Task Tracker CLI

A simple command-line interface (CLI) application to track and manage your tasks and to-do list. Built with Python, this project demonstrates fundamental programming concepts including file I/O, JSON data persistence, object-oriented programming, and CLI development.

✨ Features

• ✅ Add new tasks with descriptions
• ✏️ Update existing task descriptions
• 🗑️ Delete tasks by ID
• 📋 Mark tasks as in-progress or completed
• 📊 List all tasks or filter by status
• 💾 Persistent storage using JSON files
• 🔍 Input validation and error handling

🚀 Quick Start

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/jscode-1302/task-tracker.git
cd task-tracker

# Run the application
python main.py

# Add your first task
add 'Learn Python CLI development'

📋 Requirements

• Python: 3.7 or higher
• Operating System: Windows, macOS, or Linux
• Dependencies: None (uses only Python standard library)

🛠️ Installation

Method 1: Clone from GitHub

git clone https://github.com/jscode-1302/task-tracker.git
cd task-tracker
python main.py

Method 2: Download ZIP

1. Download the ZIP file from the repository
2. Extract to your desired location
3. Navigate to the folder in your terminal
4. Run python main.py

📖 Usage Guide

The application runs in interactive mode. After starting, you'll see a welcome message and can enter commands.

📝 Adding Tasks

add 'Buy groceries'
# Output: Task added successfully (ID: 1)

add 'Complete Python project'
# Output: Task added successfully (ID: 2)

✏️ Updating Tasks

update 1 'Buy groceries and cook dinner'
# Output: Task updated successfully!

🗑️ Deleting Tasks

delete 1
# Output: Task deleted successfully!

🏷️ Managing Task Status

# Mark as in progress
mark-in-progress 1
# Output: Task marked in progress successfully!

# Mark as completed
mark-done 1
# Output: Task marked done successfully!

📋 Viewing Tasks

# List all tasks
list

# List by status
list todo
list in-progress
list done

💡 Getting Help

help
# Shows all available commands and usage examples

💻 Example Session

Welcome!
Enter 'help' to see the commands

> add 'Learn Python OOP'
Task added successfully (ID: 1)

> add 'Build a CLI app'
Task added successfully (ID: 2)

> mark-in-progress 1
Task marked in progress successfully!

> list
ID: 1 - Description: Learn Python OOP - Status: in-progress - Created at: 01/07/2025 - Updated at: 01/07/2025
ID: 2 - Description: Build a CLI app - Status: todo - Created at: 01/07/2025 - Updated at: 01/07/2025

> mark-done 1
Task marked done successfully!

> list done
ID: 1 - Description: Learn Python OOP - Status: done - Created at: 01/07/2025 - Updated at: 01/07/2025

🏗️ Project Structure

task-tracker-cli/
│
├── main.py          # Main application entry point and CLI interface
├── models.py        # Task and TaskManager classes
├── utils.py         # Utility functions for data handling
├── tasks.json       # JSON file for persistent data storage (auto-generated)
├── .gitignore       # Git ignore rules
├── LICENSE          # MIT License
└── README.md        # Project documentation

🔧 Technical Details

Core Classes

Task Class

• Properties: id, description, status, created_at, updated_at
• Validation: Ensures task descriptions are at least 3 characters long
• Features: Automatic timestamp management and string representations

TaskManager Class

• Functionality: Manages all task operations (CRUD)
• Data Handling: JSON serialization/deserialization
• Features: Automatic ID generation and file persistence

Data Storage Format

Tasks are stored in tasks.json with this structure:

[
    {
        "id": 1,
        "description": "Sample task",
        "status": "todo",
        "created_at": "01/07/2025",
        "updated_at": "01/07/2025"
    }
]

Available Status Types

Status	Description
todo	Default status for new tasks
in-progress	Tasks currently being worked on
done	Completed tasks

🛠️ Troubleshooting

Common Issues:

• "Command not recognized": Make sure you're using the exact command format shown in help
• "Invalid command or format": Check that task descriptions are enclosed in single quotes
• "Id not found": Verify the task ID exists by running list
• Python not found: Ensure Python 3.7+ is installed and in your PATH

File Issues:

• The tasks.json file is created automatically on first use
• If the file becomes corrupted, delete it and restart the application

🎯 Key Programming Concepts Demonstrated

• Object-Oriented Design: Clean separation between Task entities and TaskManager operations
• Data Persistence: JSON file storage with automatic loading/saving
• Input Validation: Regex-based command parsing with comprehensive error handling
• User Experience: Clear success/error messages and help documentation
• Error Handling: Graceful handling of invalid inputs and edge cases

🚀 Future Enhancements

• Add task priorities (high, medium, low)
• Implement due dates and reminders
• Add task categories/tags
• Export tasks to different formats (CSV, TXT)
• Add search functionality
• Implement task completion statistics
• Add task dependencies
• Create a web interface version

🤝 Contributing

This is a learning project, but contributions are welcome! Here's how you can help:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some amazing feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open a Pull Request

Development Setup

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/task-tracker.git
cd task-tracker
# Make your changes
python main.py  # Test your changes

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

🎓 About This Project

This project was built as part of my journey learning Python and backend development. It demonstrates core programming concepts including:

• Object-oriented programming principles
• File I/O operations and JSON handling
• Regular expressions for input parsing
• Error handling and validation
• CLI application development

Project inspired by: roadmap.sh Task Tracker CLI Project

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