✨ Features

AI Task Manager provides comprehensive tools for structured AI-assisted development workflows with a focus on customization and extensibility.

🔧 Configuration & Customization

Tailor every aspect of the task management workflow to your project’s specific needs.

Project Context

  • TASK_MANAGER.md: Editable project context and guidelines that inform AI assistants about your tech stack, coding standards, and project-specific requirements
  • POST_PHASE.md: Custom validation criteria and quality gates executed after each phase completion
  • Template Customization: Modify plan and task templates to include project-specific sections, acceptance criteria, and workflow steps

Extensibility Framework

  • Hook System: Seven lifecycle hooks for injecting custom logic at key workflow points (PRE_PLAN, PRE_PHASE, POST_PHASE, POST_PLAN, POST_TASK_GENERATION_ALL, PRE_TASK_ASSIGNMENT, POST_ERROR_DETECTION)
  • Custom Validation Gates: Add project-specific quality checks, security scans, performance tests, or documentation requirements
  • Integration Points: Connect with existing CI/CD pipelines, testing frameworks, or development tools
  • Workflow Patterns: Create and share reusable workflow patterns for common project types

Learn more: See the Customization Guide for detailed examples and real-world scenarios.

📋 Template System

Consistent structure with flexibility for project-specific needs.

Core Templates

  • PLAN_TEMPLATE.md: Strategic planning with requirement analysis, architecture decisions, and risk considerations
  • TASK_TEMPLATE.md: Task structure with acceptance criteria, dependencies, and implementation notes
  • BLUEPRINT_TEMPLATE.md: Phase-based execution plans with dependency graphs and parallelization strategies
  • EXECUTION_SUMMARY_TEMPLATE.md: Post-completion documentation capturing results and learnings

Template Features

  • YAML Frontmatter: Structured metadata for plans, tasks, and execution tracking
  • Customizable Sections: Add domain-specific content while preserving core structure
  • Variable Substitution: Dynamic content based on context (plan ID, task ID, arguments)
  • Format Adaptation: Automatic conversion between Markdown (Claude, Open Code) and TOML (Gemini)

Learn more: See the Customization Guide for template modification examples.

🤝 Multi-Assistant Support

Configure support for multiple coding assistants simultaneously:

  • 🎭 Claude: Anthropic’s Claude AI via claude.ai/code - Markdown-based commands
  • 💎 Gemini: Google’s Gemini AI via CLI - TOML-based commands
  • 📝 Open Code: Open source assistants - Markdown-based commands

All assistants share the same task management structure while using assistant-specific command formats. Initialize multiple assistants in a single project for team flexibility.

🔄 Workflow Orchestration

Three-Phase Progressive Refinement 

flowchart TD
    A[User Request] --> B[📝 Phase 1: Planning]
    B --> C[📋 Phase 2: Task Generation]
    C --> D[🚀 Phase 3: Execution]
    D --> E[✅ Quality Review]

    B --> B1[Requirements Analysis<br/>Stakeholder Clarification<br/>Architecture Planning]
    C --> C1[Atomic Task Breakdown<br/>Dependency Mapping<br/>Resource Allocation]
    D --> D1[Parallel Execution<br/>Progress Tracking<br/>Validation Gates]

    style A fill:#ffebee
    style E fill:#e8f5e8
    style B fill:#fff3e0
    style C fill:#f3e5f5
    style D fill:#e3f2fd

Progressive Refinement Benefits

  • Context Isolation: Each phase focuses on specific objectives without cognitive overload
  • Validation Gates: Quality checkpoints between phases catch issues early
  • Iterative Improvement: Human review and feedback loops at each phase
  • Scope Control: Built-in mechanisms prevent feature creep through YAGNI enforcement
  • Automatic Task Generation: execute-blueprint auto-generates tasks if missing, reducing manual steps

Learn more: See the Architecture page for design principles and Workflow Patterns for advanced usage.

🚀 Workflow Automation

Automated End-to-End Execution

For streamlined development, the full-workflow command automates all three phases:

/tasks:full-workflow Create user authentication system with JWT tokens

Benefits:

  • Single Command: Entire workflow from plan to execution
  • Reduced Friction: No manual phase transitions
  • Faster Iteration: Ideal for clear requirements
  • Automatic Archival: Completed plans moved to archive

Use Cases:

  • Quick prototyping and proof-of-concepts
  • Well-defined features with clear scope
  • Reducing cognitive load during development
  • Onboarding new users to the workflow

Manual vs Automated:

  • Use automated workflow for straightforward implementations
  • Use manual workflow (step-by-step) for complex features needing review

Learn more: See the Workflow Guide for detailed usage examples.

🎯 Task Management

Atomic Task Decomposition

  • Single Responsibility: Each task addresses one clear objective
  • Skill-Based Assignment: Tasks tagged with 1-2 technical skills for specialized agent deployment
  • Dependency Tracking: Automatic dependency resolution and sequencing
  • Complexity Analysis: Automatic scoring identifies tasks requiring subdivision

Quality Assurance

  • Acceptance Criteria: Checkbox-based validation requirements for each task
  • Progress Tracking: Real-time status updates (pending → in_progress → completed/failed)
  • Error Handling: Graceful failure recovery with remediation workflows via POST_ERROR_DETECTION hook
  • Test Integrity: fix-broken-tests command enforces proper test fixes, not workarounds

Progress Monitoring & Dashboard

Real-time visibility into your project’s task management state:

Dashboard

Dashboard Features:

  • Summary statistics: total plans, active/archived counts, completion rates
  • Active plans view with visual progress bars
  • Unfinished task alerts for archived plans
  • Color-coded terminal output for easy scanning

Usage:

npx @e0ipso/ai-task-manager status

📊 Plan Management CLI

Inspect and Manage Plans

Command-line tools for plan inspection and lifecycle management:

# View plan details
npx @e0ipso/ai-task-manager plan show 41
npx @e0ipso/ai-task-manager plan 41  # shorthand

# Archive completed plan
npx @e0ipso/ai-task-manager plan archive 41

# Delete plan permanently
npx @e0ipso/ai-task-manager plan delete 41

Features:

  • Plan Inspection: View metadata, progress, and executive summary
  • Manual Archival: Move completed plans from active to archive directory
  • Plan Deletion: Permanently remove plans and all associated tasks
  • Shorthand Syntax: plan <id> defaults to plan show <id>

Benefits:

  • No manual file system navigation required
  • Consistent interface across all plan operations
  • Progress visibility without opening files
  • Clean workspace management

Learn more: See the Workflow Guide for integrated usage patterns.

🏗️ Workspace Management

Intelligent Initialization

  • Non-destructive Setup: Detects existing project structures and merges safely
  • File Conflict Detection: Hash-based tracking monitors user customizations
  • Interactive Resolution: Shows unified diffs and prompts for conflicts
  • Force Mode: --force flag bypasses prompts for automation scenarios
  • Smart Updates: Automatically updates unchanged template files

Directory Structure

Organized workspace with clear separation of concerns:

.ai/task-manager/       # Shared configuration
├── plans/              # Active plans and tasks
├── archive/            # Completed plans (preserved history)
├── config/             # Customizable hooks and templates
└── .init-metadata.json # Conflict detection tracking

.claude/commands/       # Claude-specific commands (if configured)
.gemini/commands/       # Gemini-specific commands (if configured)
.opencode/commands/     # Open Code commands (if configured)

🚀 Performance & Scalability

Optimized Execution

  • Parallel Processing: Independent tasks within phases execute concurrently via Task tool
  • Specialized Agents: Skill-based agent deployment provides domain-specific context
  • Resource Management: Intelligent allocation of AI assistant capabilities
  • Incremental Updates: Only process changes, not entire workflows

Enhanced ID Generation

  • Performance Optimization: Fast empty directory checks (90% case)
  • Comprehensive Validation: Multi-source ID detection (directories, filenames, frontmatter)
  • Error Handling: Graceful degradation with informative error messages
  • Debug Support: DEBUG=true environment variable for troubleshooting

🔒 Security & Privacy

Local-First Architecture

  • No External Dependencies: All data stored locally on your machine
  • No Data Transmission: Works entirely within AI assistant interfaces
  • Full Control: Complete ownership of plans, tasks, and project information
  • Offline Capable: Most operations work without internet connectivity

Best Practices

  • Secure Configuration: No hardcoded credentials or API keys
  • Version Control: Include customized hooks/templates in repository for team consistency
  • Audit Trail: Comprehensive logging of decisions and outcomes in plan/task documents
  • Environment-Specific Settings: Separate configuration for development, staging, production

💰 Subscription-Based Model

Works Within Existing AI Subscriptions

  • No additional API keys required
  • No pay-per-token charges
  • No external service dependencies
  • Maximize value from current AI investments (Claude Pro/Max, Gemini subscriptions)

Resource Optimization

  • Efficient prompt structuring through phased approach
  • Targeted context isolation minimizes redundant information
  • Reusable templates and patterns reduce setup overhead
  • Cached plans and tasks enable quick iteration