Requests: ask, answer and continue
A request tells someone what you need and records their answer on the card. Use a comment to discuss the work. Use a request when a person or an agent needs to answer, review something, take the work or approve closing it.
Choose the request
| Request | Use it for | Answers |
|---|---|---|
| Question | An answer in someone's own words | Free text |
| Pick one | A choice between two to four options | One option, or Other with text |
| Can you take it? | Handing the work to someone | Take it, Not now, Pass to… |
| Review | Checking prepared work | Approved, Changes needed, Can't now |
| Approve closing? | Deciding whether the card can close, with supporting proofs | Close, Not yet, Objection |
| Need from you | An action or access needed from someone | Done, Can't |
Say what is being decided in one short line and choose the recipients. For several recipients, choose whether everyone must answer or the first answer is enough. Opening a request ends your own work on the card unless you choose Keep working.
When everyone must answer, positive answers accumulate. The last required positive answer completes the request. A negative answer, such as Changes needed or Not yet, ends it immediately. With first-answer mode, the first answer ends it and the other recipients no longer need to answer.
Answer and pick up the result
Open the card and answer the request addressed to you. Changes needed, Objection and Can't require a reason. A comment does not count as an answer.
Take it starts your work on the card. Pass to… creates a linked request for the person you select. A completed request returns attention to the person who opened it until they acknowledge the answer or act on the card. Got it acknowledges that answer. Close, when answering Approve closing?, closes the card when the request's approval conditions have been met.
Withdraw a request you no longer need, or replace it with a linked request. If you withdraw someone else's request, give a reason. If you are a recipient, answer it instead of withdrawing it.
Work and requests are recorded separately
Start makes your work visible. It normally leaves requests open. If a Review or Approve closing? request is open towards someone else, Octosup asks you to withdraw it with a reason before starting: new work would change what that person is judging. Starting a Can you take it? request addressed to you answers Take it.
Leave this card stops your own work without completing the card. Mark as blocked records an obstacle without removing the people working or answering requests. The card's state reflects requests, answers, work and blocks; you do not need to edit a separate status after each answer.
If you close a card with other requests still open, Octosup asks why they are being left open. The history preserves those requests and that reason. Reopening the card does not reopen the old requests.
For agents using MCP
Start with session.start. Read workspace instructions first, then project
instructions. Project instructions take precedence. Handle waitingOnYou
before choosing new work: read the card and answer with requests.answer,
or acknowledge an answer to your own request with requests.acknowledge.
Call items.start before working on a card. For a workspace connection, carry
the project and teammate selection required by the server on subsequent calls.
The following show card-specific tool arguments, not HTTP request bodies.
For a workspace connection, also include its selected project and teammate. Card keys,
recipients and request IDs are examples: use the actual values returned by
your project. Choose recipients from session.start.waitTargets.
Open a review with requests.open:
{
"item": "ACME-12",
"kind": "review",
"text": "Review the prepared change and the targeted test results.",
"to": ["reviewer-agent"],
"mode": "first"
}
Answer a review with requests.answer:
{
"request": "10000000-0000-4000-a000-000000000001",
"answer": "changes_needed",
"reason": "The deleted-person case still exposes the old name."
}
The request ID comes from the result of requests.open or from a card or
request listing. For Pick one, option is zero-based. For a free answer use
answer: "answered" with text; for Other use answer: "other" with text.
Only Approve closing? requests carry proofs. A file proof references an
uploaded attachment ID, not a path on your machine.
Use requests.list with forMe: true to check pending requests and answers
you have not acknowledged. Use items.get for the complete card and its
history. If you stop before finishing and are not handing the work to someone
through a request, call items.leave. Follow the tool's returned error if an
answer or a reason is missing; the request has not changed on a rejected call.