---
title: Status Directory
type: process
date: 2025-09-22
tags: [status, automation]
links: []
---

# Status Directory

This directory contains **generated status files** and **daily status tracking** for a handbook instance.

## Directory Structure

```
ph/status/
├── current.json          # Auto-generated project status rollup
├── validation.json       # Validation results from checks
├── daily/                # Daily status files (organized by date)
│   └── YYYY/MM/DD.md    # Individual daily status files
└── README.md            # This file
```

## Generated Files

### **current.json**
**Generated by**: `ph status`

**Contains**:
- Project-wide status rollup
- Sprint task aggregation
- Feature progress summaries
- Dependency-aware feature ordering
- Release and roadmap integration

**Auto-updated when**:
- Running `ph status`
- Feature status files are updated
- Sprint tasks change status

### **validation.json**
**Generated by**: `ph validate`

**Contains**:
- Validation errors and warnings
- File paths and issue descriptions
- Severity levels (error/warning)
- Configuration compliance results

**Updated when**:
- Running validation checks
- Task directories are created/modified
- Front matter is added/changed

## Daily Status Files

### **Location Pattern**
```
daily/
├── 2025/
│   ├── 09/
│   │   ├── 22.md        # September 22, 2025
│   │   ├── 23.md        # September 23, 2025
│   │   └── ...
│   ├── 10/
│   │   └── ...
│   └── ...
└── 2026/
    └── ...
```

### **File Structure**
Each daily status file includes:
- **Sprint context**: Current sprint ID and timeline position
- **Task progress**: Updates on active sprint tasks
- **Blockers**: Issues encountered and help needed
- **Decisions**: Technical decisions made
- **Next day focus**: Priorities for tomorrow

### **Automation**
- **Weekend-aware**: Automatically skips Saturday/Sunday
- **Sprint integration**: Shows sprint progress and health
- **Template generation**: Auto-generates with current context
- **Overdue alerts**: Warns if >24 hours since last update

## Usage

### **Generate Status**
```bash
ph status               # Generate ph/status/current.json
ph validate             # Generate ph/status/validation.json
ph daily generate       # Generate daily status (weekend-aware)
```

### **View Status**
```bash
ph dashboard            # Complete project overview using status files
ph sprint status        # Current sprint health from status data
ph feature summary      # Feature progress from status aggregation
```

### **Historical Access**
```bash
# View recent daily status
ls ph/status/daily/2025/09/
cat ph/status/daily/2025/09/22.md

# View validation results
cat ph/status/validation.json

# View current project status
cat ph/status/current.json
```

## Integration with Project System

### **Sprint Integration**
- Daily status files reference current sprint
- Sprint progress tracked through daily updates
- Sprint health calculated from daily status patterns

### **Feature Integration**
- Feature status files auto-updated from sprint task data
- Feature progress visible in current.json
- Feature completion tracked across multiple sprints

### **Release Integration**
- Release progress calculated from feature completion
- Release health derived from sprint and feature status
- Release timeline tracking through status history

### **Validation Integration**
- Validation results stored in validation.json
- Configuration compliance tracked
- Issues and warnings categorized by severity

## File Lifecycle

### **Daily Status Files**
- **Created**: Automatically via `ph daily generate` (weekdays only)
- **Modified**: Manually edited to add progress details
- **Archived**: Permanently stored in year/month structure
- **Accessed**: For historical reference and trend analysis

### **Generated Status Files**
- **current.json**: Regenerated on every `ph status`
- **validation.json**: Regenerated on every `ph validate`
- **Overwritten**: Previous versions not preserved (use git for history)

## Configuration

Status/validation behavior is controlled by `process/checks/validation_rules.json`:

```json
"daily_status": {
  "skip_weekends": true,           # Automatic weekend skipping
  "max_hours_without_update": 24  # Alert threshold
},
"features": {
  "auto_update_feature_status": true  # Auto-update feature files
}
```

The status directory provides **comprehensive project visibility** through **automated generation** and **organized historical tracking**.
