update-task

name	update-task
description	Update an existing task's fields (status, priority, title, tags, dependencies, etc.). Use when the user wants to modify a task's properties.
allowed-tools	Glob, Read, Edit

Update Task

Update fields of an existing task — no CLI required.

Instructions

The user's query is in $ARGUMENTS (e.g. "set task 042 to high priority and in-progress", "rename task 15 to Fix auth bug", "add tag backend to 042").

1. Parse the user's input from $ARGUMENTS to extract:

   • The task ID (required)
   • The fields to update and their new values

2. Find the task file:

   • Read .taskmd.yaml for custom dir (default: tasks)
   • Use Glob for <task-dir>/**/*<ID>*.md
   • If multiple matches, read frontmatter to find the exact ID match
   • If not found, list available tasks

3. Read the task file with the Read tool

4. Apply updates using the Edit tool:

   Frontmatter field updates

   For each field to change, edit the YAML frontmatter:

   • status: Replace the status: <old> line with status: <new> — valid values: pending, in-progress, completed, in-review, blocked, cancelled
   • priority: Replace priority: <old> with priority: <new> — valid: low, medium, high, critical
   • effort: Replace effort: <old> with effort: <new> — valid: small, medium, large
   • type: Replace type: <old> with type: <new> — valid: feature, bug, improvement, chore, docs
   • owner: Replace or add owner: "<value>"
   • phase: Replace or add phase: "<value>" — must match a phase id in .taskmd.yaml. If the phase doesn't exist yet, add it to the phases array in .taskmd.yaml first (see SPEC_REFERENCE.md)
   • parent: Replace or add parent: "<value>"
   • title: Replace the title: "..." line

   Array field updates (tags, dependencies, pr)

   • Add tag: Add the value to the tags array in frontmatter
   • Remove tag: Remove the value from the tags array
   • Add dependency: Add the ID to the dependencies array
   • Remove dependency: Remove the ID from the array
   • Add PR: Add the URL to the pr array
   • Remove PR: Remove the URL from the array

   If a field doesn't exist in the frontmatter yet, add it before the closing ---

   Body updates

   • description/subtasks/acceptance criteria: Edit the markdown body directly

5. Validate the changes:

   • Ensure enum values are valid (see SPEC_REFERENCE.md)
   • Ensure the frontmatter is still valid YAML
   • If a field value is invalid, explain the valid options to the user

6. Confirm the changes to the user, showing what was updated

See SPEC_REFERENCE.md (in the plugin root) for valid field values and frontmatter schema.