nytid-todo

name: nytid-todo description: | Manages work items via nytid todo subcommands as worker dan-claude. Relevant when the user asks to check, start, or complete tasks, view task details, add progress notes, create subtasks, reprioritize items, or import/sync GitHub issues. Also triggered by "what should I work on next?", "show my tasks", "mark that done", "what's in progress?", or mentions of nytid, todo, or work items.

Managing work with nytid todo

Identity: always use --who dan-claude

Every nytid todo command defaults to the current system user (dbosk). Pass --who dan-claude on every invocation — listing, adding, starting, completing, everything. Forgetting this flag means reading or modifying the wrong person's tasks.

Omitting or widening --who is acceptable when reading tasks to get context (see "Getting context from other assignees" below). Never modify tasks that are not assigned to dan-claude.

Exception: email-derived todos (user-owned work)

When the inbox-info skill is active and the user is converting flagged emails into todos, omit --who entirely so the new todos default to the current user (dbosk). dan-claude is a delegated worker for code/tooling tasks, not a stand-in for the user in human communication — assigning email replies to dan-claude mis-routes work the user must do themselves. See ~/.claude/skills/inbox-info/references/todo-conversion-rules.md for the full rationale. This exception applies only to email-derived todos; all other nytid todo work still uses --who dan-claude.

Discovering options

Each subcommand has its own --help flag. Always consult it for exact syntax, available flags, and defaults:

nytid todo <subcommand> --help

The rest of this document describes workflows, not exact command syntax.

Core workflows

See what to work on

Use ls to list your tasks sorted by effective priority. Key options control depth (--all for subtasks), count limits, status filters, and output format — check ls --help. The default shows only top-level items; use --all or --flat to see the full hierarchy.

Use status to see the currently active task stack (what is already in progress). Use next to let the system pick the highest-priority pending task.

Work on a task

The task lifecycle follows a stack model:

1. Start a task with start (or let next pick one). This pushes it onto the active stack and optionally spawns a shell in the task's working directory.
2. Stop pauses the task and pops it from the stack without completing it.
3. Done marks the task complete and pops it from the stack.

Check start --help for options like tmux integration, timeouts, and working directory handling.

If a task is already in progress, next will start its highest-priority pending child rather than a new top-level task — this is how you drill into subtasks.

Get context on a task

Use view to see full details of a task (title, description, labels, deadline, estimate, notes, parent/child relationships). Without an ID it shows the currently active task.

Update tasks and leave notes

Use edit to change metadata (title, description, deadline, estimate, labels, assignment, parent). Use note to append progress updates, blockers, or decisions. Both support --help for available options.

Prefer note for incremental updates (progress, findings, blockers) and edit for structural changes (reassignment, deadline shifts, re-parenting).

Create subtasks

Use add to break a task into smaller pieces. Auto-parenting: if a task is already in-progress (visible via status) and you omit both --parent and --top-level, the new task auto-parents under the active todo. This is the most ergonomic way to add subtasks while working on something — just nytid todo add ... and the parent is inferred. Pass --top-level to opt out and add at the root, or --parent <id> to target a specific parent.

Priority assignment defaults to interactive binary-search comparison against existing siblings (you'll be prompted to compare priorities). For non-interactive batch adds use one of:

• --append — places the new task just below the lowest-priority sibling. Safe even when the parent has no existing children (the first child gets a sensible default). When batch-adding in priority order (highest first), each --append slots one rung below the previous, encoding the order without prompts.
• --skip-priority — no numeric priority assigned; the task sorts by deadline only. Use for "do whenever" buckets.

Default-command (-c/--command): the value passed here becomes the command nytid todo start <id> runs (replacing the worker's default, which is bash). Useful for embedding a one-step action — opening a file in an editor, launching a query in NeoMutt, running a script — so the user goes from start to working with no copy-paste.

Reprioritize

Use reprioritize (alias reprio) to rerun the binary-search priority comparison for a task whose importance has changed.

Getting context from other assignees

Your tasks often exist as children of broader items assigned to dbosk or others. To understand the full picture:

• Use ls without --who (or with a wider filter) to see all assignees' tasks.
• Use view on a parent item to read its description and notes, even if it is not assigned to you.

This is read-only context gathering.

GitHub integration

Use import to pull GitHub issues/PRs into the todo system and sync to keep them updated. Both support --help for repository, type, and metadata options. Always pass --who dan-claude when importing to ensure correct assignment.

Quick reference