todo.txt queues

Arcantry treats todo.txt as a short work queue, not as product authority or release history. It recognizes a shared root todo.txt and a private .local/todo.txt independently.

List queues

List every detected queue:

arcantry todo list

Select one configured source id or use the standard root and local aliases:

arcantry todo list --source root
arcantry todo list --source local

Preview before writing

Todo mutations produce a plan by default. They do not write until --apply is present.

arcantry todo add "Review adapter +Arcantry @desk" --source root
arcantry todo add "Review private notes @desk" --source local

Review the reported operations, then repeat the command with --apply:

arcantry todo add "Review adapter +Arcantry @desk" --source root --apply

An explicitly selected missing root, private, or configured source can be planned and created by todo add. Listing and previewing remain non-mutating; only --apply writes the file.

When both queues exist, a mutating command without --source fails rather than guessing.

Complete a task

Line numbers come from todo list. Completion uses the local date unless --date supplies an ISO date.

arcantry todo complete 3 --source root
arcantry todo complete 3 --source root --date 2026-08-18 --apply

Move between shared and private queues

Moving a task always names both endpoints. It does not require or add inbox, outbox, project, or context tags.

arcantry todo move 2 --from root --to local
arcantry todo move 2 --from root --to local --apply

The applied move stages both queue updates as one plan. When the target is private, Arcantry also plans the relevant .local Git exclusion if Git is present.

Use the official todo.txt baseline

Arcantry uses the official todo.txt format as its baseline. Each task occupies one non-empty physical line. Priority, creation date, +project, @context, and key:value metadata are optional:

Review adapter
(A) 2026-08-19 Review adapter +Arcantry @desk
2026-08-19 Review adapter owner:Maxie
x 2026-08-20 2026-08-19 Review adapter +Arcantry @desk

Completed tasks place lowercase x first, followed by the completion date, an optional creation date, and the task text. When a project or selected source defines a compatible convention, follow it; otherwise, use this baseline without inventing optional fields.

Arcantry updates existing queues incrementally. todo add appends one task, todo move preserves the selected raw line, and todo complete rewrites only the selected task into completed-task order. Untouched lines, line endings, a byte-order mark, trailing-newline state, and extensions remain unchanged. Older or noncanonical entries do not block a scoped change and are not normalized implicitly.

Arcantry does not turn the queue into an OpenSpec authority, judge task quality, or infer a workflow taxonomy.

Use Configuration to place additional todo.txt sources or assign explicit management levels.