.md with the todo list and worktree path (this file lives in the main working tree)
7. Make an empty initial commit in the worktree (see "context/context.md lives in main tree" design note below the Commit-Per-Todo Rule section): git -C .para-worktrees/{task-name} commit --allow-empty -m "chore: Initialize execution context for {task-name}"

--no-worktree Escape Hatch

When --no-worktree is specified, fall back to the legacy branch-based behavior: git checkout -b para/{task-name}. This still creates a branch — it just switches your current working directory to that branch instead of creating a separate worktree directory. There is no isolation: your main working tree moves to the new branch. Use this only for single-developer workflows where you don't need to keep the main working tree on its current branch.

Prerequisites

• context/context.md must exist with an active plan
• If no active plan, error: "No active plan found. Run /para:plan first."
• If dirty git state, warn user and offer to continue or stash first
• Check .gitignore for .para-worktrees/ entry; if missing, warn and suggest running /para:init
• If target worktree directory already exists, ask: continue in it, remove and recreate, or cancel
• If target branch already exists but no worktree, use git worktree add .para-worktrees/{task-name} para/{task-name} (without -b)