sb-tracker 0.1.7

A minimal, standalone issue tracker for individuals. No git hooks, no complex dependencies, just one JSON file.

SB Tracker - Simple Beads

A lightweight, standalone task tracker that stores state in a JSON file. Perfect for individuals and agents to maintain context and track long-running or multi-step tasks without external dependencies.

Features

• Zero Dependencies: Pure Python, uses only stdlib (json, os, sys, datetime)
• Standalone: One JSON file stores all state (global by default)
• Global Tracker: Defaults to ~/.sb.json with optional SB_DB_PATH
• Repo Awareness: Tasks can be scoped to a repo and filtered by repo
• Commit Snapshot: Tasks capture the current repo commit on add/update
• Hierarchical Tasks: Support for sub-tasks with parent-child relationships
• Priority Levels: Tasks support P0-P3 priority levels
• Task Status Tracking: Open/closed status with timestamps
• Dependencies: Link tasks with blocking dependencies
• Audit Log: Track all changes to each task with timestamps
• JSON Export: Machine-readable output for integration
• Compaction: Archive closed tasks to keep context efficient

Installation

Recommended (pipx)

pipx install sb-tracker

pipx keeps the sb CLI isolated while exposing it on your shell PATH.

Alternative (pip)

pip install sb-tracker

From Source (development)

git clone https://github.com/sirius-cc-wu/sb-tracker.git
cd sb-tracker
pip install -e .

Verify installation:

sb --help

Quick Start

Initialize a new task tracker (global by default):

sb init

Add a task:

sb add "My first task"
sb add "High priority task" 0 "This is urgent"

List tasks:

sb list              # Show open tasks
sb list --all        # Show all tasks
sb list --json       # Machine-readable output
sb list --repo       # Show tasks for current repo
sb list --global     # Show tasks not tied to any repo

Complete a task:

sb done sb-1

Commands

Global Tracker Flags

• --local: Use repo-local .sb.json instead of global
• --repo [path]: Filter to a repo (defaults to current repo if no path)
• --global: Show only tasks not tied to any repo

Environment

• SB_DB_PATH: Override the default DB path (otherwise ~/.sb.json)

Create and Modify

• init: Initialize the database (defaults to ~/.sb.json)
• add <title> [priority] [description] [parent_id]
  • Example: sb add "Setup database" 1 "Configure PostgreSQL" sb-1
• update <id> [field=value ...]
  • Fields: title, desc, p (priority), parent
  • Example: sb update sb-1 p=0 desc="New description"
• dep <child_id> <parent_id>: Add a blocking dependency
  • Example: sb dep sb-2 sb-1 (sb-2 blocked by sb-1)

List and Search

• list [--all] [--json]: Show open (or all) tasks with hierarchy
• ready [--json]: Show tasks with no open blockers
• search <keyword> [--json]: Search titles and descriptions
  • Use --repo to filter to current repo, or --global to show only non-repo tasks

Reporting and Maintenance

• show <id> [--json]: Display task details with audit log
• promote <id>: Optional Markdown summary of task and sub-tasks
• stats: Overview of progress and priority breakdown
• compact: Archive closed tasks to save space
• done <id>: Mark task as closed
• rm <id>: Permanently delete task

Workflow

For Individual Sessions

1. Breakdown: Create tasks with hierarchies for complex work

   sb add "Implement feature X"                    # Creates sb-1
   sb add "Write unit tests" 1 "" sb-1             # Creates sb-1.1
   sb add "Write integration tests" 1 "" sb-1      # Creates sb-1.2
   

2. Execute: Focus on high-priority ready tasks

   sb ready  # Show tasks with no blockers
   

3. Track Progress: Update as you complete steps

   sb done sb-1.1
   sb done sb-1.2
   

4. End session cleanly: Verify final state and hand off

   sb compact         # optional
   # If your agent environment has a commit skill, use it here.
   git add -A
   git commit -m "type(scope): description of change"
   sb list --all
   

   Then provide a short summary of completed work and what remains.

Task ID Format

• Root tasks: sb-<hash> (for example: sb-a3f8e9)
• Sub-tasks: <parent>.<n> (for example: sb-a3f8e9.1, sb-a3f8e9.2)
• Parent relationship: Use parent ID in add or update
• No ID reuse: IDs are not re-used after task deletion

Priority Levels

• P0: Critical, blocking everything
• P1: High priority, do soon
• P2: Normal priority (default)
• P3: Low priority, nice to have

Database Format

Tasks are stored in a JSON database (global by default at ~/.sb.json) with this schema:

{
  "issues": [
    {
      "id": "sb-1",
      "title": "Task title",
      "description": "Optional description",
      "priority": 1,
      "status": "open",
      "depends_on": ["sb-2"],
      "parent": "sb-1",
      "repo": "/absolute/path/to/repo",
      "repo_commit": "abc123...",
      "created_at": "2026-02-04T18:40:10.692Z",
      "closed_at": "2026-02-04T19:40:10.692Z",
      "events": [
        {
          "type": "created",
          "timestamp": "2026-02-04T18:40:10.692Z",
          "title": "Task title"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "compaction_log": []
}

Repo Awareness and Worktrees

When inside a git repo, tasks store a canonical repo root so multiple worktrees/branches share the same task set. Each add/update captures the current commit hash in repo_commit to provide context for the repo state.

The file may also include metadata used for ID generation and child counters:

{
  "meta": {
    "id_mode": "hash",
    "child_counters": {
      "sb-a3f8e9": 3
    }
  }
}

Examples

Hierarchical Task Breakdown

$ sb add "Build authentication system"
Created sb-1: Build authentication system (P2)

$ sb add "Design schema" 1 "" sb-1
Created sb-1.1: Design schema (P1)

$ sb add "Implement login endpoint" 1 "" sb-1
Created sb-1.2: Implement login endpoint (P1)

$ sb add "Write tests" 2 "" sb-1
Created sb-1.3: Write tests (P2)

$ sb list
ID           P  Status       Deps       Title
sb-1         2  open                    Build authentication system
sb-1.1       1  open                      Design schema
sb-1.2       1  open                      Implement login endpoint
sb-1.3       2  open                      Write tests

Blocking Dependencies

$ sb add "Deploy to production" 1
Created sb-2: Deploy to production (P1)

$ sb dep sb-2 sb-1
Linked sb-2 -> depends on -> sb-1

$ sb ready
No issues found matching criteria.

$ sb done sb-1.1
Updated sb-1.1 status to closed

$ sb done sb-1.2
Updated sb-1.2 status to closed

$ sb done sb-1.3
Updated sb-1.3 status to closed

$ sb done sb-1
Updated sb-1 status to closed

$ sb ready
ID           P  Status       Deps       Title
sb-2         1  open                    Deploy to production

Task Reporting

Optional when you want a Markdown report for sharing:

$ sb promote sb-1
### [sb-1] Build authentication system
**Status:** closed | **Priority:** P2

#### Sub-tasks
- [x] sb-1.1: Design schema
- [x] sb-1.2: Implement login endpoint
- [x] sb-1.3: Write tests

#### Activity Log
- 2026-02-04: Created
- 2026-02-04: Status: open -> closed

License

MIT License - See LICENSE file for details

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

Troubleshooting

sb: command not found

Install with pipx and verify your shell can find sb:

pipx install sb-tracker
sb --help

If you installed with pip, ensure the install location is on your PATH.

.sb.json not found

By default, the tracker uses ~/.sb.json. You can override the location with SB_DB_PATH or use repo-local mode with --local.

To initialize:

cd /your/project
sb init
sb init --local

Task not found error

Make sure you're using the correct task ID:

$ sb list --json   # See all task IDs

Compaction

Archive old tasks to reduce token context:

sb compact

This moves all closed tasks to a compaction_log and keeps them accessible via list --all or list --json.