diff --git a/skills/kugetsu/scripts/kugetsu-index.sh b/skills/kugetsu/scripts/kugetsu-index.sh
index eba8a90..8eec8c2 100755
--- a/skills/kugetsu/scripts/kugetsu-index.sh
+++ b/skills/kugetsu/scripts/kugetsu-index.sh
@@ -202,9 +202,10 @@ update_queue_item_state() {
         return 1
     fi
     
+    local issue_ref=$(python3 -c "import json; print(json.load(open('$item_file')).get('issue_ref', ''))" 2>/dev/null || echo "")
+    
     python3 << PYEOF
 import json
-import os
 from datetime import datetime
 
 item_file = "$item_file"
@@ -215,8 +216,6 @@ pid = "$pid"
 with open(item_file, 'r') as f:
     item = json.load(f)
 
-issue_ref = item.get('issue_ref', '')
-
 item['state'] = new_state
 
 if new_state == "notified":
@@ -227,14 +226,18 @@ if new_state == "notified":
         item['pid'] = int(pid) if pid.isdigit() else None
 elif new_state == "completed":
     item['completed_at'] = datetime.now().isoformat() + "Z"
-    os.system(f"kugetsu_add_notification 'task_completed' 'Task completed: {issue_ref}' '{issue_ref}'")
 elif new_state == "error":
     item['error'] = datetime.now().isoformat() + "Z"
-    os.system(f"kugetsu_add_notification 'task_error' 'Task error: {issue_ref}' '{issue_ref}'")
 
 with open(item_file, 'w') as f:
     json.dump(item, f, indent=2)
 
 print(f"Updated $queue_id to state: $new_state")
 PYEOF
+    
+    if [ "$new_state" = "completed" ]; then
+        kugetsu_add_notification "task_completed" "Task completed: $issue_ref" "$issue_ref"
+    elif [ "$new_state" = "error" ]; then
+        kugetsu_add_notification "task_error" "Task error: $issue_ref" "$issue_ref"
+    fi
 }