Start and finish work from your assistant
When you finish, you will have taken a task and closed it again without leaving your editor. Your assistant moves the card and runs the timer for you. It takes about two minutes, plus the work itself.
This works in any assistant connected to devBoard over MCP. MCP is the open standard that lets an AI assistant use other tools. A branch is a separate line of work in git, where you make one change.
| You say | devBoard does |
|---|---|
| "Start APP-42." | Adds you as an assignee, moves the card to In progress, starts your timer, gives you a branch name |
| "Done with APP-42." | Stops your timer, adds a comment if you give one, moves the card to Done |
What you need
- An assistant connected to devBoard. Set it up with the Claude Code guide or the Cursor guide.
- A task and its key, like APP-42. The key is on the card.
- Your role is member, admin or owner.
Steps
1. Pick a task
Ask: "What's on my plate today?" Your assistant calls my_work and lists your tasks by day. Pick one and note its key.
2. Start it
Say: "Start APP-42." The assistant calls start_work and says what it did. It also gives you a branch name, like app-42-fix-the-login-button.
The card only moves if it was in Backlog or To do. A card that is already in review stays where it is.
3. Check out the branch
Run git checkout -b with that name, or ask your assistant to do it. The key in the name lets devBoard link your pull request later.
4. Leave notes as you go
Say: "Comment on APP-42 that the bug is in the date parser." The comment shows on the card under your name.
5. Finish it
Say: "Done with APP-42. Comment that it is fixed and tested on iPad." The assistant calls finish_work. Your timer stops, the comment is added and the card moves to Done.
6. Or send it to review
Name a column instead: "Finish APP-42 and move it to Code review." The card goes there, not to Done. To stop the timer and leave the card where it is, say "finish APP-42 but do not move it".
Check that it works
Open the card in devBoard. You are on it as an assignee. The moves and the comment are in its activity log. The time you tracked shows next to the estimate. More on that in time tracking.
An example: Mira
Mira works in a three-person studio with Luka and Ivan. At nine she says "start APP-42" in Cursor. At eleven she says "start APP-51" for a quick fix. You have one running timer per workspace, so her timer on APP-42 stops. After lunch she says "done with APP-51" and starts APP-42 again.
What to try next
- Open a pull request from your branch. A pull request asks to merge your branch into the main code. With the GitHub webhook, it shows on the card.
- Ask "how much time did I log this week, per ticket?"
- Move cards from CI after a deploy, with the REST API.
More how-tos are in the guides.
If it does not work
| What you see | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| "No item APP-42." | The key is wrong, or the token is for another workspace | Check the key on the card. Make a token in the right workspace |
| The card did not move on start | It was already past To do | That is on purpose. Move it by hand if you need to |
| The timer did not stop on finish | Your timer was running on another task | Say "stop my timer" |
| "No column … Columns: …" | The board has no column with that name | Pick one of the names in the list |
| "Requires member or higher" | Your role is guest | Ask an admin to make you a member |
Questions people ask
What if someone else is already on the task?
They stay on it. Start work adds you next to them. Each of you has your own timer.
Can I start work without the timer?
Yes. Say "start APP-42 without the timer". You are still assigned and the card still moves.
Free while in early access; paid plans will be one plain number, posted here first.
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