diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index e16b3e0..d28a6c4 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -18,3 +18,29 @@ Rules:
 - Stop.
 
 Do not start the next task automatically.
+
+## Test Commands
+
+Use the existing virtual environment.
+
+From the repository root, run:
+
+```bash
+source .venv/bin/activate
+python -m pytest
+
+Do not search the filesystem for pytest.
+Do not create a new virtual environment unless explicitly asked.
+
+If pytest is unavailable, run:
+
+pip install -e '.[dev]'
+python -m pytest
+Validation Commands
+
+For normal task validation, run:
+
+python -m pytest
+rdb status
+rdb next
+```
diff --git a/TASKS.md b/TASKS.md
index 6e2831b..ab11ec4 100644
--- a/TASKS.md
+++ b/TASKS.md
@@ -72,3 +72,25 @@ Acceptance Criteria:
 - command reads discovery-log.md
 - low-confidence answers are detected
 - follow-up answers are appended to discovery-log.md
+
+## TASK-005 — Task lifecycle commands
+
+Status: Todo
+
+Goal:
+Allow tasks to be managed from the CLI rather than manually editing TASKS.md.
+
+Acceptance Criteria:
+
+- `rdb start TASK-ID`
+  - Marks task In Progress
+
+- `rdb complete TASK-ID`
+  - Marks task Done
+
+- Updates PROJECT_STATE.md
+- Updates AGENT_HANDOFF.md
+- Updates RUN_LOG.md
+- Preserves task formatting
+- Add/update tests
+- Run python -m pytest