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NAME
tasq - summarise tasks from Markdown files
SYNOPSIS
tasq [--config PATH] [--files GLOB]... [VIEW or SQL_QUERY]...
DESCRIPTION
This program gathers task lists from Markdown files, producing customisable summaries using SQL queries on them.
This allows keeping track of tasks globally while keeping related ideas, notes and tasks grouped together in text files.
By default, it produces a short summary of currently actionable tasks.
“tasq” is a portmanteau word combining “task” and “query”. Order, order!
DEFAULT VIEWS
The following default views are available:
$ tasq unscheduled- Lists all pending tasks without a scheduled date, with earliest due dates and highest priorities first. This provides a summary of tasks which are yet to be scheduled.
$ tasq scheduled- Lists all pending tasks having a scheduled date, with earliest scheduled dates and highest priorities first. This provides an agenda of planned tasks.
$ tasq current- Lists all pending tasks with scheduled dates which are either missed, planned for today, or upcoming tomorrow, with earliest scheduled or due dates first, and highest priorities first. This provides an immediate program of actionable tasks.
Rows are divided into four date-time groups, coloured and listed one after the other:
| Group | Colour | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Missed | Red | Before today. |
| Today now | Blue | Today, and time undefined or before or equal to now. |
| Later today | Magenta | Today, and time after now. |
| Future | Default | After today. |
Within each group, rows with the same date but without an explicit time are listed below those having one defined.
QUERIES AND CUSTOM VIEWS
Custom summaries can be produced using SQL queries on the virtual “tasks” table. The available columns are:
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
filepath |
Path to the file in which the task is defined. |
line |
Line number at which the task is defined within its file. |
done |
Whether the task is marked as done. |
subject |
The free-form text subject of the task. |
tags |
List of tags associated with the task. |
priority |
The integer priority of the task. |
due |
The due date (with optional time) of the task. |
scheduled |
The scheduled date (with optional time) of the task. |
Here is an example of custom query counting the pending tasks with missed deadlines in each note file:
$ tasq "select basename(filepath), count(*) from tasks
where not done and due.date < current_date()
group by filepath"View rows can be colourised through the optional _color
column. The following colours are rendered: white,
black, grey, darkgrey,
red, darkred, green,
darkgreen, yellow, darkyellow,
blue, darkblue, magenta,
darkmagenta, cyan, darkcyan.
Named custom views can be saved using a “create view” statement,
defined in setup in tasq’s configuration.
MARKDOWN TASKS
Tasks are list items having a checkbox. Each has a subject, which may
contain hashtags (#tag), and optional
key:value attributes:
priority:<INTEGER or KEYWORD>-
The priority of the task. Higher means more urgent. The following
literals can also be used: “low” (-1), “medium” (0), “high” (7),
“urgent” (9). The default priority is 0. Aliases for this key:
prio,pri. due:<DATE or DATETIME>-
The date and time for which the task is due. Accepted format: ISO 8601
date and time, with delimiters and right-most components all optional.
Aliases for this key:
for,deadline. scheduled:<DATE or DATETIME>-
The date and time at which the task is planned to be started, Accepted
format: ISO 8601 date and time, with delimiters and right-most
components all optional. Aliases for this key:
sched,planned,start,on,postponed,wait,actionable,act.
Task data are specified in-line or in non-task list items directly within them.
Hashtags and attributes in section titles and outer list items (task and non-task) are propagated to the tasks within them. The attribute value specified last takes precedence.
Here’s an example Markdown snippet containing two tasks; both tagged with “tasq” and having a common due date; the first marked as done, with a scheduled date and a priority; the second still pending, with a scheduled date and time:
# Some work on #tasq
* due:2025-06-15
* [x] on:2025-06-14 pri:1 Write a manual page
* [ ] Whip a new release into shape
* on:2025-06-15T15:00This produces in the following entries in tasq:
| Done | Scheduled | Due | Prio | Subject | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| yes | 06-14 | 06-15 | 1 | Write a manual page | tasq |
| no | 06-15 15:00 | 06-15 | Whip a new release into shape | tasq |
COMMAND OPTIONS
<VIEW_NAME or SQL_QUERY>-
View name or SQL query on the “tasks” table. Can be specified multiple
times. Default:
select * from current limit 25. -c,--config <CONFIG_PATH>-
Path to the configuration file to use. Default:
($XDG_CONFIG_HOME:$XDG_CONFIG_DIRS)/tasq/tasq.toml -f,--files <GLOB_PATTERN>-
Glob pattern of source Markdown files. Can be specified multiple times.
Default:
~/documents/**/*.md -o,--output <FORMAT>-
Output format. Either
tableorjsonl. Default:table. -h,--help- Print help message.
-V,--version- Print version info.
CONFIGURATION FILE
This program can be configured with a TOML file located at
$XDG_CONFIG_DIRS/tasq/tasq.toml.
The following configuration keys are accepted:
file_patterns-
Glob patterns of source Markdown files, used when no location is
supplied to the command. Default:
[ "~/documents/**/*.md" ] output-
Output format. Either
tableorjsonl. Default:table. setup- Custom setup SQL statements. Useful to save user-defined views from queries on the “tasks” table.
default_queries- List of view names or SQL queries on the “tasks” table, used when no query is supplied to the command.
SOURCE CODE AND PACKAGES
The source code repository is located at https://src.euxane.eu/tasq.
Contributions are welcomed. Issues and patches should be emailed to the author of the program.
A list of distribution packages is available at https://repology.org/project/tasq.
The latest development version can be compiled and run using Nix
with: nix run git+https://src.euxane.eu/tasq -- --help.
LICENCE AND COPYRIGHT
Copyright (C) 2025 Euxane TRAN-GIRARD.
This program is published under the terms of the European Union
Public Licence, version 1.2. (See the included
licence.txt).
Other documents
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