I wanted a simple easy to use application for managing my todo list that was free and open source software (FOSS) which I could install on Linux systems, but which might also be available for other operating systems as well. There are online, commercial alternatives, but I wanted something I could put on my own systems with no fear that my data might disappear should a commercial entity not remain commercially viable. I found Taskwarrior, an open-source, cross platform time and task management tool with a command-line interface (CLI). The command line interface is helpful to me since I'm often working on systems via a Secure Shell (SSH) connection and would like to be able to add to my task list on those systems without using a graphical user interface (GUI).
I wanted to first install it on a
CentOS Linux
system. It isn't in the default
software repositories for CentOS, but if you
configure a CentOS
system to use the EPEL repository, you can easily install the Taskwarrior
package using yum with yum install task.
# yum install task Loaded plugins: fastestmirror, langpacks Loading mirror speeds from cached hostfile * base: mirrors.advancedhosters.com * epel: mirror.cogentco.com * extras: mirror.umd.edu * updates: centos.mirror.constant.com Resolving Dependencies --> Running transaction check ---> Package task.x86_64 0:2.5.1-1.el7 will be installed --> Finished Dependency Resolution Dependencies Resolved ================================================================================ Package Arch Version Repository Size ================================================================================ Installing: task x86_64 2.5.1-1.el7 epel 855 k Transaction Summary ================================================================================ Install 1 Package Total download size: 855 k Installed size: 2.4 M Is this ok [y/d/N]: y Downloading packages: task-2.5.1-1.el7.x86_64.rpm | 855 kB 00:00 Running transaction check Running transaction test Transaction test succeeded Running transaction Installing : task-2.5.1-1.el7.x86_64 1/1 Verifying : task-2.5.1-1.el7.x86_64 1/1 Installed: task.x86_64 0:2.5.1-1.el7 Complete! # rpm -qi task Name : task Version : 2.5.1 Release : 1.el7 Architecture: x86_64 Install Date: Sat 02 Sep 2017 10:40:35 AM EDT Group : Applications/Productivity Size : 2504797 License : MIT Signature : RSA/SHA256, Fri 26 Feb 2016 10:05:33 AM EST, Key ID 6a2faea2352c64e5 Source RPM : task-2.5.1-1.el7.src.rpm Build Date : Wed 24 Feb 2016 10:19:34 PM EST Build Host : buildhw-09-nfs.phx2.fedoraproject.org Relocations : (not relocatable) Packager : Fedora Project Vendor : Fedora Project URL : http://taskwarrior.org Summary : Taskwarrior - a command-line TODO list manager Description : Taskwarrior is a command-line TODO list manager. It is flexible, fast, efficient, unobtrusive, does its job then gets out of your way. Taskwarrior scales to fit your workflow. Use it as a simple app that captures tasks, shows you the list, and removes tasks from that list. Leverage its capabilities though, and it becomes a sophisticated data query tool that can help you stay organized, and get through your work. #
Once it is installed, you can get help on using the program from the
task man page by typing man task.
You can add a new task by simply typing task add Task Description
where Task Description is whatever text you wish to use to
describe the task to be completed. The first time you use the program from
an account you will be asked about the creation of a .taskrc
file in the home directory for the account as shown below.
$ task add Locate Anaheim backup drive A configuration file could not be found in Would you like a sample /home/jim/.taskrc created, so Taskwarrior can proceed? (yes/no) y Created task 1. $
You can see your list of tasks by simply typing tasks or
task list.
$ task [task next] ID Age Description Urg 1 6min Locate Anaheim backup drive 0 1 task $
You can specify a due date for a task by putting due:day after the task description where day can be a day of the week or a
calendar date, e.g., 2017-09-15. E.g., if today is Saturday September 2 and I
want to complete a task by next Saturday, September 9, I could use
due:Saturday as shown below. You can delete tasks by ID number.
$ task add Resolve problem with SORBS blocking AOL email due:Saturday
Created task 2.
$ task list
ID Age Due Description Urg
2 3s 2017-09-09 Resolve problem with SORBS blocking AOL email 5.9
1 10min Locate Anaheim backup drive 0
2 tasks
$ task delete 2
Delete task 2 'Resolve problem with SORBS blocking AOL email'? (yes/no) y
Deleting task 2 'Resolve problem with SORBS blocking AOL email'.
Deleted 1 task.
$ task list
ID Age Description Urg
1 12min Locate Anaheim backup drive 0
1 task
$If a task is due tomorrow, you can specify "tomorrow" after "due:" and
the program will translate that into the calendar date. You can also specify
a priority for a task. E.g., I could use priority:H if I wanted
to indicate a task has a high priority. So, for the original example, I could
have used the following command, instead of the one above.
$ task add Locate Anaheim backup drive due:tomorrow priority:H
Created task 2.
$ task list
ID Age P Due Description Urg
1 9s H 2017-09-03 Locate Anaheim backup drive 14.7
1 task
$Instead of zero listed under the urgency column, I now see the urgency set to 14.7 and see "H" in the "P" column. The text color is changed as well. You can use "H", "M", or "L" for priority to indicate a task has either "high", "medium", or "low" priority. Options for dates related to a task include the following:
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.With any todo list program, it is beneficial to be able to categorize
items. Taskwarrior allows you to do so by specifying a project with
project:ProjectName where ProjectName is the name of
the project.
$ task add Schedule appointment with eye doctor due:2017-09-08 project:Personal Created task 2. The project 'Personal' has changed. Project 'Personal' is 0% complete (1 task remaining). $ task list ID Age P Project Due Description Urg 1 51min H 2017-09-03 Locate Anaheim backup drive 14.7 2 10s Personal 2017-09-08 Schedule appointment with eye doctor 7.38 2 tasks $
If you have a lot of tasks, a means of filtering the list of displayed tasks is important. With taskwarrior, you can apply a filter to the list of tasks displayed as shown below.
$ task list ID Age P Project Due Description Urg 1 1h H 2017-09-03 Locate Vanaheim backup drive 14.7 2 21min Personal 2017-09-08 Schedule appointment with eye doctor 7.39 2 tasks $ task project:Personal [task next ( project:Personal )] ID Age Project Due Description Urg 2 21min Personal 5d Schedule appointment with eye doctor 7.39 1 task $ task due:tomorrow [task next ( due:tomorrow )] ID Age P Due Description Urg 1 1h H 6h Locate Vanaheim backup drive 14.7 1 task $
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