State

Manage workflow states (the columns on a board) for a Plane project.

Arguments

Format: <action> <project> [args...]

• action: list | create | update | delete
• project: project name or identifier
• For create/update: --name, --group <backlog|unstarted|started|completed|cancelled>, --color #hex, --sequence <int>, --default

Parse from "$ARGUMENTS".

Process

1. Bootstrap connector — consult connector-bootstrap. Probe for the Plane resource tools project, state and workitem.
2. Resolve project → project_id.
3. Route:
   • list → state(action=list, project_id) (follow next_cursor). Render grouped by group, sorted by sequence. Mark the default state. Plane keeps its own triage state per project; it is not listed and cannot be created, and Triage is a reserved name.
   • create → require --name and --group. Color defaults from a stable palette per group. Call state(action=create, project_id, name, color, group, sequence?, default?) (color is required, a hex code).
   • update → resolve state by name → state(action=update, state_id, project_id, name?, color?, group?, sequence?, default?). Renaming a state does NOT migrate items — they keep the same state_id.
   • delete → confirm. Block deletion if any items currently sit in this state (workitem(action=count, project_id, pql='state = "<state uuid>"') → total_count) — instruct the user to migrate them first via /bulk-update --state <new>. Then state(action=delete, state_id, project_id).
4. Confirm — re-list states after mutation.

State group semantics

Plane groups are fixed: backlog, unstarted, started, completed, cancelled. Velocity counts only items moved into a completed group state during the cycle. Reports separate cancelled from completed. Don't put "Done" in the started group — it breaks burndown.

Recommended state set (Scrum)

Group	States
backlog	Backlog
unstarted	Ready, To Do
started	In Progress, In Review
completed	Done
cancelled	Cancelled, Won't Fix

See labels-states-properties skill for variant sets (Kanban, support, research).

Examples

/state list "TaskFlow"
/state create "TaskFlow" --name "In Review" --group started --color #f59e0b
/state update "TaskFlow" "In Review" --sequence 35
/state delete "TaskFlow" "Old Column"