Instructions for the usage of Backlog.md CLI Tool

Backlog.md: Comprehensive Project Management Tool via CLI

Assistant Objective

Efficiently manage all project tasks, status, and documentation using the Backlog.md CLI, ensuring all project metadata remains fully synchronized and up-to-date.

Core Capabilities

• ✅ Task Management: Create, edit, assign, prioritize, and track tasks with full metadata
• ✅ Search: Fuzzy search across tasks, documents, and decisions with backlog search
• ✅ Acceptance Criteria: Granular control with add/remove/check/uncheck by index
• ✅ Board Visualization: Terminal-based Kanban board (backlog board) and web UI (backlog browser)
• ✅ Git Integration: Automatic tracking of task states across branches
• ✅ Dependencies: Task relationships and subtask hierarchies
• ✅ Documentation & Decisions: Structured docs and architectural decision records
• ✅ Export & Reporting: Generate markdown reports and board snapshots
• ✅ AI-Optimized: --plain flag provides clean text output for AI processing

Why This Matters to You (AI Agent)

1. Comprehensive system - Full project management capabilities through CLI
2. The CLI is the interface - All operations go through backlog commands
3. Unified interaction model - You can use CLI for both reading (backlog task 1 --plain) and writing ( backlog task edit 1)
4. Metadata stays synchronized - The CLI handles all the complex relationships

Key Understanding

• Tasks live in backlog/tasks/ as task-<id> - <title>.md files
• You interact via CLI only: backlog task create, backlog task edit, etc.
• Use --plain flag for AI-friendly output when viewing/listing
• Never bypass the CLI - It handles Git, metadata, file naming, and relationships

⚠️ CRITICAL: NEVER EDIT TASK FILES DIRECTLY. Edit Only via CLI

ALL task operations MUST use the Backlog.md CLI commands

• ✅ DO: Use backlog task edit and other CLI commands
• ✅ DO: Use backlog task create to create new tasks
• ✅ DO: Use backlog task edit <id> --check-ac <index> to mark acceptance criteria
• ❌ DON'T: Edit markdown files directly
• ❌ DON'T: Manually change checkboxes in files
• ❌ DON'T: Add or modify text in task files without using CLI

Why? Direct file editing breaks metadata synchronization, Git tracking, and task relationships.

1. Source of Truth & File Structure

📖 UNDERSTANDING (What you'll see when reading)

• Markdown task files live under backlog/tasks/ (drafts under backlog/drafts/)
• Files are named: task-<id> - <title>.md (e.g., task-42 - Add GraphQL resolver.md)
• Project documentation is in backlog/docs/
• Project decisions are in backlog/decisions/

🔧 ACTING (How to change things)

• All task operations MUST use the Backlog.md CLI tool
• This ensures metadata is correctly updated and the project stays in sync
• Always use --plain flag when listing or viewing tasks for AI-friendly text output

2. Common Mistakes to Avoid

❌ WRONG: Direct File Editing

# DON'T DO THIS:

1. Open backlog/tasks/task-7 - Feature.md in editor
2. Change "- [ ]" to "- [x]" manually
3. Add notes directly to the file
4. Save the file

✅ CORRECT: Using CLI Commands

# DO THIS INSTEAD:
backlog task edit 7 --check-ac 1  # Mark AC #1 as complete
backlog task edit 7 --notes "Implementation complete"  # Add notes
backlog task edit 7 -s "In Progress" -a @agent-k  # Multiple commands: change status and assign the task when you start working on the task

3. Understanding Task Format (Read-Only Reference)

⚠️ FORMAT REFERENCE ONLY - The following sections show what you'll SEE in task files. Never edit these directly! Use CLI commands to make changes.

Task Structure You'll See

---
id: task-42
title: Add GraphQL resolver
status: To Do
assignee: [@sara]
labels: [backend, api]
---

## Description

Brief explanation of the task purpose.

## Acceptance Criteria

<!-- AC:BEGIN -->

- [ ] #1 First criterion
- [x] #2 Second criterion (completed)
- [ ] #3 Third criterion

<!-- AC:END -->

## Implementation Plan

1. Research approach
2. Implement solution

## Implementation Notes

Summary of what was done.

How to Modify Each Section

4. Defining Tasks

Creating New Tasks

Always use CLI to create tasks:

# Example
backlog task create "Task title" -d "Description" --ac "First criterion" --ac "Second criterion"

Title (one liner)

Use a clear brief title that summarizes the task.

Description (The "why")

Provide a concise summary of the task purpose and its goal. Explains the context without implementation details.

Acceptance Criteria (The "what")

Understanding the Format:

• Acceptance criteria appear as numbered checkboxes in the markdown files
• Format: - [ ] #1 Criterion text (unchecked) or - [x] #1 Criterion text (checked)

Managing Acceptance Criteria via CLI:

⚠️ IMPORTANT: How AC Commands Work

• Adding criteria (--ac) accepts multiple flags: --ac "First" --ac "Second" ✅
• Checking/unchecking/removing accept multiple flags too: --check-ac 1 --check-ac 2 ✅
• Mixed operations work in a single command: --check-ac 1 --uncheck-ac 2 --remove-ac 3 ✅

# Examples

# Add new criteria (MULTIPLE values allowed)
backlog task edit 42 --ac "User can login" --ac "Session persists"

# Check specific criteria by index (MULTIPLE values supported)
backlog task edit 42 --check-ac 1 --check-ac 2 --check-ac 3  # Check multiple ACs
# Or check them individually if you prefer:
backlog task edit 42 --check-ac 1    # Mark #1 as complete
backlog task edit 42 --check-ac 2    # Mark #2 as complete

# Mixed operations in single command
backlog task edit 42 --check-ac 1 --uncheck-ac 2 --remove-ac 3

# ❌ STILL WRONG - These formats don't work:
# backlog task edit 42 --check-ac 1,2,3  # No comma-separated values
# backlog task edit 42 --check-ac 1-3    # No ranges
# backlog task edit 42 --check 1         # Wrong flag name

# Multiple operations of same type
backlog task edit 42 --uncheck-ac 1 --uncheck-ac 2  # Uncheck multiple ACs
backlog task edit 42 --remove-ac 2 --remove-ac 4    # Remove multiple ACs (processed high-to-low)

Key Principles for Good ACs:

• Outcome-Oriented: Focus on the result, not the method.
• Testable/Verifiable: Each criterion should be objectively testable
• Clear and Concise: Unambiguous language
• Complete: Collectively cover the task scope
• User-Focused: Frame from end-user or system behavior perspective

Good Examples:

• "User can successfully log in with valid credentials"
• "System processes 1000 requests per second without errors"
• "CLI preserves literal newlines in description/plan/notes; \\n sequences are not auto‑converted"

Bad Example (Implementation Step):

• "Add a new function handleLogin() in auth.ts"
• "Define expected behavior and document supported input patterns"

Task Breakdown Strategy

1. Identify foundational components first
2. Create tasks in dependency order (foundations before features)
3. Ensure each task delivers value independently
4. Avoid creating tasks that block each other

Task Requirements

• Tasks must be atomic and testable or verifiable
• Each task should represent a single unit of work for one PR
• Never reference future tasks (only tasks with id < current task id)
• Ensure tasks are independent and don't depend on future work

5. Implementing Tasks

5.1. First step when implementing a task

The very first things you must do when you take over a task are:

• set the task in progress
• assign it to yourself

# Example
backlog task edit 42 -s "In Progress" -a @{myself}

5.2. Create an Implementation Plan (The "how")

Previously created tasks contain the why and the what. Once you are familiar with that part you should think about a plan on HOW to tackle the task and all its acceptance criteria. This is your Implementation Plan. First do a quick check to see if all the tools that you are planning to use are available in the environment you are working in.
When you are ready, write it down in the task so that you can refer to it later.

# Example
backlog task edit 42 --plan "1. Research codebase for references\n2Research on internet for similar cases\n3. Implement\n4. Test"

5.3. Implementation

Once you have a plan, you can start implementing the task. This is where you write code, run tests, and make sure everything works as expected. Follow the acceptance criteria one by one and MARK THEM AS COMPLETE as soon as you finish them.

5.4 Implementation Notes (PR description)

When you are done implementing a tasks you need to prepare a PR description for it. Because you cannot create PRs directly, write the PR as a clean description in the task notes. Append notes progressively during implementation using --append-notes:

backlog task edit 42 --append-notes "Implemented X" --append-notes "Added tests"

# Example
backlog task edit 42 --notes "Implemented using pattern X because Reason Y, modified files Z and W"

IMPORTANT: Do NOT include an Implementation Plan when creating a task. The plan is added only after you start the implementation.

• Creation phase: provide Title, Description, Acceptance Criteria, and optionally labels/priority/assignee.
• When you begin work, switch to edit, set the task in progress and assign to yourself backlog task edit <id> -s "In Progress" -a "...".
• Think about how you would solve the task and add the plan: backlog task edit <id> --plan "...".
• After updating the plan, share it with the user and ask for confirmation. Do not begin coding until the user approves the plan or explicitly tells you to skip the review.
• Add Implementation Notes only after completing the work: backlog task edit <id> --notes "..." (replace) or append progressively using --append-notes.

Phase discipline: What goes where

• Creation: Title, Description, Acceptance Criteria, labels/priority/assignee.
• Implementation: Implementation Plan (after moving to In Progress and assigning to yourself).
• Wrap-up: Implementation Notes (Like a PR description), AC and Definition of Done checks.

IMPORTANT: Only implement what's in the Acceptance Criteria. If you need to do more, either:

1. Update the AC first: backlog task edit 42 --ac "New requirement"
2. Or create a new follow up task: backlog task create "Additional feature"

6. Typical Workflow

# 1. Identify work
backlog task list -s "To Do" --plain

# 2. Read task details
backlog task 42 --plain

# 3. Start work: assign yourself & change status
backlog task edit 42 -s "In Progress" -a @myself

# 4. Add implementation plan
backlog task edit 42 --plan "1. Analyze\n2. Refactor\n3. Test"

# 5. Share the plan with the user and wait for approval (do not write code yet)

# 6. Work on the task (write code, test, etc.)

# 7. Mark acceptance criteria as complete (supports multiple in one command)
backlog task edit 42 --check-ac 1 --check-ac 2 --check-ac 3  # Check all at once
# Or check them individually if preferred:
# backlog task edit 42 --check-ac 1
# backlog task edit 42 --check-ac 2
# backlog task edit 42 --check-ac 3

# 8. Add implementation notes (PR Description)
backlog task edit 42 --notes "Refactored using strategy pattern, updated tests"

# 9. Mark task as done
backlog task edit 42 -s Done

7. Definition of Done (DoD)

A task is Done only when ALL of the following are complete:

✅ Via CLI Commands:

1. All acceptance criteria checked: Use backlog task edit <id> --check-ac <index> for each
2. Implementation notes added: Use backlog task edit <id> --notes "..."
3. Status set to Done: Use backlog task edit <id> -s Done

✅ Via Code/Testing:

4. Tests pass: Run test suite and linting
5. Documentation updated: Update relevant docs if needed
6. Code reviewed: Self-review your changes
7. No regressions: Performance, security checks pass

⚠️ NEVER mark a task as Done without completing ALL items above

8. Finding Tasks and Content with Search

When users ask you to find tasks related to a topic, use the backlog search command with --plain flag:

# Search for tasks about authentication
backlog search "auth" --plain

# Search only in tasks (not docs/decisions)
backlog search "login" --type task --plain

# Search with filters
backlog search "api" --status "In Progress" --plain
backlog search "bug" --priority high --plain

Key points:

• Uses fuzzy matching - finds "authentication" when searching "auth"
• Searches task titles, descriptions, and content
• Also searches documents and decisions unless filtered with --type task
• Always use --plain flag for AI-readable output

9. Quick Reference: DO vs DON'T

Viewing and Finding Tasks

Modifying Tasks

10. Complete CLI Command Reference

Task Creation

Task Modification

Acceptance Criteria Management

Task Content

Multi‑line Input (Description/Plan/Notes)

The CLI preserves input literally. Shells do not convert \n inside normal quotes. Use one of the following to insert real newlines:

• Bash/Zsh (ANSI‑C quoting):
  • Description: backlog task edit 42 --desc $'Line1\nLine2\n\nFinal'
  • Plan: backlog task edit 42 --plan $'1. A\n2. B'
  • Notes: backlog task edit 42 --notes $'Done A\nDoing B'
  • Append notes: backlog task edit 42 --append-notes $'Progress update line 1\nLine 2'
• POSIX portable (printf):
  • backlog task edit 42 --notes "$(printf 'Line1\nLine2')"
• PowerShell (backtick n):
  • backlog task edit 42 --notes "Line1nLine2"`

Do not expect "...\n..." to become a newline. That passes the literal backslash + n to the CLI by design.

Descriptions support literal newlines; shell examples may show escaped \\n, but enter a single \n to create a newline.

Implementation Notes Formatting

• Keep implementation notes human-friendly and PR-ready: use short paragraphs or bullet lists instead of a single long line.

• Lead with the outcome, then add supporting details (e.g., testing, follow-up actions) on separate lines or bullets.

• Prefer Markdown bullets (- for unordered, 1. for ordered) so Maintainers can paste notes straight into GitHub without additional formatting.

• When using CLI flags like --append-notes, remember to include explicit newlines. Example:

  backlog task edit 42 --append-notes $'- Added new API endpoint\n- Updated tests\n- TODO: monitor staging deploy'
  

Task Operations

Common Issues

Remember: The Golden Rule

🎯 If you want to change ANYTHING in a task, use the backlog task edit command. 📖 Use CLI to read tasks, exceptionally READ task files directly, never WRITE to them.

Full help available: backlog --help