add-task

Add Task

Create a new task file using the taskmd add CLI command.

Instructions

The user's task description is in $ARGUMENTS.

1. Parse the user's input from $ARGUMENTS to extract:

   • The task title (required)
   • An optional template name (e.g. "bug", "feature", "chore", or a custom template)
   • Any optional flags: --priority, --effort, --tags, --group, --depends-on, --parent, --owner, --slug, --phase

2. Choose the group based on the task's domain (pass with --group):

   • cli — CLI commands, Go backend, terminal features
   • web — Web frontend, UI, React components
   • Omit --group for cross-cutting, infrastructure, documentation, or unclear domain

3. Run taskmd add with the appropriate flags:

# Basic task
taskmd add "Fix the login bug" --group cli

# With a template
taskmd add "Login fails on Safari" --template bug --group cli

# With extra flags
taskmd add "Dark mode support" --template feature --priority high --tags ui,frontend --group web

# With a custom slug (overrides auto-generated slug from title)
taskmd add "Fix the login bug" --slug fix-login --group cli

# With a phase (must match a phase id from .taskmd.yaml)
taskmd add "Add phase filtering" --phase core-cli --group cli

When the user mentions a phase, milestone, or sprint, check .taskmd.yaml for configured phases and use the matching phase id with --phase. If the phase doesn't exist yet, add it to .taskmd.yaml first:

# in .taskmd.yaml
phases:
  - id: v2-launch
    name: "V2 Launch"
    description: "Features for the v2.0 release"
    due: 2026-06-01    # optional

Each phase needs an id (referenced by tasks), name (display label), and optionally description and due date.

Available templates can be listed with taskmd templates list. Built-in templates include bug, feature, and chore. Projects may define custom templates in .taskmd/templates/.

1. Fill in the task content: Read the created file and replace placeholder content (HTML comments like <!-- ... -->, TODO, 1. ...) with real content derived from the user's description in $ARGUMENTS. Fill in:

   • The Objective section with a clear description of the goal
   • The Tasks section with specific, actionable subtasks
   • The Acceptance Criteria with concrete, verifiable criteria
   • Any template-specific sections (e.g. "Steps to Reproduce", "Expected Behavior" for bug templates)

   Use your understanding of the user's request to write meaningful content — don't leave placeholders.

2. Validate by running taskmd validate to ensure the task file is valid. If validation fails, fix the issues.

3. Confirm the created file path and ID to the user.