sara-tasks 0.7.0

Sara — folder-aware task manager
sara-tasks-0.7.0 is not a library.

Sara — a folder-aware task manager

Sara is what plan mode would be if it kept its memory. She's built primarily as a tool for an LLM agent, not the human at the keyboard: instead of a plan that disappears when the conversation ends, an agent can persist it in Sara and pick up where it left off in the next session. She knows which Git project the agent is standing in, ranks work with a transparent urgency model, tracks time, and links tasks to branches. She's LLM-agnostic — any agent can drive her through a plain local CLI, and a human can still poke around by hand.

Task data lives in a single SQLite database in your home directory — nothing is ever written into your repositories.

     ID  PRI   PROJECT      DUE           URG  DEPS             DESCRIPTION
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
⛓    1  H     web-app      2026-07-01   28.0  blocks 1 task    Design the auth flow
     2  M     web-app      -             5.9                   Wire up the login form
⊘    3  M     web-app      -             0.9  blocked by 1     Write auth integration tests

Table of contents

Highlights

  • Folder-aware — sara auto-detects the current project (a Git repo, or any folder you run sara init in) and scopes sara list to it by default.
  • Transparent urgency — a Taskwarrior-style scoring model decides ordering; sara info shows the exact breakdown.
  • Interactive TUI — a ratatui review form for adding/editing, and a rich detail view for everything else.
  • Dependencies — block tasks on each other, with cycle detection and an at-a-glance DEPS column.
  • Time tracking — sara start / sara stop accumulate active time, with optional estimates.
  • Git integration — tie a task to a branch and snapshot the files it touched.
  • Full history — every change (field edits, deps, files, checklist, links, comments, timer) is recorded.
  • Single SQLite file — easy to back up, and nothing is written into your repos.

Installation

The fastest paths use prebuilt packages and need no Rust toolchain. Prefer one of these; the from-source build further down is for development.

Quick install (Linux & macOS)

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Abarbesgaard/Sara/main/scripts/install.sh | sh

Downloads the right binary from the latest GitHub Release into ~/.local/bin (override with SARA_INSTALL_DIR).

crates.io

Published as sara-tasks (sara and sara-cli were taken); the installed binary is still sara.

cargo install sara-tasks          # compiles from source
cargo binstall sara-tasks         # or grabs the prebuilt binary, no compile

Debian / Ubuntu (apt)

One-off .deb from a release:

curl -fsSLO https://github.com/Abarbesgaard/Sara/releases/latest/download/sara_amd64.deb
sudo apt install ./sara_amd64.deb

Or add the apt repository so sudo apt install sara and future upgrades work:

echo "deb [trusted=yes] https://abarbesgaard.github.io/Sara/apt stable main" \
  | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/sara.list
sudo apt update
sudo apt install sara

Build from source

1 — Prerequisites

Rust (if not already installed):

curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh
# Restart your shell, or:
source "$HOME/.cargo/env"

2 — Build & install

git clone https://github.com/Abarbesgaard/Sara
cd Sara
cargo install --path .

This compiles the binary and places it at ~/.cargo/bin/sara. Make sure ~/.cargo/bin is on your PATH (the Rust installer usually handles this):

echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.cargo/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.zshrc   # or ~/.bashrc
source ~/.zshrc
sara --version

Quick start

# Initialize the current folder as a Sara project.
# A git repo becomes its own project (named after the repo root); any other
# folder is initialized in place (named after the folder).
cd ~/web-app
sara init

# Add a task (opens the interactive review form)
sara add "add password reset flow"

# Add quickly, no form, with an inline priority token
sara add "fix logout redirect" pri:H --yes

# See what to work on (current project, ranked by urgency)
sara list

# Inspect / edit a task interactively
sara info 1

# Start the clock, do the work, stop it
sara start 1
sara stop 1

# Complete it
sara done 1

Core concepts

Projects. Every task belongs to a project. Inside a Git repo, sara uses the repo as the project (run sara init once to record its goal/stack). In any other folder, sara init registers that folder as the project, named after the directory. The configurable default_project (inbox) is only used as a last-resort fallback when a folder has no usable name.

IDs vs UUIDs. Each task has a small, recycled display ID (the 1, 2, 3 you type) and a stable UUID that never changes. Most commands accept either the ID or a UUID prefix. When a task is completed, pending IDs are repacked to stay small — so today's 4 may be tomorrow's 3.

Urgency. Tasks are ordered by a computed urgency score (see The urgency model). It rewards priority, due dates, active timers, tags, and tasks that block others — and penalizes blocked tasks.

The task list

sara list prints the pending tasks for the current project, highest urgency first.

sara list                      # current project
sara list -a                   # all projects
sara list -p web-app           # a specific project from anywhere (`--project` also works)

Each row has a small marker gutter, columns, and a dependency column:

⛓    1  H     web-app      2026-07-01   28.0  blocks 1 task    Design the auth flow

Gutter markers (left edge):

Marker Meaning
● Timer is running (task is active)
♺ Recurring task
⊘ Blocked — waiting on an unfinished task
⛓ Blocking — other tasks depend on this one

Columns: ID, PRI (H/M/L, color-coded), PROJECT, DUE (red overdue, yellow soon), URG (urgency score), DEPS, and DESCRIPTION. A PR or ↗ badge appears before the description when the task has a linked pull request or URL.

The DEPS column spells out the relationship the gutter hints at: blocked by 3 (red) or blocks 2 tasks (gray).

Tip: set NO_COLOR=1 to disable colors (e.g. for piping or screenshots).

The detail view (sara info)

sara info <id> opens a full-screen, interactive view of a single task: all fields, dependencies, attached files, links, comments, a checklist, the urgency breakdown, a git panel, a project activity heatmap, and a live history log.

It's also where you edit a task inline.

Keys

Key Action
↑ / ↓ (or k / j) Move between fields and items
Enter / e Edit the selected field, or open the selected file/link
← / → Cycle priority (when Priority is selected)
Space Toggle the selected checklist item
a Add a new checklist step (Enter saves, Esc cancels)
⇧↑ / ⇧↓ (or K / J) Reorder the selected checklist step within its kind
PgUp / PgDn Scroll
Esc Cancel an edit
q / Esc Close the view

Editable fields: Description, Project, Priority, Due, Tags, Estimate, Recur, and Depends on.

To change dependencies, select Depends on, press Enter, and type the task IDs it should wait on (space- or comma-separated), e.g. 7 9. sara reconciles the set — adding and removing edges — and rejects self-references and cycles with an inline error. The change is reflected immediately in the "Blocked by" section and the History panel.

Non-interactive & agent-friendly output

sara info detects whether stdout is a terminal: in a TTY it opens the interactive view; when piped it prints a readable plain-text digest instead. You can force a specific format regardless of TTY:

Flag Output
--md Markdown digest — LLM-native: ## headings and - [ ]/- [x] checkboxes for steps & acceptance. Ideal for agent context or a PR body.
--plain The readable plain-text digest, forced (no TUI).
--json The full structured guide (every field) for scripts.
--history Include the full History log in --plain/--md (collapsed to a one-line summary by default to keep output lean). 
sara info 7 --md                 # paste-ready Markdown for an agent / PR
sara info 7 --md --history       # …including the full change log
sara info 7 --plain              # readable text, History collapsed
sara info 7 --json | jq .steps   # structured access

The Markdown digest is the recommended way to feed a task to an AI agent: it's stable, omits the unbounded History log by default, and needs no reshaping.

MCP server (sara mcp)

sara mcp runs a Model Context Protocol server over stdio, exposing sara's agent loop as typed tools. Any MCP client (Claude Code / Claude Desktop, OpenAI Codex, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, …) can then drive sara with structured JSON in and out — no flag-ordering, UUID-juggling, or TUI pitfalls. It's a thin adapter over the same code the CLI uses, so there is a single source of truth.

The server exposes twenty-six tools — the non-interactive agent loop end to end, from reading and planning a task through to completing it:

Tool Purpose
list Pending tasks for a project (or all)
info Full task guide: steps, acceptance, notes, links, freshness, feedback
add Create a task (never opens the review form)
next The execution cursor — first not-done step
steps Ordered steps (optionally up to step N)
step_done Mark a step done, recording result + commit
verify Read-only: the verification commands + acceptance criteria (does not run them)
recall Cross-task keyword search
annotate Add a comment / finding / decision
plan_import Bulk-ingest a task graph from an inline JSON plan
plan_show Dependency-ordered briefing (the task plus everything it is blocked by)
check Add a checklist step or acceptance criterion (with optional intent / verify command)
step_undone Reopen a completed step / acceptance criterion
step_remove Delete step N (remaining items renumber)
dep Manage dependencies — action = on / off / list
link Attach a URL (e.g. a PR) to a task
attach Attach a file or code anchor (reason, symbol, lines, source); a URL becomes a link
assignment Set the task's assignment (the originating prompt / what to build)
rationale Set the task's rationale (why it exists)
modify Set task fields non-interactively (never opens the review form; at least one field required)
validate Stamp the guide as validated against the project's current git HEAD
feedback List a task's open human feedback
resolve Resolve a feedback item by its id
start / stop Time tracking (stop snapshots a tied branch's changed files)
done Complete a task (errors if blocked unless force; spawns the next recurrence)

Interactive-only surfaces (the bare add/modify review form, board, activity, projects) stay CLI-only by design — the server never opens a TUI or blocks on stdin. So do a few niche/destructive/setup commands (init, move, delete, reset, undo, sync, export/import).

Folder-awareness: the CLI derives "the project" from the current git folder, but a long-running server has no per-call working directory. So every tool takes an optional project_path — set it to the absolute path of the target repo and the tool operates on that project. Omit it to use the directory the server was launched in.

Client configuration

The server is launched as a subprocess over stdio — every client needs the same two ingredients: command: sara, args: ["mcp"]. If sara isn't on the client's PATH, point command at the absolute path (e.g. ~/.cargo/bin/sara).

Quickest — Claude Code (--scope user makes sara available in every project):

claude mcp add --scope user --transport stdio sara -- sara mcp
# repo-local instead:  claude mcp add --scope project --transport stdio sara -- sara mcp

For any other client, drop in the same command + args:

Claude Desktop (claude_desktop_config.json):

{ "mcpServers": { "sara": { "command": "sara", "args": ["mcp"] } } }

OpenAI Codex (~/.codex/config.toml):

[mcp_servers.sara]
command = "sara"
args = ["mcp"]

GitHub Copilot / VS Code (.vscode/mcp.json):

{ "servers": { "sara": { "type": "stdio", "command": "sara", "args": ["mcp"] } } }

On stdio transport, stdout is the JSON-RPC channel: run sara mcp directly (no wrapper that writes to stdout). Diagnostics go to stderr.

Instructing your agent to use it

Once connected, the tools show up in the client automatically, and the server sends usage instructions on initialize — the project_path model, UUID targeting, and the execution loop through to the PR/completion discipline. Clients like Claude Code surface those to the model, so often no extra prompting is needed.

For stronger, always-on steering, add a short rule to your agent's own persistent instructions (Claude Code's CLAUDE.md, an AGENTS.md, Cursor rules, …):

Use the sara MCP tools for task management (prefer them over the sara CLI). Pass project_path — the absolute path of the repo you're working in — on every call. Target tasks by their 8-char UUID prefix, not the recycled display id. Mirror multi-step work into sara: tick steps with step_done as you finish them, link the PR when you open it, and call done only once that PR has merged.

Keep it short — the tool descriptions and the server's instructions carry the mechanics; your rule just says prefer sara, pass project_path, follow the loop.

Working with tasks

Adding tasks

sara add "write integration tests"            # opens the review form
sara add "write tests" --yes                  # skip the form, save immediately
sara add "write tests" -p web-app --priority H -t testing

By default sara add opens an interactive review form so you can confirm the fields before saving. --yes saves immediately without the form. See inline tokens for the project: / +tag / pri: shorthand.

Creation output echoes the new task's UUID prefix, so scripts/agents never need a follow-up lookup: Created task 5 [Sara] (3f458474): write tests.

Attach notes, links, checklist steps, and a dependency inline at creation instead of separate follow-up commands (all repeatable except --depends-on, which chains onto an existing task by uuid prefix):

sara add --priority H -t api --annotation "amounts in minor units" \
  --link "https://…/Controller.cs" --check "Add model" --check "Wire route" \
  --depends-on 3f458474 --yes "Implement payment client"

sara modify 2        # edit via the review form
# …or set fields non-interactively (no TUI):
sara modify 2 --description "new text" --priority H --due 2026-12-31
sara modify 2 --tag api --tag urgent   # replace tags (--clear-tags / --clear-due to unset)
sara done 1          # mark complete (use --force to complete a blocked task)
sara delete 3        # soft-delete (prompts; -y to skip)

Dependencies

A dependency means "this task is blocked until that task is done." Blocked tasks sink in urgency; blocking tasks rise.

sara dep 4 on 5      # task 4 now depends on (is blocked by) task 5
sara dep 4 off 5     # remove that dependency
sara dep 4 list      # show what 4 is blocked by / blocking
sara dep chain 1 2 3 # wire a linear sequence in one command: 1 → 2 → 3

You can also edit dependencies interactively in the Depends on field of sara info (see above). Dependencies are shown in sara list via the ⊘/⛓ gutter markers and the DEPS column. Cycles are prevented automatically.

Time tracking

sara start 1     # begin working — marks the task active (●) and starts the clock
sara stop 1      # stop — accumulates elapsed time into "time spent"

Set an estimate (in the Estimate field of sara info) to see a progress percentage against time spent. If a task is tied to a git branch, sara stop snapshots the files changed on that branch.

Recurring tasks

sara add "weekly review" --every weekly
sara add "rotate secrets" --recur 2w     # --recur is an alias for --every

Supported intervals: daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, or Nd / Nw / Nm (e.g. 3d, 2w, 1m). Recurring tasks show a ♺ marker in the list.

Checklists

Break a task into sub-steps without creating separate tasks:

sara check 1 "draft the schema"
sara check 1 "write the migration"

sara step done 1 1                  # tick step 1 (records the commit, if any)
sara step undone 1 1               # reopen it
sara step remove 1 2              # delete step 2 (alias: sara step rm); later steps shift up

Add --kind acceptance to any sara step … command to act on the task's acceptance criteria instead of its steps. Toggle items with Space in sara info.

Notes, comments & links

sara annotate 1 "spoke with design, going with option B"   # alias: sara comment
sara denotate 4                                             # remove comment #4 (alias: uncomment)

sara link 1 https://github.com/org/repo/pull/123           # auto-labels GitHub PRs/issues
sara link 1 https://example.com --label "Spec"
sara unlink 2                                               # remove link #2

sara attach 1 src/auth/login.rs                             # attach a file path (alias: sara pr)

Linked PRs/URLs surface as a badge in sara list and are openable from sara info.

Git branch linkage

sara addbranch 1            # tie task 1 to the *currently checked-out* branch
sara addbranch 1 --clear    # remove the tie

Note: addbranch takes the task ID, not a branch name — the branch is read from the repo you're standing in. The task's project must have been sara init'd inside that repo. Run sara stop afterwards to snapshot the changed files.

Sharing tasks

Export a task — together with its full dependency closure (the task plus every task it transitively depends on) — to a single copy-pasteable blob, then import it into another user's Sara on a different machine.

sara export 1                     # print a `sara-task-v1:…` blob to stdout
sara export 1 -o task.blob        # …or write it to a file
sara 1 export                     # the usual id-first shorthand

sara import task.blob             # read a blob from a file
sara import "sara-task-v1:…"      # …or pass the blob string directly
pbpaste | sara import             # …or pipe it in on stdin
sara import task.blob -p backlog  # reassign every imported task to a project

What travels: the description, project, status, priority, due date, tags, estimate, recurrence, comments, checklist/steps, links and attached file paths — plus the dependency edges between the exported tasks. On import every task gets a fresh uuid and display id (so importing into a DB that already has the task never collides), dependency edges are remapped within the bundle, the timer is reset and urgency is recomputed. History and time-tracking do not travel.

A bundle carries each task's project name, not the project profile (its goal, stack, conventions and setup/test/lint commands). Importing a task whose project doesn't exist locally is fine — it's created under that name and shows up in sara list/-p and tab-completion straight away; only the profile metadata is absent. Run sara init in that project's folder to attach a profile, or use -p/--project on import to drop everything into an existing local project instead of the bundle's original name.

The blob tolerates being line-wrapped by email or chat clients, so a pasted sara-task-v1:… token still imports even if it picked up newlines.

History & undo

Every mutating action is recorded and shown in the History panel of sara info: field edits (description, project, priority, due, tags, estimate, recur, status), timer start/stop, dependencies, attached files, checklist items, links, comments, and branch ties. Additions show +, removals show −, and value changes show old → new.

sara undo     # revert the most recent command

The urgency model

Urgency is a sum of weighted components, recomputed whenever a task changes. sara info displays the exact breakdown, e.g. 28.0 (pri 6.0 + due 12.0 + blocking 8.0 + age 2.0).

Component Default Applies when…
priority_h 6.0 Priority is High
priority_m 3.9 Priority is Medium
priority_l 1.8 Priority is Low
due 12.0 Scaled by closeness (overdue = full, 7+ days out = 0)
blocking 8.0 The task blocks at least one other task
blocked -5.0 The task is blocked (penalty)
active 4.0 A timer is currently running
has_tags 1.0 The task has any tags
project 1.0 The task is not in the fallback project (inbox)
age 2.0 Scaled by age, capped at age_max days
age_max 365.0 Age in days at which the age bonus maxes out

All coefficients are configurable under [urgency] in the config file.

Configuration

A config file is created with sensible defaults on first run.

OS Path
macOS ~/Library/Application Support/sara/config.toml
Linux ~/.config/sara/config.toml

Full example:

default_project = "inbox"   # last-resort fallback name when a folder has no usable name
date_dialect    = "uk"      # "uk" or "us" — affects "next friday" parsing

[urgency]                   # all optional; defaults shown
priority_h = 6.0
priority_m = 3.9
priority_l = 1.8
due        = 12.0
blocking   = 8.0
blocked    = -5.0
active     = 4.0
has_tags   = 1.0
project    = 1.0
age        = 2.0
age_max    = 365.0

Print the resolved config and database paths:

sara paths

Inline Taskwarrior-style tokens

Leading and trailing tokens on sara add are parsed as attributes:

sara add "fix login bug" project:web-app +auth pri:H
sara add project:api "redesign rate limiting" +backend

Tokens in the middle of a description stay as literal text. Explicit flags are always unambiguous and win over inline tokens:

sara add "fix the project:foo reference in docs" --project web-app
Token Meaning
project:x Set the project
+tag Add a tag
pri:H Set priority (H/M/L)

Due dates

Natural-language dates work in the Due field of the review form and anywhere a date is accepted:

Input Meaning
2026-07-01 ISO date
today Today
tomorrow Tomorrow
friday This coming Friday
next friday Friday next week
+3d 3 days from now
+2w 2 weeks from now

The date_dialect config setting (uk vs us) affects ambiguous phrasing.

Shell completions

Sara ships dynamic completions: once registered, <TAB> completes real pending task ids — annotated with their descriptions — for commands like sara done / info / start, and known project names for --project / -p.

Register by having your shell evaluate COMPLETE=<shell> sara at startup (no fpath/compinit setup needed). Re-run on upgrade so the generated shell glue stays in sync with the binary:

# Bash — ~/.bashrc
echo 'source <(COMPLETE=bash sara)' >> ~/.bashrc

# Zsh — ~/.zshrc
echo 'source <(COMPLETE=zsh sara)' >> ~/.zshrc

# Fish
echo 'COMPLETE=fish sara | source' >> ~/.config/fish/completions/sara.fish

# Elvish
echo 'eval (E:COMPLETE=elvish sara | slurp)' >> ~/.elvish/rc.elv

Restart your shell (or source the file) afterwards. To disable, set COMPLETE= or COMPLETE=0.

Prefer a static completion script (command/flag structure only — no dynamic task-id/project values)? sara completions <shell> still emits one, e.g. sara completions zsh > ~/.zsh/completions/_sara.

File locations

What macOS Linux
Database ~/Library/Application Support/sara/tasks.db ~/.local/share/sara/tasks.db
Config ~/Library/Application Support/sara/config.toml ~/.config/sara/config.toml

Run sara paths to see the exact locations on your machine.

Command reference

Command Description
sara init Initialize/update the current folder as a project (--goal, --stack, --conventions, --notes, -y)
sara add <desc> [tokens] Add a task (--yes, -p, --priority, -t, --every, --annotation, --link, --check, --depends-on)
sara list List tasks (-a all, -p/--project <name>)
sara modify <id> Edit via the review form, or set fields non-interactively (--description, --priority, --due/--clear-due, --tag/--clear-tags)
sara info <id> Open the interactive detail view (--md/--plain/--json, --history)
sara done <id> Complete a task (--force if blocked)
sara delete <id> Soft-delete a task (-y to skip confirmation)
sara start <id> / sara stop <id> Start / stop the timer
sara dep <id> on|off|list / sara dep chain <id>... Manage dependencies, or wire a linear chain in one command
sara check <id> <text> Add a checklist item
sara step done|undone|remove <id> <n> Tick / reopen / delete step n (--kind acceptance)
sara annotate <id> <text> Add a comment (alias comment); sara denotate <n> removes
sara link <id> <url> Add a link; sara unlink <n> removes
sara attach <id> <path> Attach a file path (alias pr)
sara addbranch <id> Tie the current git branch to a task (--clear)
sara export <id> Export a task + its deps to a portable blob (-o <file>)
sara import [src] Import a task blob (file, arg, or stdin; -p <project>)
sara activity GitHub-style activity heatmap (--project, -a)
sara mcp Run a stdio MCP server exposing the agent loop as tools (details)
sara undo Revert the most recent command
sara reset Delete a project's tasks and profile (-p, -y)
sara paths Print config and data paths
sara completions <shell> Generate shell completions

Run sara help or sara <command> --help for full options.

Uninstall

cargo uninstall sara

Remove data and config:

# macOS
rm -rf ~/Library/Application\ Support/sara/

# Linux
rm -rf ~/.config/sara/ ~/.local/share/sara/