---
title: "/tc — Slash Command for AI Coding Agents"
description: "Track technical changes with structured records, a state machine, and session handoff. Usage: /tc. Slash command for Claude Code, Codex CLI, Gemini CLI."
---
# /tc
:material-console: Slash Command
:material-github: Source
Dispatch a TC (Technical Change) command. Arguments: `$ARGUMENTS`.
If `$ARGUMENTS` is empty, print this menu and stop:
```
/tc init Initialize TC tracking in this project
/tc create Create a new TC record
/tc update [...] Update fields, status, files, handoff
/tc status [tc-id] Show one TC or the registry summary
/tc resume Resume a TC from a previous session
/tc close Transition a TC to deployed
/tc export Re-render derived artifacts
/tc dashboard Re-render the registry summary
```
Otherwise, parse `$ARGUMENTS` as ` ` and dispatch to the matching protocol below. All scripts live at `engineering/tc-tracker/scripts/`.
## Subcommands
### `init`
1. Run:
```bash
python3 engineering/skills/tc-tracker/scripts/tc_init.py --root . --json
```
2. If status is `already_initialized`, report current statistics and stop.
3. Otherwise report what was created and suggest `/tc create ` as the next step.
### `create `
1. Parse `` as a kebab-case slug. If missing, ask the user for one.
2. Prompt the user (one question at a time) for:
- Title (5-120 chars)
- Scope: `feature | bugfix | refactor | infrastructure | documentation | hotfix | enhancement`
- Priority: `critical | high | medium | low` (default `medium`)
- Summary (10+ chars)
- Motivation
3. Run:
```bash
python3 engineering/skills/tc-tracker/scripts/tc_create.py --root . \
--name "" --title "" --scope --priority \
--summary "" --motivation "" --json
```
4. Report the new TC ID and the path to the record.
### `update [intent]`
1. If `` is missing, list active TCs (status `in_progress` or `blocked`) from `tc_status.py --all` and ask which one.
2. Determine the user's intent from natural language:
- **Status change** → `--set-status ` with `--reason ""`
- **Add files** → one or more `--add-file path[:action]`
- **Add a test** → `--add-test "" --test-procedure "" --test-expected ""`
- **Update handoff** → any combination of `--handoff-progress`, `--handoff-next`, `--handoff-blocker`, `--handoff-context`
- **Add a note** → `--note ""`
- **Add a tag** → `--tag `
3. Run:
```bash
python3 engineering/skills/tc-tracker/scripts/tc_update.py --root . --tc-id [flags] --json
```
4. If exit code is non-zero, surface the error verbatim. The state machine and validator will reject invalid moves — do not retry blindly.
### `status [tc-id]`
- If `` is provided:
```bash
python3 engineering/skills/tc-tracker/scripts/tc_status.py --root . --tc-id
```
- Otherwise:
```bash
python3 engineering/skills/tc-tracker/scripts/tc_status.py --root . --all
```
### `resume `
1. Run:
```bash
python3 engineering/skills/tc-tracker/scripts/tc_status.py --root . --tc-id --json
```
2. Display the handoff block prominently: `progress_summary`, `next_steps` (numbered), `blockers`, `key_context`.
3. Ask: "Resume and pick up at next step 1? (y/n)"
4. If yes, run an update to record the resumption:
```bash
python3 engineering/skills/tc-tracker/scripts/tc_update.py --root . --tc-id \
--note "Session resumed" --reason "session handoff"
```
5. Begin executing the first item in `next_steps`. Do NOT re-derive context — trust the handoff.
### `close `
1. Read the record via `tc_status.py --tc-id --json`.
2. Verify the current status is `tested`. If not, refuse and tell the user which transitions are still required.
3. Check `test_cases`: warn if any are `pending`, `fail`, or `blocked`.
4. Ask the user:
- "Who is approving? (your name, or 'self')"
- "Approval notes (optional):"
- "Test coverage status: none / partial / full"
5. Run:
```bash
python3 engineering/skills/tc-tracker/scripts/tc_update.py --root . --tc-id \
--set-status deployed --reason "Approved by " --note "Approval: — "
```
Then directly edit the `approval` block via a follow-up update if your script version supports it; otherwise instruct the user to record approval in `notes`.
6. Report: "TC-NNN closed and deployed."
### `export`
There is no automatic HTML export in this skill. Re-validate everything instead:
1. Read the registry.
2. For each record, run:
```bash
python3 engineering/skills/tc-tracker/scripts/tc_validator.py --record --json
```
3. Run:
```bash
python3 engineering/skills/tc-tracker/scripts/tc_validator.py --registry docs/TC/tc_registry.json --json
```
4. Report: total records validated, any errors, paths to anything invalid.
### `dashboard`
Run the all-records summary:
```bash
python3 engineering/skills/tc-tracker/scripts/tc_status.py --root . --all
```
## Iron Rules
1. **Never edit `tc_record.json` by hand.** Always use `tc_update.py` so revision history is appended and validation runs.
2. **Never skip the state machine.** Walk forward through states even if it feels redundant.
3. **Never delete a TC.** History is append-only — add a final revision and tag it `[CANCELLED]`.
4. **Background bookkeeping.** When mid-task, spawn a background subagent to update the TC. Do not pause coding to do paperwork.
5. **Validate before reporting success.** If a script exits non-zero, surface the error and stop.
## Related Skills
- `engineering/tc-tracker` — Full SKILL.md with schema reference, lifecycle diagrams, and the handoff format.
- `engineering/changelog-generator` — Pair with TC tracker: TCs for the per-change audit trail, changelog for user-facing release notes.
- `engineering/tech-debt-tracker` — For tracking long-lived debt rather than discrete code changes.