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Productivity

todo list file format

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A plain-text file format for todos and check lists

Shown by jotaen on Apr 1, 2022. Click the card to turn it over.

452points

164comments

#69of 2,570 in 2022

Top 3%of 2022 by points

How HN took it

MixedNo clear lean

18 positive, 20 neutral or asking, 3 mixed, 12 critical, out of 53 comments about the project. Thread score +0.08.

Idea: 13 for, 7 againstDesign: 4 for, 2 againstDocs: 0 for, 3 against

Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.

positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker

Data-first format with tools built on top
From 1 comment
- +1 for plain-text for all the points you mention, particularly "data-first with tools on top". But why reinvent the wheel when the org-mode format is well established and does…
  tconfrey on HN
Well-presented spec with imprecise date support
From 1 comment
- I am conflicted on this. The spec is nice. I love the recognition that dates may be imprecise (e.g., 2022-05 -- although I would count that as the last day of the period,…
  D13Fd on HN

Standardised format unnecessary for personal todos
From 1 comment
- I am conflicted on this. The spec is nice. I love the recognition that dates may be imprecise (e.g., 2022-05 -- although I would count that as the last day of the period,…
  D13Fd on HN
Lacks nested subtasks in current draft
From 2 comments
- > [an item] MUST start at the beginning of a line with a checkbox. Why no subitem? ``` [] large task [] subtask 1 [] subtask2 ``` I use this all the time.
  wodenokoto on HN
- I like it, is very close to what I've been using to keep my own to-do lists: Instead of "[ ]" I just use "-" or "x". The only thing I do that this doesn't mention is nested…
  aimor on HN
Date sorting may be tricky with dates anywhere in item
From 1 comment
- Good work! I might just try this out in my next attempt to GTD I’d like to suggest thinking more deeply about dates. I love that you opted to use the yyyy-mm-dd format and I also…
  roberthahn on HN

Support nested subtasks
From 3 comments
- > [an item] MUST start at the beginning of a line with a checkbox. Why no subitem? ``` [] large task [] subtask 1 [] subtask2 ``` I use this all the time.
  wodenokoto on HN
- Interesting idea, I like the premise that people might build fancy ways to interact with this such as VSCode addons with a 'real' UI, but there will always be a plaintext…
  cehrlich on HN
- I like it, is very close to what I've been using to keep my own to-do lists: Instead of "[ ]" I just use "-" or "x". The only thing I do that this doesn't mention is nested…
  aimor on HN
Support for org-mode compatibility or ecosystem interop
From 1 comment
- +1 for plain-text for all the points you mention, particularly "data-first with tools on top". But why reinvent the wheel when the org-mode format is well established and does…
  tconfrey on HN

todo.txt
From 3 comments
- As an alternative, the todo.txt format [1][2] first defined in 2006 [3] is supported by a CLI client (desktop) and several GUI clients (desktop, mobile, web). [1]:…
  divbzero on HN
- There is a todo format that I use daily called todotxt. It has even application support on most platforms or you just write manually in a txt file. Easy to overview by yourself.…
  Giho on HN
- This is really cool. I am endlessly fascinated by the proliferation of "productivity apps" when I find the same thing as you: that they are quite unnecessary. My approach is…
  softwarebeware on HN
Emacs Org Mode
From 2 comments
- +1 for plain-text for all the points you mention, particularly "data-first with tools on top". But why reinvent the wheel when the org-mode format is well established and does…
  tconfrey on HN
- Looks interesting. Might be worth looking at the Emacs Org Mode support for TODO lists[1]. Just as a reference for how someone else dealt with TODOs in a text format, but with a…
  tyingq on HN
TaskPaper
From 1 comment
- Looks interesting. It doesn’t have a formal specification, but there may be things from TaskPaper https://www.taskpaper.com/guide/getting-started/ that you may find interesting.…
  halostatue on HN