Task Manager

Manage tasks using the Markdown Task Manager system. Tasks are stored in ~/Tandem/tasks/kanban.md as structured markdown and can be viewed in a visual Kanban board by opening ~/Tandem/tasks/task-manager.html in Chrome/Edge.

For the authoritative kanban.md format specification, see ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/kanban-format.md.

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Language

See METHODOLOGY.md language mirror rule. Reply in the user's language.

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Storage — kanban.md Format

Tasks live in ~/Tandem/tasks/kanban.md using this strict format:

# Tandem Tasks

<!-- Config: Last Task ID: 003 -->

## ⚙️ Configuration

**Columns**: 📝 To Do | 🚀 In Progress | ✅ Done
**Categories**: Work, Personal, Client, Admin
**Users**: @[user-name]
**Tags**: #urgent, #email, #meeting, #project, #follow-up

## 📝 To Do

### TASK-001 | Task title here

**Priority**: [Critical|High|Medium|Low] | **Category**: [Value] | **Assigned**: @user
**Created**: YYYY-MM-DD | **Due**: YYYY-MM-DD
**Tags**: #tag1 #tag2

Description of the task.

**Subtasks**:
- [ ] First subtask
- [x] Completed subtask

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## 🚀 In Progress

## ✅ Done

For the complete format specification with field ordering rules, forbidden patterns, and examples, see ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/kanban-format.md.

Critical format rules (the HTML parser requires strict compliance):

• Task headers: ### TASK-XXX | Title (always H3, never H2)
• NO ## or ### headings inside a task body
• Use **Bold**: sections only (Subtasks, Notes, Result)
• Separate tasks with ---
• Auto-increment <!-- Config: Last Task ID: XXX -->

Archived tasks go to ~/Tandem/tasks/archive.md — only when user explicitly requests.

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Operations

Step 0: Read Current State (BEFORE EVERY WRITE OPERATION)

Before add, edit, complete, delete, move, or any mutation of kanban.md:

1. Read ~/Tandem/tasks/kanban.md in full
2. Parse <!-- Config: Last Task ID: XXX --> to get the current max ID
3. Note existing column names exactly as written (preserve emoji prefixes)
4. If the file does not exist, initialize from the template in ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/kanban-format.md

This step is mandatory. Never write to kanban.md without reading it first. This prevents ID collisions, format drift, and lost tasks.

Add Task

Step 1: Description — accept from user's message.

Step 2: Priority

AskUserQuestion:
  - "Critical — needs attention now"
  - "High — important, this week"
  - "Medium — should get done soon"
  - "Low — when I get to it"

Step 3: Due Date

AskUserQuestion:
  - "Today"
  - "Tomorrow"
  - "This week (Friday)"
  - "Custom date"
  - "No deadline"

Step 4: Category

AskUserQuestion:
  - "Work"
  - "Personal"
  - "Client"
  - "Admin"

Step 5: Confirm and Save

New task:
### TASK-[next-id] | [Title]
**Priority**: [X] | **Category**: [X] | **Assigned**: @[user]
**Created**: [today] | **Due**: [date]

AskUserQuestion:
  - "Add it"
  - "Change something"
  - "Cancel"

Write to ~/Tandem/tasks/kanban.md under "## 📝 To Do" section. Increment <!-- Config: Last Task ID: XXX -->.

Start Task (move to In Progress)

1. Find the task in kanban.md
2. Move from "📝 To Do" to "🚀 In Progress"
3. Add **Started**: [today's date]

Complete Task

1. Find the task, move to "✅ Done"
2. Add **Finished**: [today's date]
3. Check all subtasks [x]
4. Confirm to user

Edit Task

What would you like to change?
AskUserQuestion:
  - "Priority"
  - "Due date"
  - "Description"
  - "Add subtasks"

Delete Task

Always confirm before deleting:

Delete this task?
TASK-[XXX] | [Title]

AskUserQuestion:
  - "Yes, delete it"
  - "No, keep it"

Archive Completed Tasks

Only when user explicitly asks. Move from "✅ Done" in kanban.md to archive.md.

List / Filter Tasks

Default: show all active tasks grouped by column. Overdue highlighted.

AskUserQuestion:
  - "By priority"
  - "Due this week"
  - "Overdue only"
  - "Show all"

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Visual Kanban Board

The file ~/Tandem/tasks/task-manager.html provides a visual Kanban UI. Tell the user: "Open task-manager.html in Chrome or Edge to see your visual task board."

The HTML reads kanban.md directly from disk via File System Access API. Changes made in the browser update kanban.md, and changes Claude makes to kanban.md are reflected when the page refreshes.

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Integration Points

• daily-plan: reads kanban.md "📝 To Do" + "🚀 In Progress" for daily planning
• weekly-review: reads kanban.md "✅ Done" for weekly accomplishments
• daily-briefing: includes overdue tasks from kanban.md
• monday: can sync tasks to/from Monday.com boards
• meeting-notes: feeds action items as new tasks
• session-logger: tracks task operations for pattern detection

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Proactivity Hooks

After adding a task:

AskUserQuestion:
  - "Add another task"
  - "Show my task board"
  - "Nothing else"

After completing a task:

AskUserQuestion:
  - "Update Monday.com too"
  - "Start the next priority task"
  - "Nothing else"

After listing tasks (if overdue exist):

AskUserQuestion:
  - "Reschedule overdue tasks"
  - "Complete one of the overdue tasks"
  - "Nothing else"

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Anti-Patterns

• Do NOT create duplicate tasks — check kanban.md first
• Do NOT use ## headings inside task body — breaks the HTML parser
• Do NOT auto-archive — only on explicit user request
• Do NOT skip priority — always ask via AskUserQuestion
• Do NOT forget to increment <!-- Config: Last Task ID: XXX -->

Activity Logging

After any create, complete, or update operation (NOT after read-only list/show queries), append an entry to ~/Tandem/stats.json:

{
  "type": "task",
  "action": "<operation performed: 'completed', 'created', or 'updated'>",
  "count": <number of tasks affected>,
  "timeSavedMinutes": <count * 5>,
  "description": "Completed 2 tasks: TASK-015, TASK-018",
  "timestamp": "<current ISO 8601>"
}

If ~/Tandem/stats.json does not exist, create it as [<entry>]. If it exists, read it, parse the JSON array, append the new entry, and write it back.

Dashboard Sync

After appending to stats.json, follow the /sync workflow from tandem-skills/core/sync/SKILL.md to rebuild ~/Tandem/dashboard.html with updated statistics. This keeps the dashboard current after every skill run. If /sync fails (e.g., dashboard.html does not exist yet), continue — the main skill workflow must complete successfully regardless of sync outcome.