Microsoft To Do

Microsoft To Do via Microsoft Graph. List task lists, read tasks, create tasks, update tasks, and mark tasks complete.

Use Microsoft Graph To Do endpoints for personal task lists and tasks.

When to Use

Use this skill when the user wants to:

• list Microsoft To Do task lists
• read tasks from a list
• create, update, complete, or delete tasks
• authenticate a Microsoft personal account or Entra-backed account for To Do

Do not use this skill for:

• Outlook mail APIs unrelated to To Do
• app-only Graph auth flows
• non-Microsoft task systems

Inputs Needed

• client_id from an Entra app registration
• tenant_id for work/school accounts, or consumers for personal Outlook/Hotmail/Live accounts
• delegated Graph permissions: Tasks.ReadWrite

Secret and Config Storage

Use the OS-native user config directory as the default. That matches common cross-platform practice and keeps secrets out of shell startup files.

Default config locations:

• Linux: $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/microsoft-todo or ~/.config/microsoft-todo
• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/microsoft-todo
• Windows: %APPDATA%\\microsoft-todo

Use that config directory for:

• client_id
• tenant_id
• token.json
• device_code.json

Avoid putting bearer tokens or refresh tokens in:

• ~/.bashrc
• ~/.zshrc
• committed .env files

For quick local-only usage, the bundled Python helper also loads scripts/.env if it exists. That is an override path, not the primary default for published usage.

Supported environment overrides:

• MS_TODO_TENANT_ID
• MS_TODO_CLIENT_ID
• MS_TODO_CONFIG_DIR
• MS_TODO_TOKEN_FILE
• MS_TODO_DEVICE_FILE

Auth Model

Microsoft To Do on Graph uses delegated permissions. Authenticate as a signed-in user with device-code flow.

Required delegated permissions:

• Tasks.Read
• Tasks.ReadWrite
• optional offline_access

Create a Microsoft Entra app registration, then store its IDs locally:

mkdir -p ~/.config/microsoft-todo
echo "YOUR_TENANT_ID_OR_consumers" > ~/.config/microsoft-todo/tenant_id
echo "YOUR_CLIENT_ID" > ~/.config/microsoft-todo/client_id

Where to get them:

• tenant_id: Azure Portal -> Microsoft Entra ID -> Overview -> Tenant ID
• client_id: Azure Portal -> Microsoft Entra ID -> App registrations -> your app -> Application (client) ID
• For personal Microsoft accounts, use consumers instead of the directory tenant ID in auth URLs

Authentication requirements in Entra:

• In Authentication, set Allow public client flows to Yes
• If shown, under Mobile and desktop applications, enable the platform and keep public client flows enabled
• Device-code flow will fail with AADSTS7000218 if the app is still treated as a confidential client
• For personal Microsoft accounts, set supported account types to include personal accounts

Bundled helper:

• scripts/ms_todo_auth.py handles device-code auth, token polling, refresh-token exchange, access-token output, and resolved path inspection

Optional local override file:

• scripts/.env.example shows the supported variables for a portable setup
• copy it to scripts/.env only if you explicitly want local overrides

Get an Access Token

Create the default config directory and store the app IDs:

python3 scripts/ms_todo_auth.py show-paths

Then place:

• tenant_id in the reported tenant_file
• client_id in the reported client_file

Request a device code:

python3 scripts/ms_todo_auth.py device-code

The response includes user_code, verification_uri, and device_code, and saves the full payload to device_code.json.

Open the verification_uri, enter the user_code, sign in, then poll for tokens:

python3 scripts/ms_todo_auth.py poll-token

This saves the full token response to token.json but does not echo raw token JSON with bearer or refresh secrets to stdout.

Refresh later when needed:

python3 scripts/ms_todo_auth.py refresh-token

This also updates token.json without echoing raw token JSON secrets to stdout.

Extract the bearer token when needed:

ACCESS_TOKEN=$(python3 scripts/ms_todo_auth.py access-token)

Do not hardcode access tokens in the skill. They expire.

Example with env-var overrides:

MS_TODO_TENANT_ID=consumers \
MS_TODO_CLIENT_ID="your-client-id" \
python3 scripts/ms_todo_auth.py device-code

Example with portable local overrides in scripts/.env:

MS_TODO_TENANT_ID=consumers
MS_TODO_CLIENT_ID=your-client-id
MS_TODO_CONFIG_DIR=./state

Base Request Pattern

ACCESS_TOKEN=$(python3 scripts/ms_todo_auth.py access-token)

curl -s "https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/me/todo/lists" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ACCESS_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" | jq

Common Operations

List task lists

curl -s "https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/me/todo/lists" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ACCESS_TOKEN" | jq

Get one task list

LIST_ID="your-list-id"

curl -s "https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/me/todo/lists/$LIST_ID" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ACCESS_TOKEN" | jq

List tasks in a list

LIST_ID="your-list-id"

curl -s "https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/me/todo/lists/$LIST_ID/tasks" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ACCESS_TOKEN" | jq

Create a task

LIST_ID="your-list-id"

curl -s -X POST "https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/me/todo/lists/$LIST_ID/tasks" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ACCESS_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "title": "Buy milk",
    "importance": "normal"
  }' | jq

Update a task

LIST_ID="your-list-id"
TASK_ID="your-task-id"

curl -s -X PATCH "https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/me/todo/lists/$LIST_ID/tasks/$TASK_ID" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ACCESS_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "title": "Buy milk and eggs",
    "status": "inProgress"
  }' | jq

Mark a task complete

LIST_ID="your-list-id"
TASK_ID="your-task-id"

curl -s -X PATCH "https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/me/todo/lists/$LIST_ID/tasks/$TASK_ID" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ACCESS_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "status": "completed"
  }' | jq

Delete a task

LIST_ID="your-list-id"
TASK_ID="your-task-id"

curl -i -X DELETE "https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/me/todo/lists/$LIST_ID/tasks/$TASK_ID" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ACCESS_TOKEN"

Notes

• To Do is user-scoped. Use delegated auth, not app-only auth.
• Hardcoding tenant_id and client_id is acceptable for a personal setup, but store them in the platform config directory unless you intentionally choose scripts/.env for a local portable copy.
• A bearer token comes from the token endpoint after device-code sign-in. It is not shown in the Azure dashboard.
• If you want automatic renewal, save the refresh token from token.json and exchange it for a new access token later.
• poll-token and refresh-token persist the full token payload to token.json; stdout is summarized so raw token JSON secrets are not printed.
• For personal Outlook/Hotmail/Live accounts, set tenant_id to consumers for device-code and token requests.

Validation

The skill is working when:

• python3 scripts/ms_todo_auth.py show-paths reports the expected config locations
• python3 scripts/ms_todo_auth.py device-code returns a user_code
• python3 scripts/ms_todo_auth.py poll-token writes the platform config token.json
• GET /v1.0/me/todo/lists returns a JSON value array

Common Failure Modes

• AADSTS7000218: app is not configured as a public client
• AADSTS700016 on consumers: app does not allow personal Microsoft accounts
• MailboxNotEnabledForRESTAPI: account auth worked, but mailbox/To Do access is not usable for that account/authority combination
• authorization_pending: complete the device-code sign-in in the browser and retry token polling

Links

• Graph To Do overview: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/graph/api/resources/todo-overview
• Device code flow: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/entra/identity-platform/v2-oauth2-device-code

User Setup Checklist

Before using this skill, do this once in Azure Portal and once on your local machine:

1. Go to Azure Portal -> Microsoft Entra ID -> App registrations -> New registration.
2. Name the app something like Microsoft To Do Skill.
3. Set supported account types to Accounts in any organizational directory and personal Microsoft accounts.
4. Create the app, then copy the Application (client) ID.
5. If you want personal Microsoft accounts such as Outlook/Hotmail/Live, use consumers as the tenant value for this skill.
6. If you only want a specific work or school tenant, use that Entra tenant ID instead.
7. Open the app's Authentication page and enable Allow public client flows.
8. If Azure shows a Mobile and desktop applications platform section, enable it and keep the app as a public client.
9. Open API permissions, add Microsoft Graph delegated permissions, and include Tasks.ReadWrite.
10. Keep offline_access available for refresh-token renewal during device-code auth.
11. Run python3 scripts/ms_todo_auth.py show-paths to see where this skill expects local config files.
12. Create the reported tenant_id file and client_id file with your chosen tenant value and copied client ID.
13. Run python3 scripts/ms_todo_auth.py device-code, open the returned verification_uri, and enter the user_code.
14. After sign-in completes, run python3 scripts/ms_todo_auth.py poll-token.
15. Confirm that token.json was written, then use python3 scripts/ms_todo_auth.py access-token or call GET /v1.0/me/todo/lists.

If device-code auth fails, re-check these settings first:

• account type allows personal accounts if you are using consumers
• public client flows are enabled
• Microsoft Graph delegated permission Tasks.ReadWrite is present