ROADMAP.md

Roadmap & Known Issues

From the June 2026 quality review. File references use path:line.

Done in the review pass

Bug fixes

• Edit dialog crash on "custom" repeat — simpledialog was used but not imported in ui/dialogs.py. Added the import.
• Edit dialog rejected bare times (14:00 / 1400). Introduced a single canonical parser, core/dates.parse_due_entry(), now used by the Add box, Edit dialog, Set Due, and import alike — so every text entry behaves identically.
• "Misc" couldn't be re-selected in the Edit dialog — added Misc to the priority dropdown and mapped it to the stored X code.
• Ultra/Misc priorities were invisible to reminders — core/reminders.py used ad-hoc priority maps that omitted U. It now uses the canonical priority_rank()/PRIORITY_ORDER from core/constants.py, so hazard-escalated (Ultra) tasks get reminders. (Covered by a regression test.)
• Docs advertised unsupported date formats — tomorrow/today/yesterday and month-name dates (Sept 29, September 29 2027), with optional trailing times, are now actually parsed in core/dates.py.
• Latent infinite-loop guard — scheduler.advance_repeating_tasks now breaks when a (malformed) repeat makes no forward progress.

Cleanup / hygiene

• Removed dead code: empty core/query.py (deleted); the unreachable on_tree_double_click / edit_task_for_iid methods (referenced a non-existent self.tree); and the no-op check_reminders + its startup timer.
• Replaced print() debugging in core/actions.py with logging (quiet by default).
• De-duplicated the month math (add_months_dateonly is now an alias of month_add).
• Filled in pyproject.toml description and removed the placeholder author.

Modularization (no behavior change)

• Extracted app.py's filter/search/sort predicates into core/filters.py.
• Moved the recurrence/midnight logic into core/scheduler.py (the formerly empty module, now repurposed).
• Moved mantra selection into core/documents.py (pick_mantra_of_day / pick_random_mantra).

Tests — added a stdlib unittest suite under tests/ (89 tests) covering dates, filters, scheduler, reminders, io_import, and model. Run with python -m unittest discover -s tests. A full GUI smoke test (in a temp data dir) also passes: add → filter → group → search → mark-done → journal/doc write.

UI polish (round 1)

• Fixed the reported color clash: the Misc row color and the group-header color were both pale blue, so a Misc task read like a header. Group headers are now a neutral gray bar (ui/listview.py).
• Added a bottom status bar (showing / open / done-today counts).
• Added sort-direction arrows (▲/▼) on the active column header.
• Slightly taller table rows, bold sortable headers, and a visible blue selection highlight via ttk.Style (app.py).

UI polish (round 2)

• New ui/theme.py centralizes all colors into Light/Dark palettes.
• Light / Dark mode toggle (View menu), persisted via ui_theme setting. v1: main window fully themed; some popup dialogs may still render light.
• Removed the stray "(Modular)" from the window title.
• See DESIGN.md for the broader UI direction and the web/mobile plan.

UI polish (round 3)

• App icon (window + Windows taskbar) — generated by tools/make_icon.py (tasklistprogram/ui/assets/icon.png / .ico).
• ★ Today button — jumps back to the daily focus view (active + due today).
• Calmer priority colors — softened the light-mode row tints so dense lists read more professionally; the colored priority emoji carries the strong signal.

Web prototype — a static, dependency-free preview of the planned web version lives in web/: sidebar nav (Today/Upcoming/Habits/All/ Completed + groups), stat cards, calm task rows with priority left-bars, a habit streak heatmap, light/dark, an Add modal, search, and a responsive layout.

Backend (Phase 2 — first cut) — tasklistprogram/webserver.py is a stdlib HTTP server that serves the web UI and a JSON API (/api/tasks, toggle/done, add, delete, stats) backed by the real core/ logic and data file. Run python -m tasklistprogram.webserver; the front-end auto-detects the API and runs in live mode (real data, changes persist) or falls back to sample data. Verified end-to-end (add / recurring-done advances the due date / soft-delete / stats). Still local-only, no auth — Phases 3–4 add DB, auth, HTTPS, hosting, and web push (see DESIGN.md).

Data location override — both the desktop app and the web server honor the TINYTASKLIST_DATA_DIR env var (sync folder / separate DB / tests).

Web parity (round 4) — closed the big gaps vs. the desktop:

• Edit a task on the web (click a row, or right-click for a context menu with Edit / Mark done / Suspend / Delete) via a new PATCH /api/tasks/{id}.
• Suspended tasks are now hidden from active/today/all (matching the desktop) — fixes the "AI deep learning / NCF ghosts." Added a Suspended view to manage them.
• Undo after a tap (toast with Undo for done / suspend / delete; restores a pre-action snapshot, so even a recurring "done" that advanced the date is reverted).
• Completed view is ordered by most-recently-completed.
• Desktop gained View → Open Web App (starts the local server if needed).
• Robustness: _load_json now tolerates a UTF-8 BOM, so a tasks_gui.json saved by Notepad/PowerShell no longer crashes either front-end. (Regression test added.)
• Fixed a JS syntax error that had broken the whole front-end (also node --check guard) and made dark mode follow the OS theme.

Known caveat: editing in the desktop and web at the same time can clobber (last-writer-wins) — see ARCHITECTURE.md. The SQLite migration (below) is the fix.

Web parity (round 5) — driven by a 39-finding multi-agent audit

• CRITICAL fixed: concurrent web writes could lose data — the read-modify-write cycle is now serialized with a lock (webserver.py).
• Collapsible group view (▤ Group) in the main list — see multiple groups and collapse the ones you don't need (the original point of groups), state remembered.
• Full filters mirroring the desktop: a Category sidebar (Active / Overdue / Repeating / Completed / Suspended / Deleted / All) × a When time filter × a Min priority filter × search.
• Deleted management: Deleted view with Restore and Delete permanently (new hard-delete endpoint); the API now returns all tasks so the client filters like the desktop.
• Hazard escalation: ⚠ shown on escalated tasks; ⚙ → Reset hazard escalation (new endpoint) mirrors the desktop.
• Fixed the "Done today" stat to count recurring completions via history; Habits heatmap now excludes suspended tasks.
• Hardened: _load_json tolerates a UTF-8 BOM (regression test); added op_update / op_reset_hazard / client_tasks tests (110 total).

Data safety + docs (2026-06-08)

• Automatic daily backups: save_db writes a dated snapshot to data/backups/ (14-day rotation) alongside the .bak. Cheap; never breaks a save.
• Documentation system: added CLAUDE.md (project profile), docs/FEATURES.md (parity matrix), docs/CHANGELOG.md, docs/IDEAS.md, docs/BUGS.md, and a docs/README.md index. Ideas now live in IDEAS.md; this file is the active plan.

Next up (prioritized)

1. ✅ SQLite single source of truth — done (2026-06-08). Persistence moved to data/tasks.db behind model.py with atomic transactions; lossless JSON migration (kept as .premigration); desktop reload-on-focus via a rev counter closes the clobber window for normal use. Future hardening: per-row granular writes.
2. Auth layer scaffolding (DESIGN.md Phase 3) — now the top priority, before anything is reachable off-machine. Single-user password + session tokens, HTTPS.
3. Smart / fewer groups. With ~20 groups the list is noisy. Ideas: collapse rarely-used groups, group-of-groups (sections), or auto-grouping related tasks by context (e.g. supplements taken together, a "morning routine"). Possibly offer a few designed templates (Supplements, Meals, Morning) instead of free-form groups.
4. Clearer recurring instances. A task that recurs as just "meal" reads ambiguously; consider per-occurrence labels (Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner) or a title pattern so the day's instance is self-explanatory.
5. Remaining web polish (from the audit): custom date-range filter; multi-select bulk actions; click-header column sort; accessibility (ARIA/semantic HTML); reduce per-row chip clutter; an aggregated "N overdue" banner on Today when data is stale; Ultra/priority icon shown in the editor.

Open items (intentionally not changed — behavior decisions)

1. Time filter hides date-less tasks. With Time ≠ any, tasks with no due date are filtered out (core/filters.passes_time_filter), and the default view is active/today, so a freshly added no-due task "disappears." This is now documented (README/User Guide), but consider showing no-due active tasks under today/week/month, or adding a UI hint.

2. Streak off-by-one. stats_summary counts streaks starting yesterday (core/model.py), so a task completed every day including today reads one fewer. Decide whether "today counts" and adjust.

3. Reminder chip vs. dialog acknowledgement. The ⏰ chip lights for any elapsed unacknowledged checkpoint, but the Reminders dialog surfaces only the latest one per task — so clearing the chip can take several acknowledgements. Consider surfacing all elapsed checkpoints, or having the chip track only the latest.

4. Stray data/mantras.txt. A leftover sits next to the live data/mantras.md (left untouched — it's your personal data dir). Safe to delete locally.

5. .idea/ is tracked. Not sensitive, but most public repos gitignore it. Optional.

Enhancement ideas (not defects)

• Configurable data location. DATA_DIR is hard-coded in core/model.py and core/documents.py. An env var or config file would let users point it at a synced folder (Dropbox/OneDrive) and keep data out of the package tree. (This would also make GUI smoke-testing trivial — the test currently monkeypatches the paths.)
• Export. Import exists but there's no export; round-tripping the pipe format would be handy for backups/sharing.
• Undo for delete. Soft-delete + Restore exists; a quick "undo last action" toast would smooth the workflow.
• Periodic reminder pop-up. The old check_reminders hook was a no-op and was removed; if you want active nudges (not just the chip + Reminders list), add a real timer that opens RemindersDialog when checkpoints elapse.

UI / UX improvement plan (idea bank)

A staged path from low-risk polish to bigger redesigns. Each tier is independent — pick whatever appeals; nothing here is required.

Tier 1 — quick wins (low effort, low risk)

• Tooltips on the toolbar/filter controls and priority codes (Tk has no native tooltip, but a ~20-line helper covers it).
• Empty state: when the list is empty, show a friendly "No tasks match these filters — try Time = any" hint instead of a blank table.
• Clear-search "✕" button and an "overdue" count in the status bar.
• Remember window size/position between runs (save geometry in settings).
• Confirm-on-quit only if there are unsaved edits (currently saves are immediate, so this may be unnecessary — verify).

Tier 2 — interaction polish (medium effort)

• Inline date picker: replace the free-text Due field's reliance on typing with an optional calendar popup (a small custom widget, since tkcalendar is a 3rd- party dep we'd otherwise avoid). Keep text entry as the fast path.
• Drag-free reordering / manual priority within a group via context-menu "move up/down", or a dedicated sort mode.
• Keyboard-first flow: arrow keys already move selection; add e to edit, d done, Del delete (Del exists), and a / to focus search.
• Better Settings dialog grouping (Reminders / Display / Hazard sections with separators) and live preview of "min priority to show".

Tier 3 — visual redesign (larger)

• Theme pass / dark mode. Centralize all colors in one core/theme.py (or a dict) and offer Light/Dark. This also makes the priority palette tunable in one place. The ttk "clam" theme is the most themeable starting point.
• Toolbar with icons instead of text buttons (Tk supports PhotoImage; ship a few small PNGs or use unicode glyphs to stay dependency-free).
• Card/detail pane: a right-hand panel showing the selected task's full notes and document preview, instead of opening an external editor.
• Responsive layout: let columns/filters wrap on narrow windows.

How to approach UI changes safely

1. Centralize styling first (one theme module) so changes are one-line and reversible — this is the single highest-leverage refactor for UI work.
2. Make one change at a time and eyeball it; keep the ttk.Style/color choices in that module so diffs stay readable.
3. The GUI can be smoke-tested headlessly (build the window, drive it, tear down — see the review notes), so wiring changes can be caught without manual clicking; only the look needs a human glance.

Architecture verdict

No rewrite needed — the app.py / core / ui split is sound. After this pass, app.py is meaningfully slimmer (filtering, scheduling, and mantra logic now live in core/), and the pure-logic layer is test-covered.