jasem 0.2.0

A plain-text task manager and time tracker with pluggable AI parsing (Ollama / OpenAI-compatible / Anthropic).

jasem

A plain-text task manager and time tracker for your terminal.

You write tasks in natural language; an AI backend extracts the structure (title, deadline, priority, tags) and plain Python turns the deadline phrase into a real date. Everything is stored in a human-readable Markdown table, so you can read, grep, edit, sync, or version-control it however you like.

• Zero dependencies. A single Python file using only the standard library.
• Local by default. Works fully offline with Ollama.
• Bring your own AI. Point it at any OpenAI-compatible API or at Anthropic with two environment variables — no code changes.
• Degrades gracefully. If no model is reachable, your task is still saved (dates are parsed with regex; you just don't get auto title/priority/tags).

$ jasem "pay rent next friday, high priority, finance"
✓ added #1: pay rent
  priority=high  deadline=2026-06-19  tags=finance

$ jasem today
Due today
  ☐   2  [medium]  2026-06-15 (today)  call dentist  #health

$ jasem track "1h 30min, code review, work"
✓ tracked 1h 30min · code review · today · #work

Install

jasem needs Python 3.8+ and nothing else.

With pipx (recommended)

pipx install .
# or straight from a checkout / git URL once you publish it:
# pipx install git+https://github.com/your-username/jasem

With pip

pip install .

Both install a jasem command on your PATH.

No install at all

It's one file — copy it and run it:

cp jasem.py ~/.local/bin/jasem && chmod +x ~/.local/bin/jasem

Choosing an AI backend

Natural-language parsing is the only step that uses a model. Pick a backend with JASEM_PROVIDER; the rest is config via environment variables.

Ollama (default — local, free, private)

ollama serve
ollama pull qwen2.5:3b        # or any model you like
jasem "submit report by friday, work"

No keys, nothing leaves your machine. Override the model with JASEM_MODEL=qwen2.5:7b and the host with OLLAMA_HOST.

Any OpenAI-compatible API (OpenAI, Groq, OpenRouter, Together, LM Studio, vLLM, …)

export JASEM_PROVIDER=openai
export JASEM_API_KEY=sk-...
export JASEM_MODEL=gpt-4o-mini          # default for this provider
# For a non-OpenAI host, also set the base URL:
export JASEM_API_BASE=https://api.groq.com/openai/v1

Anthropic (Claude)

export JASEM_PROVIDER=anthropic
export JASEM_API_KEY=sk-ant-...
export JASEM_MODEL=claude-opus-4-8       # default; e.g. claude-haiku-4-5 for cheaper/faster

Put whichever block you use in your shell profile (~/.zshrc, ~/.bashrc) so it's set for every session.

Commands

ADD
  jasem "pay rent next friday, high priority, finance"
  jasem add "..."            force-add even if the text starts with a command word

VIEW                          (append a category to filter, e.g. jasem list work)
  jasem list  (ls)           open tasks, soonest deadline first
  jasem today                due today
  jasem week                 due within the next 7 days
  jasem overdue              past deadline, not done
  jasem all                  everything, including completed
  jasem tags                 list categories in use, with counts

UPDATE
  jasem done <id>...         mark task(s) complete
  jasem rm <id>...           delete task(s)
  jasem set <id> priority    high | medium | low
  jasem set <id> deadline    next friday | in 3 days | 2026-07-01 | none
  jasem set <id> category    work finance      (space/comma-separated; "none" clears)

TIME TRACKING                 format: "<time>, <work>[, <date>][, <tag>]"
  jasem track "2h, coding"
  jasem track "30 min, coding, yesterday, work"
  jasem track                today's entries, with a daily total
  jasem track week           last 7 days, grouped by day
  jasem track all [tag]      everything; optional tag filter

jasem help                    full, colorized help

Run jasem help for the complete reference.

Configuration

Env var	Default	Purpose
JASEM_PROVIDER	ollama	ollama | openai | anthropic
JASEM_MODEL	per provider	Model id
JASEM_API_KEY	—	Key for openai/anthropic (also reads OPENAI_API_KEY / ANTHROPIC_API_KEY)
JASEM_API_BASE	provider default	Base URL for any OpenAI-compatible / custom endpoint
OLLAMA_HOST	http://localhost:11434	Ollama daemon address
JASEM_DIR	~/.jasem	Where data is stored
JASEM_FILE	$JASEM_DIR/tasks.md	Tasks file
JASEM_TRACK_FILE	$JASEM_DIR/timelog.md	Time-log file

How storage works

tasks.md and timelog.md are ordinary Markdown tables. You can hand-edit rows, keep them in a synced folder, or commit them to a private repo — just keep the column order intact. jasem reads and rewrites the whole file on each write, preserving your edits.

Writing good tasks

Clearer cues parse better:

• deadline: tomorrow, next friday, in 3 days, june 20, 2026-07-01 (avoid asap/soon)
• priority: say high or low (default medium; avoid urgent/important)
• category: name it plainly — work, finance, university
• pattern: "<what> by <when>, <priority>, <category>"

License

MIT — see LICENSE.