tasks

name	tasks
description	Create, complete, list, query, and time-track tasks via the mtn CLI (TaskNotes, file-based). Use when the user says "add task", "create task", "complete task", "mark done", "what are my tasks", "what should I work on", "what's overdue", "start a timer", "tasknotes", "what's on my list".
argument-hint	[list | create TEXT | done TASK | search QUERY | timer start TASK | what-to-work-on]
allowed-tools	Bash(mtn:*)

Tasks (TaskNotes via mtn)

Manage tasks through mtn — the standalone TaskNotes CLI. It reads and writes the task markdown files directly through mdbase.

There is no HTTP API and no server. mtn operates on files, so it works whether or not Obsidian is running, with no port and no auth token. (TaskNotes does ship an HTTP API, but braynee deliberately does not use it — the CLI is the supported path. Never reach for localhost:8080/REST here.)

mtn is configured once (~/.config/mdbase-tasknotes/config.json) with collectionPath pointing at the vault, so commands need no path argument.

Reading tasks

Always pass --json when you need to reason over results.

mtn list --json                       # all tasks (open + done), structured
mtn list --status open --json         # only open
mtn list --overdue --json             # overdue
mtn list --priority high --json       # by priority
mtn list --tag task --json            # by tag
mtn list --due 2026-05-30 --json      # by due date
mtn search "<query>" --json           # full-text search
mtn show "<title-or-path>"            # full detail of one task
mtn stats                             # counts by status/priority

Each list --json item has: path, title, status, priority, due, scheduled, projects (["[[Project]]"]), contexts (["@ctx"]), timeEstimate (minutes), tags, recurrenceAnchor.

Creating tasks

mtn create parses natural language — dates, priority, project, contexts, and tags are extracted from the text. Write the task so it is self-contained: enough context that it can be picked up later without the conversation.

# NLP: "tomorrow", "high", "+Project", "@context", "#tag" are all parsed
mtn create "Draft the Q3 proposal tomorrow high +ClientWork @writing"
mtn create "Call the dentist next monday"

Confirm what was created by echoing the resulting title back from mtn list --status open --limit 1 --json.

Completing / updating

mtn done "<title-or-path>"            # mark complete (alias: mtn complete)
mtn update "<title-or-path>" --details "context for later"
mtn archive "<title-or-path>"         # archive (keeps the file)
mtn delete "<title-or-path>"          # remove

Time tracking

mtn timer start "<title-or-path>"     # start a timer on a task
mtn timer stop                        # stop the running timer
mtn timer status                      # what's running
mtn timer log                         # time entries

"What should I work on?"

There's no single command — compose the picture, then reason over it. Pull the inputs and recommend based on overdue first, then today's scheduled, then high-priority open work, factoring timeEstimate against the time the user has.

mtn list --overdue --json                       # 1. overdue (do first)
mtn list --status open --due "$(date +%F)" --json   # 2. due/scheduled today
mtn list --status open --priority high --json   # 3. high-priority open

Surface a short ranked shortlist with titles, projects, and time estimates — not the raw JSON.

Relationship to beads

braynee already mirrors beads issues into TaskNotes automatically (the beads-status-sync hook calls mtn on bd create/--claim/close). So:

• For tracked project work, create the beads issue — the TaskNote follows.
• Use this skill directly for standalone personal tasks, querying, "what should I work on", and timers — things that don't warrant a beads issue.

Don't hand-edit task files; go through mtn so the frontmatter stays valid.