| 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?
