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Taskwarrior - CLI Task Management

Taskwarrior is a powerful command-line task management tool that helps you organize, track, and manage your tasks efficiently.

Installing Taskwarrior 3.4.1 on WSL Ubuntu​

This guide walks you through installing Taskwarrior version 3.4.1 on Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) running Ubuntu. Since this specific version may not be available in Ubuntu's default repositories, we'll build it from source.

Prerequisites​

  • WSL with Ubuntu installed (e.g., Ubuntu 20.04, 22.04, or 24.04).
  • Basic familiarity with terminal commands.

Step-by-Step Installation​

1. Update Package List​

Ensure your package list is up-to-date to avoid dependency issues.

sudo apt-get update

2. Install Required Dependencies​

Install tools and libraries needed to build Taskwarrior, including Git, CMake, Make, a C++ compiler, and UUID development files.

sudo apt-get install git cmake make g++ uuid-dev

3. Clone the Taskwarrior Repository​

Clone the official Taskwarrior repository from GitHub.

git clone https://github.com/GothenburgBitFactory/taskwarrior.git taskwarrior.git

4. Navigate to the Repository​

Move into the cloned directory.

cd taskwarrior.git

5. Checkout Version 3.4.1​

Switch to the specific 3.4.1 release tag to ensure the correct version.

git checkout v3.4.1

6. Create and Enter Build Directory​

Create a build directory for an out-of-source build and navigate into it.

mkdir build
cd build

7. Configure the Build​

Use CMake to configure the build process, optimizing for a release build.

cmake -S .. -B . -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release

8. Build Taskwarrior​

Compile the source code to generate the Taskwarrior binary.

cmake --build .

9. Install Taskwarrior​

Install the compiled binary system-wide, typically to /usr/local/bin.

sudo cmake --install .

10. Verify Installation​

Run Taskwarrior to confirm it's installed. On first run, it may prompt you to set up a configuration file.

task

Troubleshooting​

  • Dependency Errors: If the build fails, check CMake output for missing dependencies and install them using apt-get.
  • Command Not Found: Ensure /usr/local/bin is in your PATH. Add it with: 
    echo 'export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/bin' >> ~/.bashrc
    source ~/.bashrc
  • Version Mismatch: Verify you checked out v3.4.1 using git status.

Adding Taskwarrior Autocompletion​

If the Taskwarrior bash completion script wasn't installed during the source build, you can download it directly from the Taskwarrior GitHub repository and set it up.

Steps to Enable Autocompletion​

1. Download the Completion Script​

Fetch the bash completion script for Taskwarrior 3.4.1 and save it to your home directory:

wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/GothenburgBitFactory/taskwarrior/v3.4.1/scripts/bash/task.sh -O ~/.task_completion.sh

2. Move the Script to the Completion Directory​

Move the downloaded script to the system's bash completion directory:

sudo mv ~/.task_completion.sh /usr/share/bash-completion/completions/task

3. Source the Script​

Enable autocompletion in the current session:

source /usr/share/bash-completion/completions/task

4. Make It Persistent​

Add the sourcing command to ~/.bashrc for future sessions:

echo 'source /usr/share/bash-completion/completions/task' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

5. Test Autocompletion​

Type task ad and press Tab. It should complete to task add or display available options.

Notes​

  • Ensure the bash-completion package is installed: sudo apt-get install bash-completion.
  • Verify that ~/.bashrc includes: 
    if [ -f /etc/bash_completion ]; then
        . /etc/bash_completion
    fi
  • The download method is useful if the script wasn't included during installation or if you need to update it manually.

Multiline Annotation Script for Taskwarrior​

Taskwarrior's default annotation feature only supports single-line annotations. The following script enables multiline annotations by launching your preferred text editor.

Features​

  • Add multi-line annotations to your tasks using your preferred editor
  • Add single-line annotations as always (via CLI arguments) or using the editor

Installation​

  1. Create a file named tan (taskwarrior annotation) in your PATH, e.g., /usr/local/bin/tan:
sudo nano /usr/local/bin/tan
  1. Copy and paste the following script:
#!/usr/bin/env bash
#
# Helper for adding annotations to TaskWarrior tasks.
# Features:
# - Add multi-line annotations to your tasks using your preferred editor.
# - Add single-line annotations as always (via cli arguments) or using the editor.
#
# Copyright (C) 2021 Rafael Cavalcanti <https://rafaelc.org/dev>
# Copyright (C) 2016 djp <djp@cutter>
#
# Distributed under terms of the MIT license.
#

set -euo pipefail

trap 'echo An error ocurred.' ERR
trap '[[ -n ${annot_file:-} ]] && rm -f "$annot_file"' EXIT

# Constants
readonly script_name="$(basename "$0")"
readonly editor="${EDITOR:-vi}"

usage() {
    echo "Usage: $script_name filter [annotation]"
    echo "Filter must be provided in only one argument, quote if needed."
    exit 1
}

# Read arguments
[[ $# -eq 0 ]] && usage
readonly filter="$1"
shift
annot="$*"

# Check if any task exists
if ! task info "$filter" > /dev/null 2>&1; then
    echo "No tasks found."
    exit 1
fi

# Use annotation from CLI if provided
if [[ -n "$annot" ]]; then
    task $filter annotate "$annot"
    exit 0
fi

# Use annotation from editor
# Add file extension to get syntax highlighting
readonly annot_file="$(mktemp).md"
$editor "$annot_file"

if [[ "$(wc -l "$annot_file" | cut -d ' ' -f 1)" -gt 1 ]]; then
    annot="\n$(cat "$annot_file")"
else
    annot="$(cat "$annot_file")"
fi

# Print annotation if error saving, otherwise the user will lose it
if ! task $filter annotate "$annot"; then
    echo "Error annotating task. Here is your annotation:"
    echo
    echo "$annot"
fi
  1. Make the script executable:
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/tan

Usage​

  1. To add a multiline annotation to a task with ID 1:
tan 1

This will open your default editor where you can write a multiline annotation.

  1. To add a single-line annotation directly from the command line:
tan 1 "This is a single line annotation"

Note​

  • The script uses your $EDITOR environment variable. If not set, it defaults to vi.
  • The script requires Bash and standard Unix utilities.

Citation​

This script is sourced from Rafael Cavalcanti's Gist and is distributed under the MIT license.