start_context
Initialize a work context for a coding task to track objectives, coordinate file locks, and log session history, preventing conflicts between agents.
Instructions
MANDATORY STEP 3: Start a new work context before beginning any coding task.
CRITICAL: You MUST call this tool AFTER create_project() and register_agent(). This establishes your current objective and enables:
Context tracking for the current task
File locking coordination
Session logging and history
Conflict prevention with other agents
This tool provides flexible project lookup. You can specify any combination of identifiers, and it will resolve to the matching project.
Priority: project_id > workspace_path > project_name
WHEN TO USE:
At the beginning of every coding session or task
When switching to a new objective or feature
When the user's request changes significantly
After completing one task and starting another
When you need to establish clear boundaries for your current work
WORKFLOW:
create_project() - Create project (if new)
register_agent() - Register yourself
start_context() - Start work context (THIS STEP)
lock_files() - Lock files you plan to modify (recommended)
Begin coding
PRIORITY LEVELS:
"critical": Production outage, security vulnerability, critical bug fix
"high": Important features, significant refactoring, blocking issues
"medium": Standard development work (default)
"low": Documentation, minor optimizations, nice-to-have features
Input Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| task_id | No | Task ID to link this context to (optional) - If provided, task will be auto-started | |
| agent_id | Yes | Your agent_id from register_agent() (required) | |
| priority | No | Priority level - "critical", "high", "medium", or "low" (default: "medium") | medium |
| objective | No | Clear, concise statement of what you're working on (required) - e.g., "Implement user authentication", "Fix API pagination bug" | |
| project_id | No | Project ID from create_project() (optional if project_name or workspace_path provided) | |
| current_file | No | File you're starting with (optional) - e.g., "src/auth/login.ts" | |
| project_name | No | Project name to look up (alternative to project_id) | |
| workspace_path | No | Workspace directory path (alternative to project_id) | |
| task_description | No | Detailed description of the work (optional) - Include specific requirements, acceptance criteria |