diff --git a/cli/src/commands/common.zig b/cli/src/commands/common.zig
index 59e1eb6..76fa275 100644
--- a/cli/src/commands/common.zig
+++ b/cli/src/commands/common.zig
@@ -60,3 +60,101 @@ pub fn withConnection(
 pub fn handleConnectionError(err: anyerror, operation_name: []const u8) void {
     std.debug.print("Failed to {s}: {}\n", .{ operation_name, err });
 }
+
+/// Options for job operations
+pub const JobOptions = struct {
+    cpu: u8 = 1,
+    memory: u8 = 4,
+    gpu: u8 = 0,
+    gpu_memory: ?[]const u8 = null,
+    dry_run: bool = false,
+    validate: bool = false,
+    explain: bool = false,
+    json: bool = false,
+    force: bool = false,
+    hypothesis: ?[]const u8 = null,
+    context: ?[]const u8 = null,
+    intent: ?[]const u8 = null,
+    expected_outcome: ?[]const u8 = null,
+    tags: ?[]const u8 = null,
+};
+
+/// Build narrative JSON from options
+pub fn buildNarrativeJson(allocator: std.mem.Allocator, options: anytype) !?[]const u8 {
+    if (options.hypothesis == null and options.context == null and
+        options.intent == null and options.expected_outcome == null)
+    {
+        return null;
+    }
+
+    var buf = try std.ArrayList(u8).initCapacity(allocator, 256);
+    defer buf.deinit(allocator);
+    const writer = buf.writer(allocator);
+
+    try writer.writeAll("{");
+    var first = true;
+
+    if (options.hypothesis) |h| {
+        if (!first) try writer.writeAll(",");
+        try writer.print("\"hypothesis\":\"{s}\"", .{h});
+        first = false;
+    }
+    if (options.context) |c| {
+        if (!first) try writer.writeAll(",");
+        try writer.print("\"context\":\"{s}\"", .{c});
+        first = false;
+    }
+    if (options.intent) |i| {
+        if (!first) try writer.writeAll(",");
+        try writer.print("\"intent\":\"{s}\"", .{i});
+        first = false;
+    }
+    if (options.expected_outcome) |eo| {
+        if (!first) try writer.writeAll(",");
+        try writer.print("\"expected_outcome\":\"{s}\"", .{eo});
+        first = false;
+    }
+
+    try writer.writeAll("}");
+    return try buf.toOwnedSlice(allocator);
+}
+
+/// Show dry run preview for job
+pub fn dryRun(
+    _allocator: std.mem.Allocator,
+    job_name: []const u8,
+    exec_mode: anytype,
+    options: anytype,
+    args_str: []const u8,
+) !void {
+    _ = _allocator;
+    std.debug.print("Dry run for job: {s}\n", .{job_name});
+    std.debug.print("  Mode: {s}\n", .{@tagName(exec_mode)});
+    std.debug.print("  CPU: {d}, Memory: {d}GB, GPU: {d}\n", .{ options.cpu, options.memory, options.gpu });
+    if (args_str.len > 0) {
+        std.debug.print("  Args: {s}\n", .{args_str});
+    }
+    if (options.hypothesis) |h| {
+        std.debug.print("  Hypothesis: {s}\n", .{h});
+    }
+    std.debug.print("\n  Action: Would {s}\n", .{
+        switch (exec_mode) {
+            .local => "execute locally and mark for sync",
+            .remote => "queue on remote server",
+        },
+    });
+}
+
+/// Format next steps message
+pub fn formatNextSteps(allocator: std.mem.Allocator, job_name: []const u8, commit_hex: []const u8) ![]const u8 {
+    var out = try std.ArrayList(u8).initCapacity(allocator, 128);
+    errdefer out.deinit(allocator);
+
+    const writer = out.writer(allocator);
+    try writer.writeAll("Next steps:\n");
+    try writer.writeAll("\tml status --watch\n");
+    try writer.print("\tml cancel {s}\n", .{job_name});
+    try writer.print("\tml validate {s}\n", .{commit_hex});
+
+    return out.toOwnedSlice(allocator);
+}
diff --git a/cli/src/commands/queue.zig b/cli/src/commands/queue.zig
index ca0b591..256a0d8 100644
--- a/cli/src/commands/queue.zig
+++ b/cli/src/commands/queue.zig
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ const mode = @import("../mode.zig");
 const db = @import("../db.zig");
 const manifest_lib = @import("../manifest.zig");
 const progress = @import("../utils/progress.zig");
+const common = @import("common.zig");
 
 // Use modular queue structure
 const queue_mod = @import("queue/mod.zig");
@@ -460,7 +461,7 @@ fn queueSingleJob(
     defer if (commit_override == null) allocator.free(commit_id);
 
     // Build narrative JSON if any narrative fields are set
-    const narrative_json = buildNarrativeJson(allocator, options) catch null;
+    const narrative_json = common.buildNarrativeJson(allocator, options) catch null;
     defer if (narrative_json) |j| allocator.free(j);
 
     const config = try Config.load(allocator);
@@ -627,7 +628,7 @@ fn queueSingleJob(
             } else {
                 std.debug.print("Job queued: {s}\n", .{job_name});
                 if (print_next_steps) {
-                    const next_steps = try formatNextSteps(allocator, job_name, commit_hex);
+                    const next_steps = try common.formatNextSteps(allocator, job_name, commit_hex);
                     defer allocator.free(next_steps);
                     std.debug.print("{s}\n", .{next_steps});
                 }
@@ -648,7 +649,7 @@ fn queueSingleJob(
                 std.debug.print("Warning: failed to record job in history ({})\n", .{err});
             };
             if (print_next_steps) {
-                const next_steps = try formatNextSteps(allocator, job_name, commit_hex);
+                const next_steps = try common.formatNextSteps(allocator, job_name, commit_hex);
                 defer allocator.free(next_steps);
                 std.debug.print("{s}\n", .{next_steps});
             }
@@ -707,19 +708,6 @@ fn printUsage() !void {
     std.debug.print("\t\t--context 'Following paper XYZ' --tags ablation,lr-scaling\n", .{});
 }
 
-pub fn formatNextSteps(allocator: std.mem.Allocator, job_name: []const u8, commit_hex: []const u8) ![]u8 {
-    var out = try std.ArrayList(u8).initCapacity(allocator, 128);
-    errdefer out.deinit(allocator);
-
-    const writer = out.writer(allocator);
-    try writer.writeAll("Next steps:\n");
-    try writer.writeAll("\tml status --watch\n");
-    try writer.print("\tml cancel {s}\n", .{job_name});
-    try writer.print("\tml validate {s}\n", .{commit_hex});
-
-    return out.toOwnedSlice(allocator);
-}
-
 fn explainJob(
     allocator: std.mem.Allocator,
     job_name: []const u8,
@@ -737,7 +725,7 @@ fn explainJob(
     }
 
     // Build narrative JSON for display
-    const narrative_json = buildNarrativeJson(allocator, options) catch null;
+    const narrative_json = common.buildNarrativeJson(allocator, options) catch null;
     defer if (narrative_json) |j| allocator.free(j);
 
     if (options.json) {
@@ -865,7 +853,7 @@ fn dryRunJob(
     }
 
     // Build narrative JSON for display
-    const narrative_json = buildNarrativeJson(allocator, options) catch null;
+    const narrative_json = common.buildNarrativeJson(allocator, options) catch null;
     defer if (narrative_json) |j| allocator.free(j);
 
     if (options.json) {
@@ -1135,74 +1123,6 @@ fn hexDigit(v: u8) u8 {
     return if (v < 10) ('0' + v) else ('a' + (v - 10));
 }
 
-// buildNarrativeJson creates a JSON object from narrative fields
-fn buildNarrativeJson(allocator: std.mem.Allocator, options: *const QueueOptions) !?[]u8 {
-    // Check if any narrative field is set
-    if (options.hypothesis == null and
-        options.context == null and
-        options.intent == null and
-        options.expected_outcome == null and
-        options.experiment_group == null and
-        options.tags == null)
-    {
-        return null;
-    }
-
-    var buf = try std.ArrayList(u8).initCapacity(allocator, 256);
-    defer buf.deinit(allocator);
-
-    const writer = buf.writer(allocator);
-    try writer.writeAll("{");
-
-    var first = true;
-
-    if (options.hypothesis) |h| {
-        if (!first) try writer.writeAll(",");
-        first = false;
-        try writer.writeAll("\"hypothesis\":");
-        try writeJSONString(writer, h);
-    }
-
-    if (options.context) |c| {
-        if (!first) try writer.writeAll(",");
-        first = false;
-        try writer.writeAll("\"context\":");
-        try writeJSONString(writer, c);
-    }
-
-    if (options.intent) |i| {
-        if (!first) try writer.writeAll(",");
-        first = false;
-        try writer.writeAll("\"intent\":");
-        try writeJSONString(writer, i);
-    }
-
-    if (options.expected_outcome) |eo| {
-        if (!first) try writer.writeAll(",");
-        first = false;
-        try writer.writeAll("\"expected_outcome\":");
-        try writeJSONString(writer, eo);
-    }
-
-    if (options.experiment_group) |eg| {
-        if (!first) try writer.writeAll(",");
-        first = false;
-        try writer.writeAll("\"experiment_group\":");
-        try writeJSONString(writer, eg);
-    }
-
-    if (options.tags) |t| {
-        if (!first) try writer.writeAll(",");
-        first = false;
-        try writer.writeAll("\"tags\":");
-        try writeJSONString(writer, t);
-    }
-
-    try writer.writeAll("}");
-
-    return try buf.toOwnedSlice(allocator);
-}
-
 /// Check if a job with the same commit_id already exists on the server
 /// Returns: Optional JSON response from server if duplicate found
 fn checkExistingJob(