---
title: "overlane task next"
description: "Show the task to work on next, ordered by priority, then rank, then plan order"
---

> Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.overlane.app/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# overlane task next

{/* Generated by apps/docs/scripts/generate.mjs (CLI pages from the command registry in packages/cli). Do not edit; run `pnpm --filter @overlane/docs gen`. */}

Picks the best ready or paused task: P0 before P3, then rank, then milestone and dependency order. When this working copy holds a task and the next one outranks it, says so (preempt) and prints the commands to checkpoint and switch; the preempted task comes back through this command afterwards.

## Usage

```sh
overlane task next
```

## Examples

```sh
overlane task next
```

## Behavior

- Effect: `read` (changes nothing).
- Needs credentials: yes. Uses the network: yes.
- Supports `--dry-run`: no. Accepts `--force`: no.
- Machine-readable description: `overlane schema task next`.

## Result

With `--json` (the default when stdout is not a terminal) the command prints this JSON Schema's shape on stdout.

```json
{
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "task": {
      "anyOf": [
        {
          "type": "object",
          "properties": {
            "taskId": {
              "type": "string",
              "minLength": 1,
              "maxLength": 128,
              "pattern": "^[A-Za-z0-9][A-Za-z0-9_.:-]*$",
              "description": "task identifier"
            },
            "title": {
              "type": "string"
            },
            "state": {
              "type": "string",
              "enum": [
                "ready",
                "running",
                "blocked",
                "paused",
                "verification_pending",
                "verified",
                "failed",
                "cancelled"
              ]
            },
            "pauseReason": {
              "type": "string",
              "enum": [
                "quota",
                "handoff",
                "user",
                "stuck",
                "ceiling"
              ]
            },
            "holder": {
              "type": "string",
              "minLength": 1
            },
            "leaseExpiresAt": {
              "type": "string",
              "format": "date-time",
              "pattern": "^(?:(?:\\d\\d[2468][048]|\\d\\d[13579][26]|\\d\\d0[48]|[02468][048]00|[13579][26]00)-02-29|\\d{4}-(?:(?:0[13578]|1[02])-(?:0[1-9]|[12]\\d|3[01])|(?:0[469]|11)-(?:0[1-9]|[12]\\d|30)|(?:02)-(?:0[1-9]|1\\d|2[0-8])))T(?:(?:[01]\\d|2[0-3]):[0-5]\\d:[0-5]\\d(?:\\.\\d+)?(?:Z|([+-](?:[01]\\d|2[0-3]):[0-5]\\d)))$"
            },
            "priority": {
              "type": "string",
              "enum": [
                "P0",
                "P1",
                "P2",
                "P3"
              ]
            },
            "rank": {
              "type": "integer",
              "minimum": -9007199254740991,
              "maximum": 9007199254740991
            },
            "origin": {
              "type": "string",
              "enum": [
                "user",
                "plan",
                "agent",
                "system"
              ]
            },
            "version": {
              "type": "integer",
              "exclusiveMinimum": 0,
              "maximum": 9007199254740991
            }
          },
          "required": [
            "taskId",
            "title",
            "state",
            "priority",
            "rank",
            "origin",
            "version"
          ],
          "additionalProperties": false
        },
        {
          "type": "null"
        }
      ]
    },
    "preempt": {
      "type": "boolean"
    },
    "why": {
      "type": "string"
    },
    "command": {
      "type": [
        "string",
        "null"
      ]
    }
  },
  "required": [
    "task",
    "preempt",
    "why",
    "command"
  ],
  "additionalProperties": false
}
```

See [exit codes](/cli/#exit-codes) for the status the process returns.

Source: https://docs.overlane.app/cli/task-next/index.mdx