Quick Start

Get up and running with taskmd in under 5 minutes.

Looking for a full walkthrough?

See the Tutorial for a comprehensive, step-by-step guide covering installation, project setup, CLI usage, the web dashboard, and AI assistant integration.

What You'll Learn

• Install taskmd
• Create your first tasks
• Use basic CLI commands
• Launch the web interface

Prerequisites

• A terminal
• A text editor
• Go 1.22+ (only if building from source)

Step 1: Install taskmd

The easiest way is via Homebrew:

brew tap driangle/tap
brew install taskmd
taskmd --version

See Installation for all options including pre-built binaries, Go install, and building from source.

Step 2: Create a Project

mkdir -p my-project/tasks
cd my-project

Step 3: Create Your First Task

Create tasks/001-setup-project.md:

---
id: "001"
title: "Set up project repository"
status: pending
priority: high
effort: small
tags:
  - setup
created: 2026-02-09
---

# Set Up Project Repository

## Objective
Initialize the project repository with basic structure.

## Tasks
- [x] Create tasks directory
- [ ] Add .gitignore
- [ ] Initialize git repository
- [ ] Create README

## Acceptance Criteria
- Repository is initialized
- Basic structure is in place

Step 4: Validate Your Task

taskmd validate tasks/

Expected output:

✓ All tasks valid
Found 1 task(s)

Step 5: List Your Tasks

taskmd list tasks/

You should see your task displayed in a table format.

Step 6: Create a Second Task with Dependency

Create tasks/002-write-docs.md:

---
id: "002"
title: "Write project documentation"
status: pending
priority: medium
effort: medium
dependencies:
  - "001"
tags:
  - documentation
created: 2026-02-09
---

# Write Project Documentation

## Objective
Create comprehensive documentation for the project.

## Tasks
- [ ] Write README
- [ ] Add usage examples
- [ ] Document API

## Acceptance Criteria
- README is complete
- Examples are clear and tested

Step 7: Visualize Dependencies

taskmd graph tasks/ --format ascii

You'll see a dependency graph showing that task 002 depends on 001.

Step 8: Find Next Task

taskmd next tasks/

taskmd will recommend task 001 since it has no dependencies and is pending.

Step 9: Launch the Web Interface

taskmd web start --open

This opens a web dashboard with task list, board, graph, and statistics views.

Next Steps

• Installation - All installation methods
• Core Concepts - Understand tasks, statuses, and dependencies
• CLI Guide - Full command reference
• Web Interface - Web dashboard walkthrough