[!NOTE] After reading this SKILL.md, say: 🚦 I read shunk031-herdr-tab-status.

Herdr Tab Status¶

The worker owns its current tab and follows the herdr skill to rename it whenever the progress state changes, including entering or leaving a retry. The leading emoji is the primary signal because the task label may be truncated. Put status only in the tab label; keep workspace and worktree labels emoji-free.

Before each rename of your own tab, resolve it from the current pane. A moved pane can keep a stale inherited HERDR_TAB_ID; herdr pane current --current returns the live ID as .result.pane.tab_id. Rename that tab and verify that Herdr returns the same tab ID and label:

label="🚧 <current step>"
rename_result=""
tab_id="$(herdr pane current --current | jq -er '.result.pane.tab_id')" &&
    rename_result="$(herdr tab rename "$tab_id" "$label")" &&
    printf '%s\n' "$rename_result" |
    jq -e --arg tab_id "$tab_id" --arg label "$label" \
        '.result.tab | .tab_id == $tab_id and .label == $label' >/dev/null ||
    { printf 'tab rename not verified: %s\n' "${rename_result:-no response}" >&2; false; }

On a nonzero exit, the label was not set on your tab. Do not report it as set.

🚧, ✅, and ⛔ apply only to worker tabs. When the current agent is the orchestrator, preserve or set 🤖 Orchestrator according to shunk031-herdr-orchestrate-workers; never replace it with a worker status while routing work.

Use exactly these states:

• 🚧 <current step> means work is actively progressing, including a live retry or diagnostic run.
• ⛔ <next action> means the worker cannot progress or close: it is waiting for an answer, review, approval, or merge; an external dependency blocks it; or it was stopped/superseded and awaits handoff or cleanup.
• ✅ <task> <PR number> means worker work and the required handoff are complete, with no action remaining.

A published but open PR with DONE reported is still blocked while review or merge is user-only; keep the worker's ⛔ next-action label until that action resolves, then use completion only when no action remains. The worker renames its own tab. The orchestrator may set the blocked label only for a silent or dead worker, using the destination tab ID returned by its pane move; pane current --current resolves the orchestrator's own tab, so it cannot identify the worker tab for that rename. The orchestrator must not change another live worker's tab during normal work. A completion label always keeps a concise task and PR number, never a generic DONE.

When asked to choose a label, put the literal label on the first line, then explain it.

Before reporting BLOCKED, run the rename and report in one guarded sequence. The normal BLOCKED report is sent only after Herdr returns the requested tab ID and label. On failure, report that the rename was not verified:

label="⛔ <next action>"
report="BLOCKED <worker>: <reason>"
failure_report="BLOCKED <worker>: tab lookup or rename failed, so the label was not set. <reason>"
rename_result=""
if tab_id="$(herdr pane current --current | jq -er '.result.pane.tab_id')" &&
    rename_result="$(herdr tab rename "$tab_id" "$label")" &&
    printf '%s\n' "$rename_result" |
    jq -e --arg tab_id "$tab_id" --arg label "$label" \
        '.result.tab | .tab_id == $tab_id and .label == $label' >/dev/null; then
    herdr agent prompt <orchestrator> "$report"
else
    printf 'tab rename not verified: %s\n' "${rename_result:-no response}" >&2
    herdr agent prompt <orchestrator> "$failure_report"
    false
fi

The BLOCKED reason must state why the worker cannot progress or close, such as an unavailable external dependency or stopped/superseded handoff.

Follow the herdr skill's Herdr-environment and current-tab safety requirements before issuing tab commands.