Manage tasks, projects, and areas using the tdn CLI. Use when the user wants to create, update, query, or organize their tasks. This skill helps Claude work as a productivity assistant for life and work tasks.
Manages tasks, projects, and areas using the tdn CLI. Use when users want to create, update, query, or organize tasks for life and work productivity.
/plugin marketplace add dannysmith/taskdn/plugin install tdn@tdn-marketplaceThis skill inherits all available tools. When active, it can use any tool Claude has access to.
command-reference.mddecision-guide.mdexamples.mdobsidian.mdreviews.mdspecification.mdtemplates.mdThis skill teaches you to work with the tdn task management system — a file-based productivity system where tasks, projects, and areas are stored as markdown files with YAML frontmatter.
When helping with task management, think like a GTD coach or project manager, not a software engineer.
Key mindset shifts:
You still have all your capabilities, but for task management work, adopt a productivity-focused approach.
This system draws from two influential productivity frameworks:
The tdn system combines GTD's workflow practices with PARA's organizational hierarchy.
The system uses a GTD/PARA-inspired hierarchy:
| Entity | Purpose | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Task | Single actionable item | "Call dentist" |
| Project | Collection of tasks with an end goal | "Q1 Planning" |
| Area | Ongoing responsibility (never "finished") | "Health", "Work", "Family" |
Tasks can belong to a project or directly to an area. Projects belong to areas.
Everything is a markdown file with YAML frontmatter:
tasksDir (eg ~/notes/tasks/)projectsDir (eg ~/notes/projects/)areasDir (eg ~/notes/areas/)These directories can be anywhere on the filesystem — they don't need to be together.
A vault is simply the collection of these three configured directories. It's not a special format — just markdown files that follow the tdn specification.
Some users keep their tdn directories inside an Obsidian vault. If the tdn files are inside Obsidian (look for a .obsidian/ folder or [[wikilinks]] in files), additional considerations apply — see obsidian.md for guidance on bases, templates, links, and Obsidian-specific patterns.
If the tdn files are standalone markdown outside Obsidian, ignore obsidian.md entirely.
NEVER run tdn commands in plain human mode. Human mode uses interactive prompts that will hang.
# WRONG - will hang waiting for input
tdn new
# CORRECT - structured output, no prompts
tdn new "My task" --ai
# ALSO CORRECT - JSON output when needed
tdn list --json
# ALSO CORRECT - composed flags (markdown in JSON envelope)
tdn context --ai --json
| Flag | Output | Use When |
|---|---|---|
--ai | Structured Markdown | Default for all operations |
--json | JSON | Need structured data for further processing |
--ai --json | Markdown in JSON envelope | Need both human-readable content and structured metadata |
Prefer --ai for most operations. Use --json when you need to parse the output programmatically.
To find where task files are stored, run:
tdn config
This shows the resolved configuration (accounting for local overrides):
tasksDir: /Users/danny/notes/tasks
projectsDir: /Users/danny/notes/projects
areasDir: /Users/danny/notes/areas
Use these absolute paths when you need to access files directly with Read, Glob, or Grep.
~/.taskdn.json./.taskdn.json (in current directory)Local config takes precedence over global.
| Command | Purpose | Example |
|---|---|---|
tdn list | Query and filter entities | tdn list --status ready --ai |
tdn show | Full entity details | tdn show "Fix bug" --ai |
tdn new | Create task/project/area | tdn new "Call dentist" --due tomorrow --ai |
tdn context | Overview with relationships | tdn context --ai |
tdn today | Today's actionable tasks | tdn today --ai |
tdn set status | Change status | tdn set status "Fix bug" done --ai |
tdn update | Modify fields | tdn update "Fix bug" --set due=2025-01-20 --ai |
tdn archive | Move to archive | tdn archive "Old task" --ai |
tdn append-body | Add notes to body | tdn append-body "Fix bug" "Made progress" --ai |
tdn doctor | Health check | tdn doctor --ai |
For entity types other than tasks, add the type:
tdn list projects --ai
tdn new project "Q2 Planning" --ai
tdn context area "Work" --ai
See command-reference.md for complete documentation.
| Operation | Approach | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Get overview/context | CLI: tdn context --ai | Hierarchical output, relationships |
| List/filter tasks | CLI: tdn list --ai | Built-in filtering, sorting |
| Read task body for summarization | Direct: Read | Faster, full content |
| Create new task | CLI: tdn new --ai | Proper timestamps, filename |
| Update status | CLI: tdn set status --ai | Auto-sets completed-at |
| Update fields | CLI: tdn update --ai | Preserves unknown frontmatter |
| Append notes | CLI: tdn append-body --ai | Proper formatting |
| Bulk analysis of many files | Direct: Read + Glob | More efficient |
| Search across task bodies | Direct: Grep | Full-text search |
General rule: Use CLI for mutations (create, update, delete). Use direct file access for bulk reading and analysis.
See decision-guide.md for detailed guidance.
When you need to understand the file structure or create files without the CLI, see templates.md for:
Note: The CLI's tdn new command handles file creation with proper timestamps and filenames. Only use templates for reference or edge cases.
If a tdn command fails:
NOT_FOUND — entity doesn't exist (check spelling, use tdn list to find it)AMBIGUOUS — multiple matches (use the file path instead of title)INVALID_STATUS — wrong status value (see specification.md)PARSE_ERROR — malformed frontmatter (check the file manually)This plugin provides:
/tdn:today — Show today's actionable tasks/tdn:prime - Primes the current session with tdn context --aiUse slash commands for quick, focused operations.
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