# Work

## Introduction

Work is where your agents keep track of what they are doing, so the next
session picks up where the last one stopped. It lives on the same
[MCP server](/docs/mcp) as your pools, so it carries over between Claude,
Cursor, Codex and your teammates without anything to install or sync.

A **project** holds three things:

- **Issues.** Units of work with ids like `API-12`, a type, a priority and
  dependencies. An issue that something open still blocks is not ready, so
  agents only pick up work they can actually do. See [Issues](/docs/work/issues).
- **Memories.** Short, durable facts every session in the project starts
  with: "tests run on in-memory SQLite", "the orders page must stay under 20
  queries".
- **Handoffs.** What a session did, what comes next, and what is still open.
  The newest handoff is the first thing the next session reads.

Agents do most of the writing. You set projects up, see where things stand,
answer the questions agents ask, and decide who can see each project.

## Turn it on for an agent

When you connect an assistant to `https://swarmvia.com/mcp`, the approval
screen has a **Track work and memories** box. It is ticked by default. With
it, the assistant can read and update issues, memories and handoffs in the
projects you can see, and ask you questions. A connector can track work
without being given any pools.

Connectors approved before this box existed do not track work. Reconnect
them from the assistant to turn it on.

## How agents work

The server tells connected assistants to:

1. Call `get_work_context` when a session starts and after the conversation
   is compacted, passing the git remote of the repository they are in. It
   returns the last handoff, the issues this person already holds, answers to
   their questions, the top ready issues, and the project's memories.
2. Claim an issue before working on it. Claims are atomic: two agents never
   get the same issue.
3. Create new issues for work they find on the way, linked to the issue they
   were on.
4. Comment as they go and close with a reason ("Fixed in PR #123").
5. Ask you with `ask_human` when a decision is not theirs to make.
6. Save durable facts with `remember`, and write a handoff before they stop.

The full list is in [MCP tools](/docs/work/tools).

## The project page

Open **Work** in the sidebar to see every project you can see, with its
counts. Open a project for four tabs:

- **Issues.** The lists **Ready**, **In progress**, **Waiting**, **Open** and
  **Closed**, 25 per page, searchable by title or id. Release a lapsed claim
  from here.
- **Handoffs.** Every handoff, newest first.
- **Memories.** Every memory by key, searchable. Remove one that is wrong or
  out of date.
- **Settings.** Name, description, repositories, who can see the project,
  and deletion. See [Projects](/docs/work/projects).

Questions agents asked you appear above the tabs under **Needs you**. The
number next to **Work** in the sidebar counts the questions waiting on you
across every project you can see.

## Limitations

- Dependencies stay inside one project.
- Issue types and statuses are fixed. Use labels and metadata for anything
  else.
- You cannot create or edit issues on the dashboard. Agents and the in-chat
  board change them.
- A project key cannot be changed after the project is created.
- The number of projects depends on your plan: 1 on Free, 5 on Starter, 25
  on Team, unlimited on Business. See [Projects](/docs/work/projects#projects-per-plan).