From 759c00556e0d6fa3f323fae21a141e2d9352af20 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: dave <futurechimp@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Fri, 3 Apr 2026 11:50:30 +0000
Subject: [PATCH] =?UTF-8?q?fix:=20timer=20supports=20backlog=20stories=20?=
 =?UTF-8?q?=E2=80=94=20moves=20to=20current=20before=20starting?=
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The timer tick loop now calls move_story_to_current() before
start_agent(), so stories scheduled from the backlog are moved into the
pipeline automatically when the timer fires. The timer bot command also
accepts backlog stories (previously required current).

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
---
 server/src/chat/timer.rs | 65 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-------
 1 file changed, 54 insertions(+), 11 deletions(-)

diff --git a/server/src/chat/timer.rs b/server/src/chat/timer.rs
index 87614662..a40ef1fd 100644
--- a/server/src/chat/timer.rs
+++ b/server/src/chat/timer.rs
@@ -151,9 +151,23 @@ pub fn spawn_timer_tick_loop(
             let due = store.take_due(now);
             for entry in due {
                 crate::slog!(
-                    "[timer] Timer fired for story {}; calling start_agent",
+                    "[timer] Timer fired for story {}",
                     entry.story_id
                 );
+
+                // Move from backlog to current if needed — the auto-assign
+                // watcher will then start an agent automatically.
+                if let Err(e) = crate::agents::lifecycle::move_story_to_current(
+                    &project_root,
+                    &entry.story_id,
+                ) {
+                    crate::slog!(
+                        "[timer] Failed to move story {} to current: {e}",
+                        entry.story_id
+                    );
+                    continue;
+                }
+
                 match agents
                     .start_agent(&project_root, &entry.story_id, None, None)
                     .await
@@ -167,7 +181,8 @@ pub fn spawn_timer_tick_loop(
                     }
                     Err(e) => {
                         crate::slog!(
-                            "[timer] Failed to start agent for story {}: {e}",
+                            "[timer] Failed to start agent for story {}: {e} \
+                             (auto-assign may pick it up)",
                             entry.story_id
                         );
                     }
@@ -325,13 +340,14 @@ pub async fn handle_timer_command(
                 }
             };
 
-            // The story must already be in 2_current/ — the timer does not move stories.
-            let current_dir = project_root.join(".storkit").join("work").join("2_current");
-            let story_file = current_dir.join(format!("{story_id}.md"));
-            if !story_file.exists() {
+            // The story must be in backlog or current.  When the timer fires,
+            // backlog stories are moved to current automatically.
+            let work_dir = project_root.join(".storkit").join("work");
+            let in_backlog = work_dir.join("1_backlog").join(format!("{story_id}.md")).exists();
+            let in_current = work_dir.join("2_current").join(format!("{story_id}.md")).exists();
+            if !in_backlog && !in_current {
                 return format!(
-                    "Story **{story_id}** is not in `work/2_current/`. \
-                     Move it to current before scheduling a timer."
+                    "Story **{story_id}** is not in backlog or current."
                 );
             }
 
@@ -802,9 +818,10 @@ mod tests {
     }
 
     #[tokio::test]
-    async fn handle_schedule_story_not_in_current() {
+    async fn handle_schedule_story_not_in_backlog_or_current() {
         let dir = TempDir::new().unwrap();
-        // Set up directory structure with no story in 2_current
+        // Set up directory structure with no story in backlog or current
+        std::fs::create_dir_all(dir.path().join(".storkit/work/1_backlog")).unwrap();
         std::fs::create_dir_all(dir.path().join(".storkit/work/2_current")).unwrap();
         let store = TimerStore::load(dir.path().join("timers.json"));
         let result = handle_timer_command(
@@ -817,11 +834,37 @@ mod tests {
         )
         .await;
         assert!(
-            result.contains("not in `work/2_current/`"),
+            result.contains("not in backlog or current"),
             "unexpected: {result}"
         );
     }
 
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn handle_schedule_accepts_backlog_story() {
+        let dir = TempDir::new().unwrap();
+        let backlog_dir = dir.path().join(".storkit/work/1_backlog");
+        std::fs::create_dir_all(&backlog_dir).unwrap();
+        std::fs::write(
+            backlog_dir.join("421_story_foo.md"),
+            "---\nname: Foo\n---\n",
+        )
+        .unwrap();
+        let store = TimerStore::load(dir.path().join("timers.json"));
+        let result = handle_timer_command(
+            TimerCommand::Schedule {
+                story_number_or_id: "421_story_foo".to_string(),
+                hhmm: "14:30".to_string(),
+            },
+            &store,
+            dir.path(),
+        )
+        .await;
+        assert!(
+            result.contains("Timer set"),
+            "backlog story should be accepted: {result}"
+        );
+    }
+
     #[tokio::test]
     async fn handle_schedule_success() {
         let dir = TempDir::new().unwrap();