---
feature_id: FTR-14
title: Active Flags Tracker
category: Trackers
optional: true
depends_on: [FTR-13, FTR-36]
registry_refs: [5.20]
---

# Active Flags Tracker

Depends on: [FTR-13 — Document Registry](../items/document-tracker-system.md), [FTR-36 — Excel Tracker (Base Capability)](../items/excel-tracker-base-capability.md)

## What this is
A dedicated tracker for open blockers, unresolved action items, and pending external confirmations — distinct from document status. A document can be Final and still have an active flag on a related item. Flags surface at session open so nothing stays stuck silently.

**Now a single Excel workbook, two sheets** (via FTR-36's mechanics), replacing the earlier markdown+HTML pattern, at user's direct request — same rationale as FTR-13's own conversion: fast native COM reads/writes, real dropdowns, and the backup/round-trip discipline catching malformation a hand-edited table would not.

## Assess first
- Confirm FTR-13 (Document Registry) and FTR-36 (Excel Tracker Base Capability) are installed — Active Flags nests under FTR-36's mechanics the same way FTR-13 does.
- Read `admin\AGENT_INSTRUCTIONS.md` for any existing Active Flags section and carry forward open flags.
- Scan the conversation/project for existing blockers, pending approvals, or external dependencies to seed the flags list.

## Ask, only if needed
- If open blockers or pending items are evident but not yet captured: "I see a few open items — [list]. Want me to add these as active flags so they surface every session?"
- Otherwise nothing to ask.

## Write
Create the workbook `trackers\data\[ProjectCode]_Active_Flags.xlsx` via FTR-36's access method, and add this section to `admin\AGENT_INSTRUCTIONS.md`:

```
◆ ACTIVE FLAGS (nests under FTR-36's EXCEL TRACKER section)

Open blockers, unresolved action items, or pending external confirmations
that affect document production or project progress. Distinct from document
status — a document can be Final and still have an active flag on a
related item.

WORKBOOK: trackers\data\[ProjectCode]_Active_Flags.xlsx (via FTR-36)
Single workbook, two sheets:
  Sheet 1 - Open Flags
  Sheet 2 - Resolved Flags
Resolution moves a row from Open to Resolved — never deletes it.

COLUMNS (Open Flags sheet)
| ID | Category | Detail | Owner | Status |
ID: stable identifier, format FLAG-NN (e.g. FLAG-01), assigned once and
never reused — added so other trackers (once row-structured under
FTR-36) can reference a specific flag by ID.
Category: dropdown — LEGAL · VENDOR · APPROVAL · COMPLIANCE · PROCUREMENT · EXTERNAL
Status: dropdown — Open · Pending
COLUMNS (Resolved Flags sheet): same as above, plus a Resolved Date
column (true Excel date or fixed text, decided per FTR-36's own
date-handling guidance).

Active flags surface in the startup display. Check and report at session
open. When a flag is resolved, move its row to the Resolved Flags sheet
as part of a normal FTR-36 commit (backup, edit, save, verify) — never
delete a row outright.
```

Register the workbook in `trackers\tracker_index.md` following FTR-13's standard commit protocol.

## Confirm
Confirm: the Active Flags tracker is installed — a two-sheet Excel workbook now tracks open blockers and pending items, surfacing at every session open until resolved (and resolved flags move to their own sheet, never deleted). Want to install another, or is that everything for now?