Tasks TUI

mdfu tasks opens the full-screen task browser:

mdfu tasks [--all] [--blocked] [--sort priority] [--tag T]… [--priority P]… [#tag…] [!priority…]

The selection flags match mdfu task list: by default only open, unblocked tasks are listed, --all includes done tasks, --blocked starts with blocked tasks shown, --tag is repeatable and AND-combined, --priority is repeatable and OR-combined, and positional #tag / !priority arguments add to those filters. --path selects the scope. The non-interactive mdfu task commands read and write the strict task format; the browser is deliberately broader (see below).

Any checkbox, not just mdtask tasks

The browser lists every markdown checkbox in scope — any -/*/+ bullet, any indentation, [ ]/[x]/[X], with or without an ID — and gives each the full set of actions. This is browser-only: the mdfu task … CLI keeps the strict mdtask grammar, and the non-TTY fallback below lists only mdtask tasks.

See Any Checkbox for the recognition rules, the per-action behaviour on ID-less items, identity, and nesting.

Pane layout

The browser is built from:

• a filter line, shown above the list only while filter mode is active;
• a list pane of tasks — one row per task, showing the checkbox, ID, title, tags, explicit priority, and display properties;
• a detail pane for the focused task — its rendered header, labelled metadata rows (ID, Status, Title, Priority, Tags, each @property, and File:line), then its Markdown body with clickable links; and
• a status/help footer.

At 100 columns or wider the list and detail panes sit side by side; below that they stack. On the list, the cursor row is drawn in the selected style, done rows are dimmed, and an unresolved @blocked_by value is drawn in the blocker color. The footer reads matched/total • blocked:hidden|shown • x:done • t:edit • ?:help, followed by the last status message.

Keybindings (internal/tui/tasks_model.go DefaultTaskKeyMap)

Key	Action
up / k	Cursor up (wraps).
down / j	Cursor down (wraps).
pgup / ctrl+b	Page up.
pgdn / ctrl+f	Page down.
home / g	Top of list.
end / G	Bottom of list.
/	Enter filter mode.
esc	Browse: clear the filter, or quit when it is empty. Filter: clear and return to browse. Edit: cancel.
tab	Toggle focus between the list and detail panes.
x	Toggle the focused task’s done checkbox.
b	Toggle showing blocked tasks.
o	Open the focused task in $EDITOR.
t	Edit the focused task’s title/metadata.
e	Edit the focused task’s body.
n	Create a new task.
m	Move the focused task to another file.
a	Archive the focused task.
?	Show full help.
q / ctrl+c	Quit.
ctrl+s	Save (edit modes only).

Modes

Browse. Keys act on the focused task. x writes the checkbox flip through the same file editor the CLI uses and reloads; b flips blocked visibility and refilters; o suspends the TUI to run $EDITOR +<line> <file> and reloads on return (a missing $EDITOR sets the status line). a archives only a done task — an open task sets the status task is not done and writes nothing.

Filter. / focuses the filter box. Only esc, q/ctrl+c, and up/down are intercepted; every other printable key is typed into the query, so x and b do not toggle anything while filtering. The query is matched case-insensitively against ID, title, priority, tags, and property keys and values, with whitespace-separated tokens AND-combined.

Help. ? shows the full grouped help; ? or esc dismisses it.

Edit modes

• Title/metadata (t). A textarea seeded with the raw header, plus a live side panel showing the parsed ID, status, title, tags, priority, and properties. ctrl+s saves; an unparseable header stays open with the status invalid task header and writes nothing. esc cancels.
• Body (e). A full-width textarea seeded with the dedented body. On save the body is re-indented with the task’s existing body indent (default two spaces); blank lines stay blank. ctrl+s saves, esc cancels.
• New task (n). Seeds - [ ] in the title editor. Saving appends the block to the --path file when the scope is a single file, otherwise to the focused task’s file. A header without an ID is written verbatim and the status points at mdfu task ids.
• Move (m). A prompt seeded with the focused task’s current file. enter moves the block to the destination (creating parent directories), esc cancels.

Every write goes through the same engine primitives as the CLI, so a stale file is detected and reported instead of overwriting.

Non-TTY fallback

When stdout is not a terminal, mdfu tasks does not start the full-screen program. It runs mdfu task list with the same arguments, byte-identical to the CLI command, with no alternate screen and no ANSI output. This keeps pipeable use (mdfu tasks | …) predictable. Because it reuses the strict CLI renderer, the fallback lists only mdtask tasks — the any-checkbox breadth above applies only to the interactive browser.

Divergences (D1–D5)

The task system as a whole has exactly five documented divergences from the external mdtask surface: D1 the mdfu task: stderr prefix, D2 an unknown mdfu task <token> performing a fuzzy search instead of erroring, D3 mdfu-named skills and branded install-skills output, D4 mdfu-branded help and version text, and D5 the two list notes naming mdfu task. They are described in full on the Tasks page; the browser itself follows the same format and writes the same files, so it adds no further divergence.

See also: Any Checkbox for the broadened recognition rules, Tasks for the file format and mdfu task commands, and TUI for the Markdown note picker.