// Manage projects with the Vertical board using the itsvertical CLI. Create projects, add tasks, organize boxes, split layers, and track progress. Use when the user mentions Vertical, project management, boxes, slices, .vertical files, or itsvertical.
| name | vertical |
| description | Manage projects with the Vertical board using the itsvertical CLI. Create projects, add tasks, organize boxes, split layers, and track progress. Use when the user mentions Vertical, project management, boxes, slices, .vertical files, or itsvertical. |
File-based project management with vertical slicing. The CLI command is itsvertical (npm package: itsvertical).
Before using any commands, check if itsvertical is available:
itsvertical --version
If not found, install it globally:
npm install -g itsvertical
When working on a task, always read its notes first with itsvertical task notes <file> <task-id>. Notes contain important context, requirements, and decisions about the work.
Every Vertical project follows this pattern:
itsvertical new project.vertical "Project Name" # create a project
itsvertical show project.vertical # see the board with IDs
itsvertical box rename project.vertical <id> "Box Name" # name a box
itsvertical task add project.vertical <layer-id> "Task name" # add tasks
itsvertical task done project.vertical <task-id> # mark done
itsvertical project.vertical # view in browser (shorthand for "open")
The new and open commands automatically track boards in ~/.vertical/history.json. Use itsvertical history list to find all known boards.
.vertical file containing the full board statenotesHtml).All entities are addressed by UUID. Use itsvertical show to get IDs. Every command accepts --json to output the full board state as JSON.
itsvertical <file> # Shorthand for "open"
itsvertical new <path> <name> # Create a new .vertical file
itsvertical show <file> # Print board with IDs
itsvertical show <file> --json # Output board as JSON
itsvertical show <file> --box <slice-id> # Show only one box
itsvertical show <file> --visual # Show visual 3x3 grid with summary table
itsvertical rename <file> <name> # Rename the project
itsvertical open <file> # Open in browser UI
itsvertical history list # List all known boards
itsvertical history list --json # List as JSON array
itsvertical history add <file> # Manually add a board to history
itsvertical history remove <name-or-file> # Remove from history (keeps file)
itsvertical task add <file> <layer-id> <name> # Add task to end of layer
itsvertical task add <file> <layer-id> <name> --after <task-id> # Insert after specific task
itsvertical task done <file> <task-id> # Mark as done
itsvertical task undone <file> <task-id> # Mark as not done
itsvertical task rename <file> <task-id> <name> # Rename
itsvertical task delete <file> <task-id> # Delete
itsvertical task move <file> <task-id> <layer-id> # Move to another layer
itsvertical task notes <file> <task-id> # Print task notes
itsvertical task notes <file> <task-id> --set <html> # Set notes (HTML)
itsvertical task notes <file> <task-id> --clear # Clear notes
itsvertical box rename <file> <slice-id> <name> # Rename a box
itsvertical box clear <file> <slice-id> # Clear box name
itsvertical box swap <file> <id-1> <id-2> # Swap two box positions
itsvertical layer split <file> <task-id> # Split at task (tasks after go to new layer)
itsvertical layer merge <file> <layer-id> # Merge with next layer
itsvertical layer rename <file> <layer-id> <name> # Rename
itsvertical layer clear <file> <layer-id> # Clear name
itsvertical layer status <file> <layer-id> done # Set status to done
itsvertical layer status <file> <layer-id> none # Clear status
itsvertical new project.vertical "Online Course Platform"
itsvertical show project.vertical # get slice IDs
itsvertical box rename project.vertical <id1> "Course Catalog"
itsvertical box rename project.vertical <id2> "Video Player"
itsvertical box rename project.vertical <id3> "Progress Tracking"
itsvertical show project.vertical --box <slice-id> # get the layer ID
itsvertical task add project.vertical <layer-id> "Create mockups"
itsvertical task add project.vertical <layer-id> "Review with team"
itsvertical task add project.vertical <layer-id> "Finalize design"
# Split after "Review with team" — tasks after it go to a new layer
itsvertical layer split project.vertical <review-task-id>
itsvertical layer rename project.vertical <first-layer-id> "Draft"
itsvertical layer rename project.vertical <new-layer-id> "Polish"
# Get structured state for programmatic use
itsvertical show project.vertical --json
The JSON output contains the full board: project, slices (sorted by boxNumber), layers, and tasks with all IDs.
itsvertical show project.vertical --visual
The grid shows all 9 boxes with their tasks, layer structure, and a summary table — useful for a quick overview without opening the browser UI.
# Move a task from one box's layer to another box's layer
itsvertical task move project.vertical <task-id> <target-layer-id>
When --json is passed, errors output as {"error": "..."} instead of plain text. Without --json, errors print to stderr as Error: ....
itsvertical show before operating on entities.--json for reliable parsing.open (or the itsvertical <file> shorthand) in automated workflows — it starts a browser server meant for human interaction. Use the other commands for agent work.Release a new version of the itsvertical npm package. Bump version, build, publish, and create a GitHub release. Use when the user mentions releasing, publishing, cutting a release, or shipping a new version.
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