docket.md

The execution forge. Tasks, milestones, documents, Definition of Done.

Named for a court's docket: the queue of cases ready for resolution. Planning happens elsewhere; the docket is where work gets scheduled, dispatched, and closed. (Previously codenamed ike, after Eisenhower — same discipline, different metaphor.)

The Trilogy

docket.md is the third leg of a three-tool system for AI-driven work:

The trilogy is one loop with three stages:

research.md  →  visionlog  →  docket.md
  DECIDE        CONTRACT      EXECUTE
     ↑                           │
     └───────────────────────────┘
          execution reveals gaps

When docket.md reveals that a strategy is wrong — a task fails, a pattern repeats, a direction proves misguided — the feedback loop doesn't short-circuit back to visionlog directly. It goes all the way back to research.md:

1. docket.md — execution surfaces a gap or contradiction
2. research.md — earn the new answer with evidence before acting on it
3. visionlog — record the decision as an ADR
4. docket.md — execute the new direction

Skipping research.md means ADRs written under pressure, strategy updated on instinct, decisions that contradict each other three sessions later. The loop must complete fully to be trustworthy.

Session protocol: Read visionlog first (it tells you where the ladder points and what you must not cross). Then open docket.md and work. If execution reveals a gap in strategy, go back to research.md before updating visionlog.

Install

uv tool install docket-md
# or: pip install docket-md

Add to your .mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "docket": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "docket-md"
    }
  }
}

GUID Workflow

docket.md uses a stable GUID registry — not fragile CWD scanning.

1. New project: project_init → writes .docket/docket.json with a stable GUID
2. Existing project: project_set → registers path→GUID in session memory
3. Every other call: pass project_id (the GUID)

If you forget the GUID, the error message tells you exactly what to call to recover.

File Structure

your-project/
└── .docket/
    ├── docket.json          ← project config + stable GUID
    ├── tasks/            ← active tasks (TASK-0001 - slug.md)
    ├── completed/        ← Done tasks
    ├── archive/          ← Cancelled / superseded tasks
    ├── milestones/       ← MS-0001 - slug.md
    └── documents/        ← DOC-0001 - slug.md

All files are plain markdown with YAML frontmatter — readable without docket.md.

Tool Reference

Project

Tasks

Milestones

Documents

Task Frontmatter

---
id: TASK-0001
title: Build the thing
status: To Do         # To Do | In Progress | Done | Draft
priority: high        # high | medium | low
milestone: MS-0001
assignees: [daniel]
tags: [infra, core]
dependencies: [TASK-0000]
acceptance-criteria:
  - Users can log in
definition-of-done:
  - Tests passing
  - Deployed to staging
created: 2026-03-20
updated: 2026-03-20
---

Notes go here as markdown body.

Philosophy

Tasks without contracts drift. Contracts without tasks are wishes.

docket.md is where the two meet. Before you create a task, the visionlog guardrail has already told you what you cannot do. The Definition of Done field is the contract written before the work begins — machine-checkable, not vibes.

19 tools across project, task, milestone, and document management. Inspired by backlog.md. Zero forked code. Full credit for the concept.

MIT License © 2025 Daniel Shanklin