# Things

> Interacting with Things 3 task manager for Mac. Use when working with the user's personal todos, tasks, projects, areas, tags, or task lists (inbox, today, upcoming, etc.). Supports creating, reading, updating, and navigating tasks.

- Skill: `majiayu000/things` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add majiayu000/things`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/majiayu000/things/raw
- Safety review: pending (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector PASS)
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Productivity
- Author: majiayu000 (https://skillmd.com/u/majiayu000)
- Updated: 2026-09-09
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/majiayu000/things

---


# Things 3 Task Manager

Interact with Things 3, the user's personal task manager for Mac.

## Quick Start

**Read operations**: Use TypeScript with esbuild to write type-safe JXA code via `scripts/run-jxa.sh`
**Write operations**: Use `things://` URL schemes (`things:///add`, `things:///update`, `things:///json`)
**Auth token**: `security find-generic-password -a "$USER" -s "things-auth-token" -w` (see `@1password.md` for setup)

## Common Commands

**Read today's todos:**
```bash
scripts/run-jxa.sh 'const app = Application("Things3"); const today = app.lists.byId("TMTodayListSource"); JSON.stringify(today.toDos().map(t => ({id: t.id(), name: t.name()})), null, 2);'
```

**Create a todo:**
```bash
open "things:///add?title=Task%20name&when=today&tags=Work"
```

**Update a todo:**
```bash
auth_token=$(security find-generic-password -a "$USER" -s "things-auth-token" -w)
open "things:///update?id=ABC-123&auth-token=$auth_token&append-notes=Additional%20info"
```

**Navigate to today:**
```bash
open "things:///show?id=today"
```

## Built-in List IDs

- `TMInboxListSource` - Inbox
- `TMTodayListSource` - Today
- `TMNextListSource` - Anytime
- `TMCalendarListSource` - Upcoming
- `TMSomedayListSource` - Someday
- `TMLogbookListSource` - Logbook

## When Values

- `today`, `tomorrow`, `evening`
- `anytime`, `someday`
- `yyyy-mm-dd` (specific date)
- Natural language: "in 3 days", "next week"

## Status Values (JXA)

- `open` - Active todo
- `completed` - Completed
- `canceled` - Canceled

## Documentation

Load detailed guides as needed:

- **[setup.md](setup.md)** - TypeScript/JXA development setup, array conversion, running scripts
- **[examples.md](examples.md)** - Comprehensive usage examples for all operations
- **[jxa.md](jxa.md)** - Complete JXA object model and API reference
- **[url-scheme.md](url-scheme.md)** - URL scheme commands and parameters
- **[1password.md](1password.md)** - Auth token setup and keychain configuration
- **[troubleshooting.md](troubleshooting.md)** - Common issues, best practices, repeating task detection

## Essential Tips

- **URL encoding**: Always URL-encode parameters (spaces → `%20`, newlines → `%0a`)
- **Verification**: ALWAYS verify updates succeeded by reading back the todo with JXA
- **Repeating tasks**: Filter by comparing `creationDate` to midnight (see [troubleshooting.md](troubleshooting.md))
- **TypeScript mode**: Use `scripts/run-jxa.sh` for type-safe JXA with autocomplete