anytype

# Anytype task tools Twelve verbs over the local Anytype API. Everything composes through a session: `find` numbers its results (1, 2, …) and sets the working space; every other verb takes `--object <number>`. Setup: the local Anytype app must be running; `ANYTYPE_API_KEY` holds an API key from the app's settings (`ANYTYPE_API_URL` defaults to `http://127.0.0.1:31009`). ## The loop ```sh anytype spaces # space ids, when none is known # Work — bafyspace1 anytype find --space bafyspace1 --type Task --filter 'done = false' # 1. Prepare the Q3 report (Task) # 2. Ship the beta (Task) anytype edit-text --object 1 --find "Q3" --replace "Q4" # --block is optional: the snippet locates the block when it matches # exactly one; an ambiguous snippet refuses and lists the candidates anytype read --object 1 --mode outline # block ids + structure ``` 1. **spaces** when no space id is known — it lists `name — id`. 2. **find** next — it creates the handles and the working space. 3. **describe** before you create or set properties — it lists the live property names and each one's format and options. Address properties by the names describe shows (`"Due date"`); select option names must match exactly. 4. **read** before you edit blocks — block ids come from read (`--mode outline` for structure, full mode for text; table row and column ids come from full mode too). ## Intent → verb recipes | Intent | Verb — not that other thing | |---|---| | complete/close a task object | `set-properties --object 1 --set '{"Done":true}'` (or the status option describe shows, e.g. `{"Status":"Done"}`) — NOT check-item, which is for checkbox blocks inside a document | | tick a checklist line in a note | `check-item --object 1 --block ab3f2 --checked` | | change one word/phrase | `edit-text` with a short unique snippet — never retype the block; `--block` only when the snippet alone is ambiguous (the error lists the candidates) | | delete a word/phrase | `edit-text --find "the phrase" --replace ""` — an empty replacement deletes | | delete several blocks | `delete-block --block "ab3f2,c81d0,e0001"` — ONE call, comma-separated; it removes all of them or none — never one call per block | | add notes/sections/checklists | `add-blocks --markdown '…'` — write markdown, the server parses it | | fill one table cell | `set-cell` — never rewrite the table; row/col ids come from full read | | clear one table cell | `set-cell … --value ""` — an empty value clears | | assign to the current user | value `"@me"` — e.g. `--set '{"Assignee":"@me"}'` | | due dates | `today`, `tomorrow`, weekday names, `+3d`, or `2026-08-01` | | find "my open tasks" | `--filter 'Assignee = "@me" AND Done = false'` | ## Filter strings `--filter` is a compact expression, not JSON: `Done = false AND (Due_date < currentWeek() OR Due_date IS EMPTY)` · `Status IN ("In progress", "Blocked")` · `Name CONTAINS "report"` · `Last_modified_date > daysAgo(7)`. String values take double quotes; date presets are functions (`today()`, `currentWeek()`, `daysAgo(n)`). Property names here are written as identifiers — a multi-word name takes underscores (`Due_date` for "Due date"); a name no identifier can spell (`C++`, `50% done`) cannot ride a filter string. ## Caveats - **Text is markdown source.** `edit-text` find/replace operates on the block's markup: `**`, `[`, `~~` in a replacement become real formatting. Escape with `\` when you mean the literal character. - **Select options are never created by these verbs.** An unknown option name is an error listing the existing names — fix the spelling (option names are case-sensitive). `--create-missing` is the deliberate escape. Type and property NAMES are more forgiving: case, `_`/`-` and spaces fold away, so `due_date`, `dueDate` and `Due date` all address one property; if two properties answer to one spelling the error names both — it never guesses. - **Handles expire on the next find.** Re-run `find` and use the new numbers. Block ids come from `read` — use them as served, and re-read after a structural edit rather than reusing remembered ones. A block id always names an EXISTING block: new content is authored without ids (`add-blocks` takes none). Every edit receipt names the object it changed (`ok — "Groceries": …`) — check it matches your intent. - **One verb, one intent.** There is no batch; run verbs in sequence. Retries are safe: an identical re-run within a minute is deduplicated, including after a failed or timed-out attempt. - Errors are self-describing and name valid alternatives — read them, fix the named field, retry once. Do not loop blindly. ## References - `anytype tools` — the machine-readable manifest: per-tool JSON schema, worked example, GBNF grammar (constrained decoding), and the filter grammar (EBNF + GBNF). `--tier small` narrows it to the 8-tool set for ~8B models (`large`, the default, is all twelve). - `anytype mcp --tier small|large` — serve the same tools over MCP stdio for LOCAL models (Ollama/LM Studio-class hosts). Coding agents reading this skill should keep using the verbs directly — the CLI is the intended delivery for them; `mcp` exists for hosts that cannot run commands. Session state is in-memory for the server's lifetime. - `anytype help` — the verb list; `anytype <verb> --help` — its flags. - Spec: `core/api/APIV2.md` §7 (the wrapper contract), `github.com/anyproto/any-block/format/v2/SPEC.md` (the document format the full-read mode returns).