ia-file-todos

File-based todo and task tracking in the todos/ directory. Use when creating, triaging, listing, or managing todo files, tracking work items, managing the backlog, converting PR comments to tracked tasks, or checking todo status and dependencies.

File-based todo tracking

File naming convention

text

{issue_id}-{status}-{priority}-{description}.md

• issue_id: Sequential number (001, 002, 003...) -- never reused
• status: pending (needs triage), ready (approved), complete (done)
• priority: p1 (critical), p2 (important), p3 (nice-to-have). Mapping from the ia-code-review severity scale: Critical→p1, Important→p2, Medium→p3, Minor→p3.
• description: kebab-case, brief description

Examples: 001-pending-p1-mailer-test.md, 002-ready-p1-fix-n-plus-1.md, 005-complete-p2-refactor-csv.md

File Structure

Use todo-template.md as a starting point. YAML frontmatter:

yaml

---
status: ready              # pending | ready | complete
priority: p1               # p1 | p2 | p3
issue_id: "002"
tags: [typescript, performance, database]
dependencies: ["001"]      # Issue IDs this is blocked by
---

Required sections: Problem Statement, Findings, Proposed Solutions, Recommended Action, Acceptance Criteria, Work Log

Optional sections: Technical Details, Resources, Notes

Key Distinctions

File-todos system (this skill): Markdown files in todos/ directory for development/project tracking. Used by humans and agents.

Application Todo model: Database model for user-facing task management. Different from this file-based system.

TodoWrite tool: In-memory task tracking during agent sessions. Temporary, not persisted to disk.

Verify

Before considering a todo file correctly written, confirm:

• issue_id is unique and sequentially the next number in todos/ (never reused).
• All required frontmatter fields are present: status, priority, issue_id.
• status and priority values match the filename and their enums (pending|ready|complete, p1|p2|p3).

References

• workflows.md - Creating, triaging, dependencies, work logs, completing todos, integration table
• quick-reference.md - Bash commands for finding work, dependencies, searching
• todo-template.md - Template for new todo files