things-todo

# Things Todo Use this for Things 3 tasks on Peter's Macs. Prefer `things` for Things-backed todos; use `$reminders` only when the user asks for Apple Reminders. ## Tool - CLI: `things` - Repo: `https://github.com/ossianhempel/things3-cli` - Install: ```bash GOBIN=/opt/homebrew/bin go install github.com/ossianhempel/things3-cli/cmd/things@latest ``` Auth for update URL operations: ```bash source ~/.profile >/dev/null 2>&1 || true things auth ``` `THINGS_AUTH_TOKEN` should come from `~/.profile` or 1Password. Never print it. `things update --dry-run` must redact it as `auth-token=***`. ## Start Use JSON for scripted reads and verification: ```bash things tasks --format json --limit 20 things today --format json things search "query" --format json ``` Things DB reads may need Full Disk Access for the calling app. Writes should go through Things URL Scheme or AppleScript via `things`; do not write the SQLite DB directly. ## Add Default: add, then search/read back. ```bash things add "Book LHR-SFO nonstop business flight" --notes "Nonstop only." --when tomorrow --tags travel things tasks --search "LHR-SFO" --format json ``` Useful flags: - `--notes "text"` - `--when today|tomorrow|evening|anytime|someday|YYYY-MM-DD` - `--deadline YYYY-MM-DD` - `--list "Project or Area"` - `--tags tag1,tag2` - `--checklist-item "text"` repeatable - `--dry-run` to inspect the `things:///` URL without mutating. ## Update / Delete Find the UUID first, then mutate by id: ```bash things tasks --search "flight" --format json things update --id <uuid> "New title" --notes "Updated notes" things tasks --search "New title" --format json things delete --id <uuid> --confirm <uuid> things tasks --search "New title" --format json things trash --search "New title" --format json ``` Always read back after writes. Delete moves items to Things Trash; verify normal search is empty and trash search contains the item when cleanup matters. ## Conventions - Turn vague asks into concrete next-action titles. - Preserve wording when the user clearly wants capture, not rewriting. - Split unrelated actions into separate to-dos. - Use Today only when the user implies it; otherwise use Inbox/Anytime defaults. - Prefer `--dry-run` before bulk updates/deletes. - For current date math, run `date`; do not guess. ## Gotchas - macOS only; remote hosts may show Things.app version as `UNKNOWN` if the app is absent or not visible there. - `update` needs `THINGS_AUTH_TOKEN`; `add` does not. - `--tags` is plural for add/update; `tasks --tag` is singular for filtering. - `today` JSON may show `start: Anytime` plus a real `start_date`; use command membership/read-back, not one field alone, to verify Today placement.