CLI Commands

Every command supports --help (or -h) for usage details.

`dodo init`

Initialize a .dodo/ directory in the current project.

dodo init

Most commands auto-initialize if .dodo/ doesn't exist, so this is optional.

`dodo add <title>`

Create a new task. Also available as dodo create.

dodo add "Fix login bug"
dodo add "Setup database" -d "Configure PostgreSQL" -t "setup,backend"
dodo add "Write tests" --parent abc12345 --blocked-by xyz99999

Flag	Short	Description
`--description <text>`	`-d`	Task description (supports `\n` for newlines)
`--parent <id>`	`-p`	Parent task ID
`--tags <tag1,tag2>`	`-t`	Comma-separated tags
`--blocked-by <id1,id2>`	`-b`	Comma-separated blocker task IDs

When blockers are specified, the task starts with blocked status.

`dodo list`

List tasks in a tree view. Also available as dodo ls.

dodo list
dodo list --status open --tag important
dodo list --all

Flag	Short	Description
`--status <status>`	`-s`	Filter by status (`open`, `in-progress`, `blocked`, `done`)
`--tag <tag>`	`-t`	Filter by tag
`--parent <id>`	`-p`	Filter by parent task
`--all`	`-a`	Include done tasks

Done tasks are hidden by default.

`dodo show <id>`

Display detailed information about a task.

dodo show abc12345
dodo show abc12345 --prompt | pbcopy

Flag	Description
`--prompt`	Render the task using the prompt template

The --prompt flag outputs the task formatted as an agent-ready prompt. Pipe it to pbcopy or redirect it to a file.

`dodo update <id>`

Update task properties. Also available as dodo edit.

dodo update abc12345 --title "New title"
dodo update abc12345 --status in-progress
dodo update abc12345 --add-tag urgent --remove-tag backlog
dodo update abc12345 --add-blocker xyz99999
dodo update abc12345 --parent def67890   # set parent
dodo update abc12345 --parent ""          # remove parent

Flag	Short	Description
`--title <text>`		New title
`--description <text>`	`-d`	New description
`--status <status>`	`-s`	Set status
`--parent <id>`	`-p`	Set or remove (`""`) parent
`--add-tag <tag>`		Add a tag
`--remove-tag <tag>`		Remove a tag
`--add-blocker <id>`		Add a blocking dependency
`--remove-blocker <id>`		Remove a blocking dependency

`dodo complete <id>`

Mark a task as done. Also available as dodo done.

dodo complete abc12345

When a task is completed, any tasks that were blocked by it have their status automatically re-evaluated. If all their blockers are now done, they move from blocked to open.

`dodo delete <id>`

Delete a task and clean up all references. Also available as dodo rm.

dodo delete abc12345

This removes the task and cleans up parent/child links and blocking dependencies across all related tasks.

`dodo query <text>`

Fuzzy search across task titles, descriptions, and tags. Also available as dodo search.

dodo query "login"
dodo query "db" --status open --limit 10
dodo query "setup" --all

Flag	Short	Description
`--status <status>`	`-s`	Filter by status
`--all`	`-a`	Include done tasks
`--limit <count>`	`-n`	Max results (default: 20)

Results are ranked by relevance. Title matches are boosted 3x and tag matches 2x over description matches.

`dodo api [method] <path>`

Call REST API endpoints directly without starting a server.

dodo api tasks                                  # GET /api/tasks
dodo api get tasks                              # explicit GET
dodo api post tasks -d '{"title": "My task"}'   # create a task
dodo api patch tasks/abc123 -d '{"status": "done"}'
dodo api delete tasks/abc123
dodo api prompt-template                        # get the prompt template

Flag	Short	Description
`--body <json>`	`-d`	Request body (JSON string)

The method defaults to GET if not specified. See the REST API reference for all available endpoints.

`dodo serve`

Start the web UI server.

dodo serve
dodo serve --port 8080

Flag	Short	Description
`--port <port>`	`-p`	Port number (default: 3456)

Task Statuses

Status	Description
`open`	Default status for new tasks
`in-progress`	Currently being worked on
`blocked`	Has incomplete blocking dependencies
`done`	Completed

Environment Variables

Variable	Description
`NO_COLOR`	Set to disable terminal colors