Todo Manager

Skill: TODO.md Manager

Description

Manages project TODO.md files with structured sections for task tracking. Handles adding tasks, nesting sub-tasks under existing items, and summarizing completed work.

Instructions

1. Locate or Create TODO.md

Search order:

1. ./TODO.md (project root)
2. ./docs/TODO.md

If neither exists: Create docs/TODO.md with this template:

# TODO

## In Progress

## Up Next

## Backlog

## Done

2. Task Format

Main tasks:

- [ ] Task description

With priority (optional):

- [ ] [HIGH] Fix critical auth bug
- [ ] [MED] Add user settings page
- [ ] [LOW] Update footer styling

Sub-tasks (indented with 2 spaces):

- [ ] Implement auth flow
  - [ ] Add login endpoint
  - [ ] Add logout endpoint
  - [ ] Write tests

3. Adding New Tasks

Workflow:

1. Check existing items in the target section (usually Up Next or Backlog)
2. Look for related tasks the new item might belong under
3. If clearly related: Add as indented sub-task
4. If ambiguous: Ask the user: "Should this go under '[existing task]' or as a new item?"
5. If unrelated: Add as new top-level item

Context clues for sub-task detection:

• New task mentions same feature/component as existing task
• New task is a step toward completing an existing task
• Keywords overlap significantly (e.g., "auth", "login", "user")

Example:

Existing: - [ ] Implement auth flow
New task: "add password reset endpoint"

→ Clearly related, add as sub-task:
- [ ] Implement auth flow
  - [ ] Add password reset endpoint

4. Proactive Suggestions

When to suggest tasks:

If you notice high-priority issues while working (critical bugs, missing error handling, security concerns, broken tests), you can prompt the user:

"I noticed [issue]. Should I add '[suggested task]' to the TODO list?"

Only suggest when:

• Issue is genuinely important (HIGH priority level)
• It's clear the user hasn't already addressed it
• You're actively working in related code

Don't spam suggestions:

• Limit to 1-2 per session unless user asks for more
• Skip minor improvements or style issues
• Focus on functionality, security, or blocking problems

5. Moving Tasks Between Sections

In Progress → Done:

1. Summarize the task to a single line (drop sub-task checklists)
2. Add brief parenthetical if sub-tasks provide useful context
3. Mark as checked
4. Insert at the top of Done section (newest first)
5. Remove from In Progress

Example transformation:

# Before (In Progress):
- [ ] Implement auth flow
  - [x] Add login endpoint
  - [x] Add logout endpoint
  - [x] Add password reset
  - [x] Write tests for auth

# After (Done):
- [x] Implement auth flow (login, logout, password reset)

Other moves:

• Up Next → In Progress: Move as-is (preserve sub-tasks and their checked state)
• Backlog → Up Next: Move as-is
• Any section → Backlog: Move as-is (demoting)

6. Section Order

Maintain this order in the file:

1. ## In Progress - Currently being worked on
2. ## Up Next - Queued for immediate attention
3. ## Backlog - Future work, not prioritized
4. ## Done - Completed work (summaries only, newest first)

7. Priority Markers

Use when specified by user or when task urgency is mentioned:

Don't add priority if the user doesn't mention urgency—keep it simple.

8. Error Handling

Item not found when moving/updating:

• Search all sections for similar text
• Suggest closest matches: "I couldn't find 'auth flow'. Did you mean 'Implement authentication'?"
• If no matches, ask user to clarify

Item appears in multiple sections:

• Warn user: "Found 'auth flow' in both In Progress and Up Next. Which one should I update?"
• Wait for clarification before making changes

Ambiguous sub-task placement:

• Ask: "Should 'add login endpoint' go under 'Implement auth flow' or as a new item?"
• Default to asking rather than guessing wrong

9. Common Operations

"Add a task" / "Create todo" / "Update todo with X":

1. Determine section (default: Up Next, or ask)
2. Check for related existing tasks
3. Add as sub-task or new item

"Mark X as done" / "Complete X":

1. Find item in In Progress (or other sections)
2. Summarize if it has sub-tasks
3. Move to top of Done as checked item

"What's in progress?" / "Show me the todo":

1. Read and display requested section(s)

"Move X to in progress" / "Start working on X":

1. Find item in Up Next or Backlog
2. Move to In Progress section

"Add sub-task to X":

1. Find parent task X
2. Add indented checkbox under it

Examples

Example 1: Adding a Related Task

User: "Add a task to write tests for the login endpoint"

Current TODO.md:

## In Progress
- [ ] Implement auth flow
  - [x] Add login endpoint
  - [ ] Add logout endpoint

Action: Recognize "login endpoint" relates to "Implement auth flow"

Result:

## In Progress
- [ ] Implement auth flow
  - [x] Add login endpoint
  - [ ] Add logout endpoint
  - [ ] Write tests for login endpoint

Example 2: Completing a Task with Sub-tasks

User: "Mark auth flow as done"

Current:

## In Progress
- [ ] Implement auth flow
  - [x] Add login endpoint
  - [x] Add logout endpoint
  - [x] Add password reset

## Done
- [x] Update database schema

Result:

## In Progress

## Done
- [x] Implement auth flow (login, logout, password reset)
- [x] Update database schema

Example 3: Ambiguous Task Placement

User: "Add task: update API documentation"

Current:

## Up Next
- [ ] Refactor API endpoints
- [ ] Write user guide

Response: "Should 'update API documentation' go under 'Refactor API endpoints', under 'Write user guide', or as a new item?"

Example 4: Item Not Found

User: "Mark authentication as done"

Current TODO.md has: - [ ] Implement auth flow

Response: "I couldn't find 'authentication'. Did you mean 'Implement auth flow'?"

Example 5: Proactive Suggestion

Context: You just fixed a critical bug in the auth code and notice error logging is missing.

Prompt: "I noticed the auth endpoints don't have error logging. Should I add '[HIGH] Add error logging to auth endpoints' to the TODO list?"

User response determines action.

Notes

• Done section grows over time (newest at top)—user can manually archive if needed
• Sub-task details are for In Progress/Up Next; Done is the summary view
• When in doubt, ask rather than assume
• Priority markers are optional—only add when user indicates urgency
• When moving tasks between sections, preserve sub-task checkbox states

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