yatl-tasks

name	yatl-tasks
description	Track multi-session work with dependencies using yatl (Yet Another Task List). Use when work spans multiple sessions, has dependencies, or requires persistent context across compaction cycles. For simple single-session linear tasks, TodoWrite remains appropriate. Use when this capability is needed.
metadata	{"author":"brianm"}

yatl Task Tracking

Overview

yatl is a minimal, file-based task tracker that lives in git repositories. Tasks are human-readable markdown files with YAML frontmatter, organized by status in directories. Use for multi-session work with dependencies; use TodoWrite for simple single-session tasks.

Key principle: Status lives in the directory, not the file. Tasks in .tasks/open/ are open, tasks in .tasks/in-progress/ are in progress, etc.

When to Use yatl vs TodoWrite

Use yatl when:

• Multi-session work - Tasks spanning multiple compaction cycles or days
• Complex dependencies - Work with blockers or prerequisites
• Knowledge work - Strategic documents, research, or tasks with fuzzy boundaries
• Side quests - Exploratory work that might pause the main task
• Project memory - Need to resume work after weeks away with full context

Use TodoWrite when:

• Single-session tasks - Work that completes within current session
• Linear execution - Straightforward step-by-step tasks with no branching
• Immediate context - All information already in conversation
• Simple tracking - Just need a checklist to show progress

Key insight: If resuming work after 2 weeks would be difficult without yatl, use yatl. If the work can be picked up from a markdown skim, TodoWrite is sufficient.

Test Yourself: yatl or TodoWrite?

Choose yatl if:

• "Will I need this context in 2 weeks?" -> Yes = yatl
• "Could conversation history get compacted?" -> Yes = yatl
• "Does this have blockers/dependencies?" -> Yes = yatl
• "Is this fuzzy/exploratory work?" -> Yes = yatl

Choose TodoWrite if:

• "Will this be done in this session?" -> Yes = TodoWrite
• "Is this just a task list for me right now?" -> Yes = TodoWrite
• "Is this linear with no branching?" -> Yes = TodoWrite

When in doubt: Use yatl. Better to have persistent memory you don't need than to lose context you needed.

For detailed decision criteria and examples, read: references/BOUNDARIES.md

Surviving Compaction Events

Critical: Compaction events delete conversation history but preserve yatl tasks. After compaction, yatl tasks are your only persistent memory.

What survives compaction:

• All task files (title, body, log entries)
• Complete work history in log sections
• Dependency relationships

What doesn't survive:

• Conversation history
• TodoWrite lists
• Recent discussion context

Writing log entries for post-compaction recovery:

Write log entries as if explaining to a future agent with zero conversation context:

Pattern:

## Log

### 2025-01-15T10:30:00Z brian

COMPLETED: Implemented JWT refresh endpoint with rate limiting
IN PROGRESS: Testing password reset flow
BLOCKERS: Need user input on email template design
KEY DECISIONS: Using RS256 over HS256 for key rotation support
NEXT: Add rate limiting (5 attempts/15min) once email template decided

After compaction: yatl show <task-id> reconstructs full context from log entries.

Log Entry Quality Self-Check

Before checkpointing (especially pre-compaction), verify your log entries pass these tests:

Future-me test: "Could I resume this work in 2 weeks with zero conversation history?"

• What was completed? (Specific deliverables, not "made progress")
• What's in progress? (Current state + immediate next step)
• What's blocked? (Specific blockers with context)
• What decisions were made? (Why, not just what)

Good log entry example:

COMPLETED: JWT auth with RS256 (1hr access, 7d refresh tokens)
KEY DECISION: RS256 over HS256 per security review - enables key rotation
IN PROGRESS: Password reset flow - email service working, need rate limiting
BLOCKERS: Waiting on user decision: reset token expiry (15min vs 1hr trade-off)
NEXT: Implement rate limiting (5 attempts/15min) once expiry decided

Bad log entry example:

Working on auth. Made some progress. More to do.

For complete compaction recovery workflow, read: references/WORKFLOWS.md

For making complex technical tasks resumable with implementation details, read: references/RESUMABILITY.md

Session Start Protocol

yatl is available when:

• Project has a .tasks/ directory

At session start, always check for yatl availability and run ready check.

Session Start Checklist

Copy this checklist when starting any session where yatl is available:

Session Start:
- [ ] Run yatl next to get suggested task
- [ ] Run yatl list --status in-progress for active work
- [ ] If in_progress exists: yatl context <task-id> for full context
- [ ] If starting new work: yatl context <suggested-id> then yatl start <id>
- [ ] Report context to user: "Suggested: [task]. In progress: [task]"

Efficient pattern using new commands:

yatl next                              # Highest priority ready task
yatl list --status in-progress -n 3    # Check for active work
yatl context <id>                      # Load full context (body + blockers + log)

Report format:

• "Suggested task: [title] (high priority). Should I start on this?"
• "Task Y is in-progress. Last session: [from context log]. Should I continue?"

This establishes immediate shared context about available and active work without requiring user prompting.

For detailed session start workflows, read: references/WORKFLOWS.md

---

Progress Checkpointing

Update yatl task logs at these checkpoints (don't wait for session end):

Critical triggers:

• Context running low - User says "running out of context" / "approaching compaction"
• Token budget > 70% - Proactively checkpoint when approaching limits
• Major milestone reached - Completed significant piece of work
• Hit a blocker - Can't proceed, need to capture what was tried
• Task transition - Switching tasks or about to close this one
• Before user input - About to ask decision that might change direction

Checkpoint command:

yatl log <task-id> "COMPLETED: ... IN PROGRESS: ... NEXT: ..."

Checkpoint checklist:

Progress Checkpoint:
- [ ] Add log entry with COMPLETED/IN_PROGRESS/NEXT format
- [ ] Document KEY DECISIONS or BLOCKERS since last update
- [ ] If discovered new work: create task with yatl new
- [ ] Verify log is self-explanatory for post-compaction resume

Most important: When user says "running out of context" OR when you see >70% token usage - checkpoint immediately, even if mid-task.

---

AI-Optimized Commands

These commands are designed for efficient AI assistant workflows:

Quick Context Loading

# Get suggested next task (highest priority ready)
yatl next

# Full context for a specific task (includes blockers, blocks, recent log)
yatl context <id>

# See recent activity across all tasks
yatl activity -n 10

Efficient Searching

# Search with body preview to understand tasks quickly
yatl list --body --search "authentication"

# Filter by tag with limited output
yatl list --tag bug -n 5 --body

# JSON output for programmatic parsing
yatl list --json
yatl show <id> --json

Batch Operations

# Close multiple completed tasks at once
yatl close a1b2 c3d4 e5f6 --reason "Sprint complete"

# Import multiple tasks with dependencies from YAML
yatl import tasks.yaml

Visualizing Dependencies

# See full dependency tree with ready/blocked colors
yatl tree

Recommended session start:

yatl next                     # What should I work on?
yatl context <id>             # Load full context for that task
yatl start <id>               # Mark as in-progress

---

Core Operations

Essential Operations

Check ready work:

yatl ready                    # Tasks with no unresolved blockers
yatl next                     # Highest priority ready task (recommended)

Create new task:

yatl new "Task title"
yatl new "Task title" --priority high --tags bug,auth
yatl new "Task title" --blocked-by task1,task2

# With piped description
echo "Detailed description" | yatl new "Fix login bug"

View task details:

yatl show a1b2               # Prefix matching works
yatl show a1b2c3d4           # Full ID also works

Start working on task:

yatl start a1b2              # Moves open -> in-progress

Stop working (pause):

yatl stop a1b2               # Moves in-progress -> open

Add log entry:

yatl log a1b2 "Found root cause in auth.py"
yatl log a1b2 "COMPLETED: JWT validation" "NEXT: Add tests"

Close completed task:

yatl close a1b2
yatl close a1b2 --reason "Fixed in commit abc123"

Reopen a closed task:

yatl reopen a1b2             # Moves closed -> open

List tasks:

yatl list                    # Active tasks (open, in-progress, blocked)
yatl list --all              # All tasks including closed
yatl list --status open      # Filter by status
yatl list --priority high    # Filter by priority

Update task fields:

yatl update a1b2 --title "New title"
yatl update a1b2 --priority critical
yatl update a1b2 --add-tag documentation

Set task description/body:

yatl describe a1b2 "Full description of the task"
yatl describe a1b2 -    # Read from stdin
echo "Description" | yatl describe a1b2 -

# Alternative using update command:
yatl update a1b2 --body "Description text"
yatl update a1b2 --body -    # Read from stdin

When to use body vs log:

• Body: The authoritative, current description (editable, replaceable)
• Log: Work history, progress notes, decisions (append-only)

Use yatl describe (or yatl update --body) for implementation plans, acceptance criteria, or any content that should be the "current truth". Use yatl log for progress updates and historical notes.

For complete CLI reference with all flags and examples, read: references/CLI_REFERENCE.md

Dependency Management

yatl supports automatic blocking and unblocking based on dependencies.

Add a blocker:

yatl block <task-to-block> <blocker-task>
yatl block c3d4 a1b2         # c3d4 is blocked by a1b2

When you add a blocker, the task automatically moves to .tasks/blocked/.

Remove a blocker:

yatl unblock c3d4 a1b2       # Remove blocker relationship

Automatic unblocking: When you close a blocking task, all tasks it was blocking are automatically moved from blocked/ to open/ (if they have no other blockers).

View blockers:

yatl show c3d4               # Shows blocked_by list in frontmatter

---

Task Lifecycle Workflow

1. Discovery Phase (Proactive Task Creation)

During exploration or implementation, proactively create tasks for:

• Bugs or problems discovered
• Potential improvements noticed
• Follow-up work identified
• Technical debt encountered
• Questions requiring research

Pattern:

# When encountering new work during a task:
yatl new "Found: auth doesn't handle profile permissions" --tags bug

# Continue with original task - new task persists for later

Key benefit: Capture context immediately instead of losing it when conversation ends.

2. Execution Phase (Status Maintenance)

Mark tasks in_progress when starting work:

yatl start a1b2

Add log entries throughout work:

yatl log a1b2 "Researched OAuth2 providers - recommending Auth0"
yatl log a1b2 "Implemented authorization flow"

Close when complete:

yatl close a1b2 --reason "Implemented JWT validation with tests passing"

3. Planning Phase (Dependency Graphs)

For complex multi-step work, structure tasks with dependencies before starting:

Create tasks:

yatl new "Build API"          # -> a1b2
yatl new "Write API tests"    # -> c3d4

Link with dependencies:

yatl block c3d4 a1b2          # c3d4 blocked by a1b2

Work the graph:

yatl ready                    # Shows only a1b2 (c3d4 is blocked)
yatl start a1b2
# ... do work ...
yatl close a1b2               # c3d4 automatically unblocks!
yatl ready                    # Now shows c3d4

---

Integration with TodoWrite

Both tools complement each other at different timescales:

Temporal Layering Pattern

TodoWrite (short-term working memory - this hour):

• Tactical execution: "Review Section 3", "Expand Q&A answers"
• Marked completed as you go
• Present/future tense ("Review", "Expand", "Create")
• Ephemeral: Disappears when session ends

yatl (long-term episodic memory - this week/month):

• Strategic objectives: "Continue work on strategic planning document"
• Key decisions and outcomes in log entries
• Past tense in logs ("COMPLETED", "Discovered", "Blocked by")
• Persistent: Survives compaction and session boundaries

The Handoff Pattern

1. Session start: Read yatl task -> Create TodoWrite items for immediate actions
2. During work: Mark TodoWrite items completed as you go
3. Reach milestone: Add yatl log entry with outcomes + context
4. Session end: TodoWrite disappears, yatl task survives with enriched log

After compaction: TodoWrite is gone forever, but yatl log entries reconstruct what happened.

Example: TodoWrite tracks execution, yatl captures meaning

TodoWrite:

[completed] Implement login endpoint
[in_progress] Add password hashing with bcrypt
[pending] Create session middleware

Corresponding yatl log entry:

yatl log a1b2 "COMPLETED: Login endpoint with bcrypt password hashing (12 rounds). KEY DECISION: Using JWT tokens (not sessions) for stateless auth - simplifies horizontal scaling. IN PROGRESS: Session middleware implementation. NEXT: Need user input on token expiry time (1hr vs 24hr trade-off)."

Don't duplicate: TodoWrite tracks execution, yatl captures meaning and context.

---

Common Patterns

Pattern 1: Knowledge Work Session

Scenario: User asks "Help me write a proposal for expanding the analytics platform"

What you see:

$ yatl ready
a1b2 high Research analytics platform expansion proposal

$ yatl show a1b2
# Shows log with previous session context

What you do:

1. Read log to understand current state
2. Create TodoWrite for immediate work
3. Work on tasks, mark TodoWrite items completed
4. At milestone, add yatl log entry
5. Continue or close task when done

Pattern 2: Side Quest Handling

During main task, discover a problem:

1. Create task: yatl new "Found: inventory system needs refactoring" --tags refactor
2. Assess: blocker or can defer?
3. If blocker: yatl block main-task new-task, work on new task
4. If deferrable: note in log, continue main task

Pattern 3: Multi-Session Project Resume

Starting work after time away:

1. Run yatl ready to see available work
2. Run yatl list --status in-progress to see active work
3. Run yatl show <task-id> to read full context from log
4. Start or continue work

For complete workflow walkthroughs with checklists, read: references/WORKFLOWS.md

---

Task Creation Guidelines

Quick guidelines:

• Ask user first for knowledge work with fuzzy boundaries
• Create directly for clear bugs, technical debt, or discovered work
• Use clear titles, sufficient context in body
• Use priority levels: low, medium, high, critical
• Use tags for categorization

Task Creation Checklist

Creating Task:
- [ ] Title: Clear, specific, action-oriented
- [ ] Body: Problem statement (WHY this matters)
- [ ] Priority: low/medium/high/critical
- [ ] Tags: Relevant labels (bug, feature, refactor, docs, etc.)
- [ ] Blocked-by: Any dependencies (optional)

For detailed guidance on when to ask vs create, task quality, and body vs log usage, read: references/TASK_CREATION.md

---

Data Storage

yatl stores tasks in .tasks/ organized by status:

.tasks/
├── config.yaml       # Project configuration (default author)
├── .gitattributes    # Git merge strategy (union merge)
├── open/             # Ready to work on
├── in-progress/      # Currently being worked on
├── blocked/          # Waiting on dependencies
├── closed/           # Completed successfully
└── cancelled/        # Will not be done

Task File Format

---
title: Fix login bug with special characters
id: a1b2c3d4
created: 2025-11-25T10:30:45Z
updated: 2025-11-25T14:22:00Z
author: brian
priority: high
tags:
  - bug
  - auth
blocked_by: []
---

Users cannot log in when password contains special characters.

---
## Log

### 2025-11-25T11:00:00Z brian

Found the root cause in legacy auth path.

### 2025-11-25T14:22:00Z brian

Fixed in commit abc1234. Need to add tests before closing.

Key insight: Task files are human-readable markdown. You can read them directly if needed.

---

Troubleshooting

If yatl command not found:

• Check that yatl binary is in PATH
• Verify with which yatl or yatl --help

If tasks seem lost:

• Use yatl list --all to see all tasks including closed
• Check all status directories in .tasks/

If dependencies seem wrong:

• Use yatl show <task-id> to see blocked_by list
• Dependencies are directional: yatl block A B means A is blocked by B

---

Reference Files

Reference	Read When
references/BOUNDARIES.md	Need detailed decision criteria for yatl vs TodoWrite
references/CLI_REFERENCE.md	Need complete command reference with all flags
references/WORKFLOWS.md	Need step-by-step workflows with checklists
references/TASK_CREATION.md	Need guidance on when to ask vs create tasks, task quality, body vs log usage
references/RESUMABILITY.md	Need guidance on making tasks resumable across sessions with implementation details

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