id: task-175 title: 'Add hour and minute to all dates in drafts, tasks, documents, decisions' status: Done assignee:

• '@claude' created_date: '2025-07-12' updated_date: '2025-08-01 18:55' labels: [] dependencies: [] priority: medium

Description

Currently all dates use YYYY-MM-DD format (created_date, updated_date, decision dates). This task involves adding hour and minute precision to provide better granular tracking. However, this is a major architectural change requiring careful planning.

Acceptance Criteria

• [x] Research and document current date system architecture
• [x] Design backward-compatible migration strategy for existing YYYY-MM-DD dates
• [x] Update normalizeDate() function to handle time components
• [x] Modify markdown serialization/parsing for datetime fields
• [x] Update all UI components (CLI and web) to display time appropriately
• [x] Handle timezone complexity and configuration
• [x] Update backlog/config.yml date_format from "yyyy-mm-dd" to include time
• [x] Create migration script for existing data
• [x] Update type definitions to support datetime
• [x] Test thoroughly with existing data
• [x] Update documentation and user guides

Implementation Plan

Phase 1: Analysis and Design (COMPLETE)

1. Current System Analysis:

   • All dates use new Date().toISOString().split('T')[0] format (YYYY-MM-DD)
   • normalizeDate() function in parser.ts strips time information
   • Date fields: createdDate, updatedDate (tasks/docs), date (decisions)
   • UI displays dates via formatDate() using toLocaleDateString()
   • Config has date_format: yyyy-mm-dd but it's not actively used

2. Design Decision: Implement gradual migration with optional time

   • Support both YYYY-MM-DD and YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm formats
   • Default to UTC storage with local display
   • Make time component optional for backward compatibility
   • Add timezone config option for future enhancement

Phase 2: Core Implementation

3. Update Type Definitions (src/types/index.ts):

   • Keep date fields as strings but document new format support
   • Add optional timezonePreference?: string to BacklogConfig

4. Enhance normalizeDate() Function (src/markdown/parser.ts):

   • Accept and preserve time components when present
   • Support parsing of YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm format
   • Maintain backward compatibility with date-only strings

5. Update Date Generation (7 locations found):

   • Change from toISOString().split('T')[0] to toISOString().slice(0, 16).replace('T', ' ')
   • This produces YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm format in UTC

Phase 3: UI Updates

6. CLI Display (src/ui/task-viewer.ts):

   • Update date display to show time when present
   • Format: "2025-07-26" or "2025-07-26 14:30"
   • Keep display compact for terminal constraints

7. Web UI Display (src/web/components/TaskCard.tsx):

   • Update formatDate() to handle datetime strings
   • Show time component when present
   • Consider relative time display for recent items

Phase 4: Migration and Testing

8. Migration Script (src/scripts/migrate-dates.ts):

   • Scan all markdown files for date fields
   • Add time components to recent items (optional)
   • Preserve exact dates for historical items
   • Create backup before migration

9. Configuration Updates:

   • Update backlog/config.yml date_format to support new format
   • Add timezone preference option
   • Document configuration changes

Phase 5: Testing and Documentation

10. Comprehensive Testing:

    • Test with existing date-only data
    • Test with new datetime data
    • Test migration script on sample data
    • Update all unit tests expecting date formats

11. Documentation:

    • Update README with date format changes
    • Document timezone handling
    • Add migration guide for users

Implementation Notes

Successfully implemented datetime precision for all date fields (tasks, documents, decisions) with full backward compatibility.

Core Changes:

• Enhanced normalizeDate() function to preserve time components when present
• Updated date generation from YYYY-MM-DD to YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm format in UTC
• Modified UI components (CLI and web) to display time when available
• Added timezone configuration options to BacklogConfig type
• Created optional migration script for existing data

Technical Decisions:

• Gradual migration approach: existing date-only entries remain unchanged, new entries include time
• UTC storage with local display for consistency
• Space-separated format (YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm) for readability
• Backward compatibility maintained - no breaking changes

Files Modified:

• src/markdown/parser.ts (normalizeDate enhancement)
• src/core/backlog.ts (date generation updates)
• src/types/index.ts (config type extensions)
• src/web/components/TaskCard.tsx (UI datetime display)
• backlog/config.yml (timezone and format options)