table of contents
- NAME
- SYNOPSIS
- DESCRIPTION
- FILTER
- MODIFICATIONS
- SUBCOMMANDS
- READ SUBCOMMANDS
- WRITE SUBCOMMANDS
- MISCELLANEOUS SUBCOMMANDS
- HELPER SUBCOMMANDS
- ATTRIBUTES AND METADATA
- ATTRIBUTE MODIFIERS
- EXPRESSIONS AND OPERATORS
- SPECIFYING DATES AND FREQUENCIES
- COMMAND ABBREVIATION
- SPECIFYING DESCRIPTIONS
- CONFIGURATION FILE AND OVERRIDE OPTIONS
- MORE EXAMPLES
- FILES
- CREDITS & COPYRIGHTS
- SEE ALSO
- REPORTING BUGS
other versions
- wheezy 2.0.0-1
- wheezy-backports 2.2.0-3~bpo70+1
- jessie 2.3.0+dfsg-3
- testing 2.5.1+dfsg-3
- unstable 2.5.1+dfsg-3
task(1) | User Manuals | task(1) |
NAME¶
task - A command line todo manager.SYNOPSIS¶
task <filter> <command> [ <mods> | <args> ]DESCRIPTION¶
Taskwarrior is a command line todo list manager. It maintains a list of tasks that you want to do, allowing you to add/remove, and otherwise manipulate them. Taskwarrior has a rich set of subcommands that allow you to do various things with it.FILTER¶
The <filter> consists of zero or more search criteria that select tasks. For example, to list all pending tasks belonging to the 'Home' project:task project:Home list
task project:Home +weekend garden list
description.contains:garden
task modify +work
This command has no filter, and will modify all tasks. Are you sure? (yes/no)
task <command> <mods>
task 28 <command> <mods>
task +weekend <command> <mods>
task project:Home due.before:today <command> <mods>
task ebeeab00-ccf8-464b-8b58-f7f2d606edfb <command> <mods>
task '( /[Cc]at|[Dd]og/ or /[0-9]+/ )' <command> <mods>
task 1,2,3 delete
task 1-3 info
task 1,2-5,19 modify pri:H
task 4-7 ebeeab00-ccf8-464b-8b58-f7f2d606edfb info
MODIFICATIONS¶
The <mods> consist of zero or more changes to apply to the selected tasks, such as:task <filter> <command> project:Home
task <filter> <command> +weekend +garden due:tomorrow
task <filter> <command> Description/annotation text
task <filter> <command> /from/to/
SUBCOMMANDS¶
Taskwarrior supports different kinds of commands. There are read commands, write commands, miscellaneous commands and script helper commands. Read commands do not allow modification of tasks. Write commands can alter almost any aspect of a task. Script helper commands are provided to help you write add-on scripts, for example, shell completion (only minimal output is generated, as with verbose=nothing).READ SUBCOMMANDS¶
Reports are read subcommands. There are several reports currently predefined in taskwarrior. The output and sort behavior of these reports can be configured in the configuration file. See also the man page taskrc(5). There are also other read subcommands that are not reports.- task --version
- This is the only conventional command line argument that
Taskwarrior supports, and is intended for add-on scripts to verify the
version number of an installed Taskwarrior without invoking the mechanisms
that create default files.
- task <filter>
- With no command specified, the default command is run, and
the filter applied.
- task <filter> active
- Shows all tasks matching the filter that are started but
not completed.
- task <filter> all
- Shows all tasks matching the filter, including parents of
recurring tasks.
- task <filter> blocked
- Shows all tasks matching the filter, that are currently
blocked by other tasks.
- task <filter> blocking
- Shows all tasks matching the filter, that block other
tasks.
- task <filter> burndown.daily
- Shows a graphical burndown chart, by day. Note that
'burndown' is an alias to the 'burndown.daily' report.
- task <filter> burndown.weekly
- Shows a graphical burndown chart, by week.
- task <filter> burndown.monthly
- Shows a graphical burndown chart, by month.
- task calendar [due|<month> <year>|<year>] [y]
- Shows a monthly calendar with due tasks marked. Shows one
horizontal line of months. If the 'y' argument is provided, will show at
least one complete year. If a year is provided, such as '2013', then that
full year is shown. If both a month and a year are specified ('6 2013')
then the months displayed begin at the specified month and year. If the
'due' argument is provided, will show the starting month of the earliest
due task.
- task colors [sample | legend]
- Displays all possible colors, a named sample, or a legend
containing all currently defined colors.
- task columns [substring]
- Displays all supported columns and formatting styles.
Useful when creating custom reports. If a substring is provided, only
matching column names are shown.
- task <filter> completed
- Shows all tasks matching the filter that are completed.
- task <filter> count
- Displays only a count of tasks matching the filter.
- task <filter> export
- Exports all tasks in the JSON format. Redirect the output
to a file, if you wish to save it, or pipe it to another command or script
to convert it to another format. The standard task release comes with a
few example scripts, such as export-yaml.pl.
- task <filter> ghistory.annual
- Shows a graphical report of task status by year.
- task <filter> ghistory.monthly
- Shows a graphical report of task status by month. Note that
'ghistory' is an alias to 'ghistory.monthly'.
- task help
- Shows the long usage text.
- task <filter> history.annual
- Shows a report of task history by year.
- task <filter> history.monthly
- Shows a report of task history by month. Note that
'history' is an alias to 'history.monthly'.
- task <filter> ids
- Applies the filter then extracts only the task IDs and
presents them as a range, for example: 1-4,12. This is useful as input to
a task command, to achieve this:
task project:Home modify priority:H
- task <filter> uuids
- Applies the filter on all tasks (even deleted and completed
tasks) then extracts only the task UUIDs and presents them as a
comma-separated list. This is useful as input to a task command, to
achieve this:
- task udas
- Shows a list of UDAs that are defined, including their
name, type, label and allowed values. Also shows UDA usage and any orphan
UDAs.
- task <filter> information
- Shows all data and metadata for the specified tasks. This
is the only means of displaying all aspects of a given task, including the
change history.
- task <filter> list
- Provides a standard listing of tasks matching the filter.
- task <filter> long
- Provides the most detailed listing of tasks matching the
filter.
- task <filter> ls
- Provides a short listing of tasks matching the filter.
- task <filter> minimal
- Provides a minimal listing of tasks matching the filter.
- task <filter> newest
- Shows the newest tasks matching the filter.
- task <filter> next
- Shows a page of the most urgent tasks, sorted by urgency,
which is a calculated value.
- task <filter> ready
- Shows a page of the most urgent ready tasks, sorted by
urgency. A ready task is one that is either unscheduled, or has a
scheduled date that is past and has no wait date.
- task <filter> oldest
- Shows the oldest tasks matching the filter.
- task <filter> overdue
- Shows all incomplete tasks matching the filter that are
beyond their due date.
- task <filter> projects
- Lists all project names that are currently used by pending
tasks, and the number of tasks for each.
- task <filter> recurring
- Shows all recurring tasks matching the filter.
- task <filter> unblocked
- Shows all tasks that are not currently blocked by other
tasks, matching the filter.
- task <filter> waiting
- Shows all waiting tasks matching the filter.
WRITE SUBCOMMANDS¶
- task add <mods>
- Adds a new pending task to the task list.
- task <filter> annotate <mods>
- Adds an annotation to an existing task.
- task <filter> append <mods>
- Appends description text to an existing task.
- task <filter> delete <mods>
- Deletes the specified task from task list.
- task <filter> denotate <mods>
- Deletes an annotation for the specified task. If the
provided description matches an annotation exactly, the corresponding
annotation is deleted. If the provided description matches annotations
partly, the first partly matched annotation is deleted.
- task <filter> done <mods>
- Marks the specified task as done.
- task <filter> duplicate <mods>
- Duplicates the specified task and allows modifications.
- task <filter> edit
- Launches a text editor to let you modify all aspects of a
task directly. In general, this is not the recommended method of modifying
tasks, but is provided for exceptional circumstances. Use carefully.
- task import <file> [<file> ...]
- Imports tasks in the JSON format. The standard task release
comes with a few example scripts, such as import-yaml.pl.
- task log <mods>
- Adds a new task that is already completed, to the task
list.
- task merge <URL>
- Merges two task databases by comparing the modifications
that are stored in the undo.data files. The location of the second
undo.data file must be passed on as argument. URL may have the following
syntaxes:
- task <filter> modify <mods>
- Modifies the existing task with provided information.
- task <filter> prepend <mods>
- Prepends description text to an existing task.
- task pull <URL>
- Overwrites the task database with those files found at the
URL. (See 'merge' command for valid URL syntax.)
- task push <URL>
- Pushes the task database to a remote location for
distributing the changes made by the merge command. (See 'merge' command
for valid URL syntax.)
- task <filter> start <mods>
- Marks the specified tasks as started.
- task <filter> stop <mods>
- Removes the start time from the specified task.
MISCELLANEOUS SUBCOMMANDS¶
Miscellaneous subcommands either accept no command line arguments, or accept non-standard arguments.- task config [name [value | '']]
- Add, modify and remove settings directly in the taskwarrior
configuration. This command either modifies the 'name' setting with a new
value of 'value', or adds a new entry that is equivalent to 'name=value':
task config name value
task config name ''
task config name
- task diagnostics
- Shows diagnostic information, of the kind needed when
reporting a problem. When you report a bug, it is likely that the
platform, version, and environment are important. Running this command
generates a summary of similar information that should accompany a bug
report.
- task execute <external command>
- Executes the specified command. Not useful by itself, but
when used in conjunction with aliases and extensions can provide seamless
integration.
- task logo
- Displays the Taskwarrior logo.
- task reports
- Lists all supported reports. This includes the built-in
reports, and any custom reports you have defined.
- task shell
- Launches an interactive shell with all the task commands
available.
- task show [all | substring]
- Shows all the current settings. If a substring is specified
just the settings containing that substring will be displayed.
- task <filter> stats
- Shows statistics of the tasks defined by the filter.
- task <filter> summary
- Shows a report of aggregated task status by project.
- task <filter> tags
- Show a list of all tags used. Any special tags used are
highlighted. Note that virtual tags are not listed - they don't really
exist, and are just a convenient notation for other task metadata.
- task timesheet [weeks]
- Shows a weekly report of tasks completed and started.
- task undo
- Reverts the most recent action. Obeys the confirmation
setting.
- task version
- Shows the taskwarrior version number.
HELPER SUBCOMMANDS¶
- task _aliases
- Generates a list of all aliases, for autocompletion
purposes.
- task _columns
- Displays only a list of supported columns.
- task _commands
- Generates a list of all commands, for autocompletion
purposes.
- task _config
- Lists all supported configuration variables, for completion
purposes.
- task <filter> _ids
- Shows only the IDs of matching tasks, in the form of a
list.
- task _show
- Shows the combined defaults and overrides of the
configuration settings, for use by third-party applications.
- task <filter> _uuids
- Shows only the UUIDs of matching tasks among all tasks
(even deleted and completed tasks), in the form of a list.
- task _udas
- Shows only defined UDA names, in the form of a list.
- task <filter> _projects
- Shows only a list of all project names used.
- task <filter> _tags
- Shows only a list of all tags used, for autocompletion
purposes.
- task <filter> _urgency
- Displays the urgency measure of a task.
- task _version
- Shows only the taskwarrior version number.
- task _zshcommands
- Generates a list of all commands, for zsh autocompletion
purposes.
- task <filter> _zshids
- Shows the IDs and descriptions of matching tasks.
- task <filter> _zshuuids
- Shows the UUIDs and descriptions of matching tasks.
ATTRIBUTES AND METADATA¶
- ID
- Tasks can be specified uniquely by IDs, which are simply
the indexes of the tasks in the data file. The ID of a task may therefore
change, but only when a command is run that displays IDs. When modifying
tasks, it is safe to rely on the last displayed ID. Always run a report to
check you have the right ID for a task. IDs can be given to task as a
sequence, for example,
- +tag|-tag
- Tags are arbitrary words associated with a task. Use + to
add a tag and - to remove a tag from a task. A task can have any quantity
of tags.
+nocolor Disable color rules processing for this task
+nonag Completion of this task suppresses all nag messages
+nocal This task will not appear on the calendar
+next Elevates task so it appears on 'next' report
BLOCKED Matches if the task is blocked
UNBLOCKED Matches if the task is not blocked
BLOCKING Matches if the task is blocking
DUE Matches if the task is due
DUETODAY Matches if the task is due today
TODAY Matches if the task is due today
OVERDUE Matches if the task is overdue
ACTIVE Matches if the task is started
SCHEDULED Matches if the task is scheduled
CHILD Matches if the task has a parent
UNTIL Matches if the task expires
WAITING Matches if the task is waiting
ANNOTATED Matches if the task has annotations
- project:<project-name>
- Specifies the project to which a task is related to.
- priority:H|M|L or priority:
- Specifies High, Medium, Low and no priority for a task.
- due:<due-date>
- Specifies the due-date of a task.
- recur:<frequency>
- Specifies the frequency of a recurrence of a task.
- scheduled:<ready-date>
- Specifies the date after which a task can be accomplished.
- until:<expiration date of task>
- Specifies the expiration date of a task, after which it
will be deleted.
- limit:<number-of-rows>
- Specifies the desired number of tasks a report should show,
if a positive integer is given. The value 'page' may also be used, and
will limit the report output to as many lines of text as will fit on
screen. This defaults to 25 lines.
- wait:<wait-date>
- Date until task becomes pending.
- depends:<id1,id2 ...>
- Declares this task to be dependent on id1 and id2. This
means that the tasks id1 and id2 should be completed before this task.
Consequently, this task will then show up on the 'blocked' report. It
accepts a comma-separated list of ID numbers, UUID numbers and ID ranges.
When prefixing any element of this list by '-', the specified tasks are
removed from the dependency list.
- entry:<entry-date>
- For report purposes, specifies the date that a task was
created.
ATTRIBUTE MODIFIERS¶
Attribute modifiers improve filters. Supported modifiers are:before (synonyms under, below)
after (synonyms over, above)
none
any
is (synonym equals)
isnt (synonym not)
has (synonym contains)
hasnt
startswith (synonym left)
endswith (synonym right)
word
noword
task due.before:eom priority.not:L list
task priority: list
task priority.none: list
task description.has:foo list
task foo list
task project.startswith:H list
task project:H list
task project.not:H list
task description.word:bar list
EXPRESSIONS AND OPERATORS¶
You can use the following operators in filter expressions:and or xor Logical operators
< <= = != >= > Relational operators
( ) Precedence
task due.before:eom priority.not:L list
task '( due < eom or priority != L )' list
task project:Home or project:Garden list
task show report.list.filter
Config Variable Value
----------------- --------------
report.list.filter status:pending
task status:pending project:Home or project:Garden list
task status:pending and project:Home or project:Garden list
task status:pending and ( project:Home or project:Garden ) list
task '( project:Home or project:Garden )' list
task foo list
task /foo/ list
task description.contains:foo list
task description.has:foo list
task 'description ~ foo' list
SPECIFYING DATES AND FREQUENCIES¶
DATES¶
Taskwarrior reads dates from the command line and displays dates in the reports. The expected and desired date format is determined by the configuration variable dateformat- Exact specification
- task ... due:7/14/2008
- ISO-8601
- task ... due:20130314T223000Z
- Relative wording
- task ... due:now
- Day number with ordinal
- task ... due:23rd
- Start of next (work) week (Monday), calendar week (Sunday or Monday), month, quarter and year
-
- End of current (work) week (Friday), calendar week (Saturday or Sunday), month, quarter and year
-
- At some point or later
-
- Next occurring weekday
- task ... due:fri
FREQUENCIES¶
Recurrence periods. Taskwarrior supports several ways of specifying the frequency of recurring tasks.- daily, day, 1da, 2da, ...
- Every day or a number of days.
- weekdays
- Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and
skipping weekend days.
- weekly, 1wk, 2wks, ...
- Every week or a number of weeks.
- biweekly, fortnight
- Every two weeks.
- monthly, month, 1mo, 2mo, ...
- Every month.
- quarterly, 1qtr, 2qtrs, ...
- Every three months, a quarter, or a number of quarters.
- semiannual
- Every six months.
- annual, yearly, 1yr, 2yrs, ...
- Every year or a number of years.
- biannual, biyearly, 2yr
- Every two years.
COMMAND ABBREVIATION¶
All taskwarrior commands may be abbreviated as long as a unique prefix is used, for example:$ task li
$ task list
$ task l
abbreviation.minimum=3
SPECIFYING DESCRIPTIONS¶
Some task descriptions need to be escaped because of the shell and the special meaning of some characters to the shell. This can be done either by adding quotes to the description or escaping the special character:$ task add "quoted ' quote"
$ task add escaped \' quote
$ task add -- project:Home needs
scheduling
$ task 123 modify /from this/to that/
$ task 123 modify "/from this/to
that/"
$ task add project:\'Three Word Project\'
description
CONFIGURATION FILE AND OVERRIDE OPTIONS¶
Taskwarrior stores its configuration in a file in the user's home directory: ~/.taskrc. The default configuration file can be overridden with:- task rc:<path-to-alternate-file> ...
- Specifies an alternate configuration file.
- TASKRC=/tmp/.taskrc task ..
- The environment variable overrides the default and the
command line specification of the .taskrc file.
- task rc.<name>:<value> ...
- task rc.<name>=<value> ... Specifies
individual configuration file overrides.
- TASKDATA=/tmp/.task task ...
- The environment variable overrides the default, the command
line, and the 'data.location' configuration setting of the task data
directory.
MORE EXAMPLES¶
For examples please see the task tutorial man page atman task-tutorial
FILES¶
- ~/.taskrc
- User configuration file - see also taskrc(5). Note that
this can be overridden on the command line or by the TASKRC environment
variable.
- ~/.task
- The default directory where task stores its data files. The
location can be configured in the configuration variable 'data.location',
or overridden with the TASKDATA environment variable..
- ~/.task/pending.data
- The file that contains the tasks that are not yet done.
- ~/.task/completed.data
- The file that contains the completed ("done")
tasks.
- ~/.task/undo.data
- The file that contains information needed by the
"undo" and "merge" commands.
CREDITS & COPYRIGHTS¶
Copyright (C) 2006 - 2013 P. Beckingham, F. Hernandez.SEE ALSO¶
taskrc(5), task-tutorial(5), task-faq(5), task-color(5), task-sync(5)- The official site at
- <http://taskwarrior.org>
- The official code repository at
- <git://tasktools.org/task.git/>
- You can contact the project by emailing
- <support@taskwarrior.org>
REPORTING BUGS¶
- Bugs in taskwarrior may be reported to the issue-tracker at
- <http://taskwarrior.org>
2013-04-07 | task 2.2.0 |