today - SKILL.md Agent Skill

name: today description: Displays tasks and work for today with progress tracking and prioritization. Use when the user asks "what should I work on today", "show my tasks", or "/today". Pulls from the beads task system and provides a personalized, actionable digest.

Today's Task Dashboard

Shows your prioritized work for today with context, dependencies, and progress tracking.

When to Use

Activate when users:

Ask "what should I work on today?"
Request "show my tasks"
Want to check their task list or project status
Use the /today slash command
Ask for a daily digest or summary

What Gets Displayed

The skill gathers and displays:

Today's Tasks - All active tasks with status
Blocked Tasks - Tasks waiting on dependencies
Progress Summary - Completion percentage and momentum
Priority Order - Recommended work sequence
Context Notes - Task descriptions and acceptance criteria

Display Format

Task List Layout

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
  📋 TODAY'S DASHBOARD
  {date} • {task_count} tasks • {completed}/{total} complete
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

🎯 READY TO START ({ready_count})
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
{task-1-priority} {task_1_title}
   {task_1_description}
   Status: {status} | Estimate: {estimate}

{task-2-priority} {task_2_title}
   {task_2_description}
   Status: {status} | Estimate: {estimate}


🔄 IN PROGRESS ({in_progress_count})
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
{task-3-title}
   Progress: {progress_bar} {percent}%
   Current step: {current_step}


⏳ BLOCKED ({blocked_count})
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
{task-4-title}
   Waiting on: {blocking_task}
   Status: {blocker_status}


✅ COMPLETED ({completed_count})
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
{completed_tasks_summary}


📊 TODAY'S METRICS
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Completion Rate: {percent}%
Estimated Completion: {est_time}
Context Available: {context_used}% of limit

Generation Process

Step 1: Invoke Today Agent

Run the TypeScript agent to fetch and format task data:

bun run packages/agents/src/cli/agent-cli.ts today

The agent will:

Query the beads task system for all tasks
Filter tasks by status (pending, in_progress, completed, blocked)
Determine task priority based on:
- Dependencies (blockedBy, blocks)
- Priority field (if set)
- Estimated complexity
Generate a markdown digest with prioritized recommendations
Output context metrics for awareness

Example output:

📋 TODAY'S DASHBOARD
2026-01-26 • 8 tasks • 3/8 complete (38%)

🎯 READY TO START (3)
───────────────────────────────────────
⭐ Fix authentication bug in login flow
   Critical vulnerability allowing bypass. Acceptance: no
   /auth endpoints allow unauthenticated POST
   Status: pending | Estimate: 1-2 hours

🎯 Update database schema migration
   Add support for new user preferences table
   Status: pending | Estimate: 30 min

🔄 IN PROGRESS (2)
───────────────────────────────────────
🏃 Implement new blog feature
   Progress: ████████░░ 80%
   Current: Writing tests

⏳ BLOCKED (1)
───────────────────────────────────────
⏸️ Deploy to production
   Waiting on: Fix authentication bug (pending)

Step 2: Present the Digest

After agent output, present:

Task digest - Formatted list with priorities

Quick actions - Suggested next steps:

Start work: bd update <task-id> --status=in_progress
Mark done: bd update <task-id> --status=completed
View details: bd show <task-id>
Create task: bd create

Context reminder - Time-box estimate and context headroom

Step 3: Interactive Suggestions

Offer next steps based on task state:

If tasks are blocked:

Some tasks are waiting on dependencies. Would you like to:
1. Focus on unblocked work first
2. Check blocker status
3. Escalate blockers to get them moving

If many tasks completed:

You've made great progress (70% complete)! Consider:
1. Taking a break
2. Reviewing completed work
3. Planning for tomorrow

If high priority tasks pending:

You have 2 critical tasks waiting. Recommended priority:
1. Fix authentication bug (1-2 hours) - unblocks deployment
2. Update schema (30 min) - prerequisite for feature
3. Implement feature (2-3 hours) - depends on above

Optional Parameters

Filter by Status

Show only specific task statuses:

bun run packages/agents/src/cli/agent-cli.ts today --status=in_progress
bun run packages/agents/src/cli/agent-cli.ts today --status=ready

Filter by Priority

Show only high-priority tasks:

bun run packages/agents/src/cli/agent-cli.ts today --priority=critical,high

Custom Date

Show tasks for a different date:

bun run packages/agents/src/cli/agent-cli.ts today --date=2026-01-27

Task Workflow Integration

After showing today's digest, help with task management:

Starting work:

User picks a task
Run bd update <task-id> --status=in_progress
Ask if they need task details or context

Reporting progress:

Remind user can update status anytime: bd update <id> --status=...
Offer to check for newly unblocked tasks
Suggest taking a screenshot/snapshot of progress

Completing work:

Prompt to mark complete: bd update <task-id> --status=completed
Check if any previously blocked tasks are now ready
Suggest creating a follow-up task if needed

Voice and Tone

Energetic and encouraging - Help user see momentum
Clear priorities - Remove ambiguity about what matters today
Dependency-aware - Highlight blockers and unblock paths
Progress-focused - Celebrate completed work
Realistic estimates - Under-promise, over-deliver

File Locations

Resource	Path
Task system	`.beads/issues.jsonl`
Task schema	`.beads/schema.json`
Today Agent	`packages/agents/src/cli/agent-cli.ts`
Beads CLI	`gt` / `bd` commands
Config	`.beads/.local_version`

Example Interactions

User: What should I work on today?

Assistant: Let me pull up your task dashboard for today.

bun run packages/agents/src/cli/agent-cli.ts today

📋 TODAY'S DASHBOARD
2026-01-26 • 5 tasks • 2/5 complete (40%)

🎯 READY TO START (2)
───────────────────────────────────────
⭐ Review and merge PR #42
   Waiting for your review before merge. All checks pass.
   Status: pending | Estimate: 15 min

🎯 Fix typo in documentation
   Three instances in README and guides
   Status: pending | Estimate: 5 min

🔄 IN PROGRESS (1)
───────────────────────────────────────
🏃 Implement new API endpoint
   Progress: ██████░░░░ 60%
   Current: Writing unit tests

✅ COMPLETED (2)
───────────────────────────────────────
✓ Set up database fixtures
✓ Create test user seed data

📊 TODAY'S METRICS
───────────────────────────────────────
Completion Rate: 40%
Momentum: Good (2 completed this morning)
Context Available: 65% of limit

Recommended priority:

Finish API endpoint (in progress - 30 min remaining) - highest momentum
Review PR #42 (15 min) - unblocks deployment
Documentation typo (5 min) - quick win

Would you like to continue with the API tests, or switch to reviewing the PR?

User: Show only my blocked tasks.

Assistant:

bun run packages/agents/src/cli/agent-cli.ts today --status=blocked

You don't have any blocked tasks right now! All your work is either ready to start or already in progress. That's great momentum.

Ready to jump into something? Your highest priority unstarted task is "Review PR #42" (15 min estimate).

User: I just finished the API endpoint. What's next?

Assistant: Excellent! Let me update your task status and show what's next.

bd update <task-id> --status=completed
bun run packages/agents/src/cli/agent-cli.ts today

Congratulations on finishing the API endpoint! You're now at 60% complete for today (3/5 tasks).

Next recommended: Review PR #42 (15 min) This unblocks the deployment and is critical path. Then the quick documentation fix.

Want to start the PR review now?