update-task

Update Task

Update fields of an existing task.

Instructions

The user's query is in $ARGUMENTS (e.g. "set task 042 to high priority and in-progress", "rename task 15 to Fix auth bug", "add tag backend to 042").

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

   • The task ID (required)
   • The fields to update and their new values

2. Look up the task: Run taskmd get <ID> to confirm the task exists

   • If not found, run taskmd list to show available tasks and ask the user which one they meant

3. Determine how to apply each update:

Fields supported by taskmd set (use CLI):

• --title — new title; also updates the matching # heading in the task body. Add --rename to move the file to <id>-<new-slug>.md (the file otherwise keeps its old name, which is harmless — tasks resolve by ID).
• --status — pending, in-progress, completed, in-review, blocked, cancelled
• --priority — low, medium, high, critical
• --effort — small, medium, large
• --type — feature, bug, improvement, chore, docs
• --owner — assignee name
• --parent — parent task ID (empty string to clear)
• --phase — phase ID (must match a phase id in .taskmd.yaml; empty string to clear). If the phase doesn't exist in .taskmd.yaml, add it there first (see add-task skill for the phases config format).
• --add-tag / --remove-tag — add or remove tags (repeatable)
• --add-pr / --remove-pr — add or remove PR URLs (repeatable)
• --depends-on — replace dependencies (comma-separated IDs, e.g. 010,015; empty string to clear)

Build a single taskmd set <ID> command with all applicable flags:

taskmd set 042 --priority high --status in-progress --add-tag backend

Fields NOT supported by taskmd set (edit file directly):

• custom frontmatter fields — edit the frontmatter directly
• description / subtasks / acceptance criteria — edit the markdown body

For direct file edits:

1. Read the task file with the Read tool

2. Use the Edit tool to make the change

3. Run taskmd validate to ensure the file is still valid

4. Handle errors:

   • If the task ID is invalid or not found, tell the user and suggest running taskmd list
   • If a field value is invalid (e.g. --priority mega), explain the valid options
   • If taskmd validate fails after a direct edit, fix the issue before confirming

5. Confirm the changes to the user, showing what was updated