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TaskGuard Documentation

AI-ready local task management with Git integration

🎯 What is TaskGuard?

TaskGuard is a local-first, Git-native task management system built in Rust that provides:

  • 📋 Simple task management - Markdown files with YAML metadata
  • 🔗 Causality tracking - Semantic dependency chains for AI agents (v0.4.0+)
  • 🤖 AI collaboration - Zero-setup integration with Claude Code and other LLMs
  • 🔒 Git-native - All tasks stored in version control
  • ⚡ Fast & secure - Rust-powered with comprehensive security testing

✨ Key Features

  • 🚀 Quick Setup

    Initialize in seconds with taskguard init. No configuration required.

  • 📦 Local-First

    All data stays on your machine. No cloud dependencies.

  • 🔄 Git Integration

    Analyze commit history and suggest task status updates automatically.

  • 🤖 AI-Ready

    Structured format perfect for LLM consumption and automation.

  • 🔐 Security Tested

    17/17 security tests passing. Production-ready.

  • ⚡ Zero Dependencies

    Single binary. No runtime requirements besides Git.

🚀 Quick Start

Get started with TaskGuard in under 5 minutes:

1. Installation

git clone git@github.com:Guard8-ai/TaskGuard.git
cd TaskGuard
./scripts/install-macos.sh

git clone git@github.com:Guard8-ai/TaskGuard.git
cd TaskGuard
./scripts/install-linux.sh

git clone git@github.com:Guard8-ai/TaskGuard.git
cd TaskGuard
.\scripts\install-windows.ps1

2. Initialize Project

cd ~/my-project
taskguard init

3. Create Your First Task

# setup-001 is auto-created as root task
taskguard create --title "Setup database" --area backend --dependencies "setup-001"

4. View Tasks

taskguard list

Output: 

📁 BACKEND
   ───────────
   ⭕ 🟠 backend-001 Setup database

📊 SUMMARY
   Total tasks: 1
   todo: 1

  • Getting Started

    New to TaskGuard? Start here for installation and your first task.

    Get Started

  • Core Concepts

    Learn about task structure, dependencies, and state management.

    Core Concepts

  • Features

    Explore TaskGuard's powerful features and capabilities.

    Features

  • Usage Examples

    See real-world workflows and integration patterns.

    Examples

  • API Reference

    Complete command reference and configuration documentation.

    API Docs

  • Contributing

    Help improve TaskGuard. Development setup and guidelines.

    Contribute

🎯 Why TaskGuard?

Local-First Philosophy

Your tasks stay on your machine. No cloud sync, no vendor lock-in, complete control.

Git-Native Design

Tasks are just Markdown files in a Git repo. Version control, collaboration, and history tracking built-in.

AI Collaboration

Structured YAML + Markdown format makes tasks readable by both humans and LLMs. Zero-setup integration with Claude Code.

Developer Control

TaskGuard suggests, never decides. You're always in control of your workflow.

📊 At a Glance

Feature Status
Task Management ✅ Create, list, update tasks
Causality Tracking ✅ Mandatory dependencies, orphan detection
Git Sync ✅ Commit analysis & suggestions
Quality Analysis ✅ Complexity scoring & linting
AI Integration ✅ Claude Code, natural language
Security ✅ 17/17 tests passing
Platforms ✅ Linux, macOS, Windows, WSL

💡 Example Use Cases

Solo Developer

# Track personal project tasks with causality
taskguard create --title "Build API endpoint" --area backend --dependencies "setup-001"
taskguard validate --orphans  # Check for orphan tasks

Team Collaboration

# Tasks in Git - share via pull requests
git add tasks/
git commit -m "Add authentication tasks"
git push

AI-Assisted Development

# Let AI help manage tasks
taskguard ai "create tasks for user authentication feature"
taskguard sync  # AI analyzes git commits

🚀 Next Steps

Ready to dive in?

  1. Install TaskGuard
  2. Complete the 5-minute tutorial
  3. Learn core concepts
  4. Explore features

Questions? Check the FAQ or open an issue.