taskmd 0.4.0

Markdown-native task management for developer projects

task.md

Most task trackers assume a human is driving. But when an LLM agent picks up a task, it needs structured metadata -- priority, status, completion criteria -- not a Jira ticket behind an OAuth wall. And when a human reviews that same task, they don't want to parse JSON. They want to read a file.

taskmd makes tasks that work for both. Each task is a markdown file. Metadata lives in the filename and YAML frontmatter. The filesystem is the data store, git is the audit trail -- no database, no config, no coordination server.

tasks/
  34001-p1-done--initial-setup.md
  34002-p2-ready--add-feature.md
  34003-p3-blocked--waiting-on-api.md

Three properties make this work:

• Filesystem-native. Tasks are files. Create them with your editor, move them with mv, search them with grep. Every tool you already have works.
• Git-native. Status changes are commits. Branches get their own task state. Merges resolve naturally. git log is your audit trail.
• Agent-native. When taskmd detects it's running inside Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, or a dozen other agents, it automatically switches to structured JSON output -- same files, same commands, zero configuration.

Install

pip install taskmd

Or run without installing:

uvx taskmd validate
uvx taskmd list

Quick start

taskmd init                                                                                         # create tasks/ with a template
echo "Fix the login redirect loop when JWT is expired." | taskmd new --slug fix-login --artifact src/auth.py
cat body.md | taskmd new --slug add-oauth --artifact src/oauth.py --priority p1                      # body from file
taskmd status 34042 in-progress                                                                      # change a task's status atomically
taskmd validate                                                                                      # check all task files for consistency
taskmd fix                                                                                           # auto-repair filenames, dates, legacy formats, duplicate IDs
taskmd list                                                                                          # list tasks with metadata
taskmd list --status ready --priority p0                                                             # filter to what matters

taskmd new is the recommended way to create tasks — it allocates the ID, formats the filename, synthesizes the frontmatter, and writes the file in one atomic step. The body is required on stdin; a task with no description is a placeholder that pollutes triage. taskmd next exists for integrations that need just an ID string, but it's a sharp edge (two concurrent callers can receive the same ID).

All commands auto-detect ./tasks or ./taskmds as the default directory. Pass a path to override.

Agent mode

When run inside an LLM coding agent, taskmd auto-detects the environment and switches to JSON output. The agent gets structured data; the human reading the same file gets markdown. No separate "agent API" to maintain.

taskmd --agent validate          # structured JSON envelope
taskmd --agent --help            # self-documenting schema for agents
taskmd --agent --compact --help  # minimal schema (fewer tokens)

Detection is automatic for Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, Windsurf, Aider, Cline, Amazon Q, Gemini Code Assist, Cody, and any tool that sets AGENT=1.

Task file format

Filename: DDNNN-pX-status--slug.md

---
created: 2026-03-04
priority: p2
status: ready
artifact: src/feature.py
---

# Task Title

## Summary
What needs to be done.

## Done When
- [ ] First criterion
- [ ] Second criterion

Statuses: ready, in-progress, blocked, done, wont-do, brainstorming

Priorities: p0 (critical) through p4 (polish)

Artifact: the concrete output this task produces (file path, config change, commit). Required -- if you can't name one, the task probably shouldn't exist.

Only these four fields are allowed in frontmatter. Unknown fields are rejected by validation.

To change status: taskmd status <id> <new-status> updates the frontmatter and renames the file to match in one atomic step. It refuses to clobber an existing target filename and rejects invalid statuses up front. Hand-editing the status: field and running taskmd fix still works as an escape hatch, but taskmd status is the preferred path.

Task IDs

IDs are 5-digit numbers (e.g., 34042). The first digit is derived from the machine's hostname, the second from the tasks directory path. This avoids ID collisions across machines and git worktrees without any coordination.

Set TASKMD_MACHINE_ID=0 to pin the first digit on your primary machine.

Library

taskmd is also a Python library -- the CLI is a thin wrapper around it.

pip install taskmd

from taskmd import validate, fix, next_id, list_tasks

result = validate("tasks")
if not result.ok:
    for err in result.errors:
        print(err)

tasks = list_tasks("tasks")
for t in tasks:
    print(f"{t.id:5s} {t.priority} {t.status:12s} {t.slug}")

n = next_id("tasks")
print(f"Next task: {n}")

Use from a PEP 723 script

#!/usr/bin/env -S uv run
# /// script
# requires-python = ">=3.11"
# dependencies = ["taskmd"]
# ///

from taskmd import validate

result = validate("tasks")
if not result.ok:
    print(f"Task validation failed: {len(result.errors)} errors")

License

MIT