@agnishc/edb-todo

A Pi CLI extension that gives the agent a structured task list to prevent goal drift — the tendency for agents to lose track of the original plan as context grows and tool calls accumulate.

Features

• 6 LLM tools — TaskCreate, TaskList, TaskGet, TaskUpdate, TaskOutput, TaskStop — matching pi-tasks behavior
• Persistent widget — live task list above the editor with animated spinner (✳✽), elapsed time, and blocked-by hints
• File-backed storage — memory / session / project scope with file locking and atomic writes
• Dependency management — bidirectional blocks / blockedBy edges with cycle detection
• Auto-clear completed tasks — configurable: never / on_list_complete / on_task_complete
• System-reminder injection — periodic nudges when task tools haven't been used recently
• Settings panel — /todos → ⚙ Settings (task storage + auto-clear, saved to tasks-config.json)
• Priority system — high / medium / low with color coding (Red / Yellow / Dim)

How it works

1. The agent uses TaskCreate to plan multi-step work as a structured task list
2. Before every agent turn, active tasks are injected into the system prompt
3. A live widget above the editor shows tasks with status icons and elapsed time for active tasks
4. Tasks persist to disk per-session (or project-wide) and survive session resume
5. Completed tasks remain visible until auto-cleared or manually removed

Tools

TaskCreate

Create a structured task. Used proactively for complex multi-step work.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
content	string	✓	Brief actionable title in imperative form
description	string		Detailed context and acceptance criteria
priority	high | medium | low		Default: medium
activeForm	string		Spinner text when in_progress (e.g., "Running tests")
metadata	object		Arbitrary key-value pairs

TaskList

List all tasks sorted by status (pending first, then in_progress, then completed) and ID.

Returns each task's id, content, status, priority, and open blockedBy entries.

TaskGet

Get full details for a specific task by ID — including description, dependencies, and metadata.

Parameter	Type	Description
id	string	The task ID

TaskUpdate

Update task fields, status, and dependencies.

Parameter	Type	Description
id	string	Task ID (required)
status	pending | in_progress | completed | deleted	New status (deleted permanently removes)
content	string	New title
description	string	New description
priority	high | medium | low	New priority
activeForm	string	Spinner text
owner	string	Agent/owner name
metadata	object	Shallow merge (set key to null to delete)
addBlocks	string[]	Task IDs this task blocks
addBlockedBy	string[]	Task IDs that block this task

Setting status: "deleted" permanently removes the task and cleans up all dependency edges.

Dependencies are bidirectional — addBlocks: ["t2"] on task t1 also adds blockedBy: ["t1"] to task t2.

TaskOutput

Retrieve output from a running or completed background task process.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
task_id	string	—	Task ID (required)
block	boolean	true	Wait for completion
timeout	number	30000	Max wait time in ms (max 600000)

TaskStop

Stop a running background task process. Sends SIGTERM, waits 5 seconds, then SIGKILL. Marks the task as completed.

Parameter	Type	Description
task_id	string	Task ID to stop

Task lifecycle

pending → in_progress → completed
                      → deleted  (permanently removed)

Dependency management

# Task t2 cannot start until t1 is completed
TaskUpdate { id: "t2", addBlockedBy: ["t1"] }

Edges are bidirectional. The widget and TaskList show open blockers inline (› blocked by #t1). Cycles and self-dependencies produce warnings but are stored.

Task storage

Configured via /todos → ⚙ Settings or the PI_TODO environment variable:

Mode	File	Behaviour
memory	(none)	In-memory only — tasks lost when session ends
session (default)	<cwd>/.pi/tasks/tasks-<sessionId>.json	Per-session, survives resume
project	<cwd>/.pi/tasks/tasks.json	Shared across all sessions in the project

Settings are saved to <cwd>/.pi/tasks-config.json.

Environment variable override

Variable	Value	Behaviour
PI_TODO	off	In-memory only (CI/automation)
PI_TODO	sprint-1	Named shared list at ~/.pi/tasks/sprint-1.json
PI_TODO	/abs/path.json	Explicit absolute file path

Auto-clear completed tasks

Mode	Behaviour
never	Completed tasks stay visible until manually cleared
on_list_complete (default)	Cleared after all tasks complete and a few idle turns pass
on_task_complete	Each task cleared individually a few turns after completion

Widget

Persistent task list rendered above the editor:

● 4 tasks (1 done, 1 in progress, 2 open)
  ✔ Design the API
  ✳ Implementing auth…  (42s)
  ◻ Write tests  › blocked by #t2
  ◻ Update docs

Icon	Meaning
✔	Completed (strikethrough + dim)
◼	In-progress
✳/✽	Animated spinner — actively executing (shows elapsed time)
◻	Pending

/todos command

/todos  — open the interactive task manager

Menu options:

• View all tasks — select a task to start / complete / delete it
• Clear completed — remove all completed tasks
• Clear all — remove all tasks
• ⚙ Settings — configure task storage and auto-clear

Install

pi install npm:@agnishc/edb-todo

License

MIT © Agnish Chakraborty