Commands Reference

Quick Reference

Initialization

backmark init

Create Task

backmark task create

List Tasks

backmark task list

View Task

backmark task view

Kanban Board

backmark board show

Search

backmark search

Add Criterion

backmark task add-criterion

Check Criterion

backmark task check

AI Review Ready

backmark task ai-review-ready

Initialization

`backmark init`

Initialize BackMark in the current directory.

Syntax:

backmark init [project-name]

Examples:

backmark init "My Project"
backmark init

What it creates:

backlog/ directory
backlog/tasks/ directory
backlog/templates/ with default templates
backlog/config.yml with default configuration

Task Management

`backmark task create`

Create a new task.

Syntax:

backmark task create <title> [options]

Options:

-d, --description <text> - Task description
-p, --priority <level> - Priority: low, medium, high, critical
-a, --assignees <list> - Comma-separated assignees
-l, --labels <list> - Comma-separated labels
-m, --milestone <name> - Milestone name
--status <status> - Initial status (default: To Do)
--start <date> - Start date (YYYY-MM-DD)
--end <date> - End date (YYYY-MM-DD)

Examples:

backmark task create "Implement auth"

backmark task create "Add search" \
  -d "Fuzzy search with Fuse.js" \
  -p high \
  -a "Claude,Alice" \
  -l "feature,search" \
  -m "v1.0"

`backmark task list`

List all tasks with optional filtering.

Syntax:

backmark task list [options]

Options:

--status <status> - Filter by status
--priority <priority> - Filter by priority
--assignee <name> - Filter by assignee
--label <label> - Filter by label
--milestone <name> - Filter by milestone

Example Output:

Filter by multiple criteria:

backmark task list --priority high --assignee Claude
backmark task list --milestone "v1.0" --status "To Do"

`backmark task view`

View detailed information about a task.

Syntax:

backmark task view <task-id> [options]

Options:

--ai-all - Show all AI sections
--ai-plan - Show only AI plan
--ai-notes - Show only AI notes
--ai-doc - Show only AI documentation
--ai-review - Show only AI review

Examples:

backmark task view 1 --ai-all
backmark task view 42
backmark task view 42 --ai-plan

Example Output:

`backmark task edit`

Edit task properties.

Syntax:

backmark task edit <task-id> [options]

Options:

--status <status> - Change status
--priority <priority> - Change priority
--assignee <name> - Add/remove assignee
--label <label> - Add/remove label
--milestone <name> - Set milestone

Examples:

backmark task edit 42 --status "In Progress"
backmark task edit 42 --priority high
backmark task edit 42 --status "Done"

`backmark task delete`

Delete a task.

Syntax:

backmark task delete <task-id> [--force]

Options:

--force - Skip confirmation prompt

Examples:

backmark task delete 42
backmark task delete 42 --force

AI Workflow

`backmark task ai-plan`

Add or update AI implementation plan.

backmark task ai-plan <id> "Plan..."

`backmark task ai-note`

Add timestamped AI development notes.

backmark task ai-note <id> "Note..."

`backmark task ai-doc`

Add or update AI documentation.

backmark task ai-doc <id> "Docs..."

`backmark task ai-review`

Add AI self-review and quality checks.

backmark task ai-review <id> "Review..."

AI Automation

`ai-breakdown`

Automatically generate subtasks from task description.

backmark task ai-breakdown <id>

`ai-estimate`

Estimate complexity and duration.

backmark task ai-estimate <id>

`ai-review-ready`

Validate task before completion.

backmark task ai-review-ready <id>

Acceptance Criteria

Acceptance criteria define specific conditions that must be met for a task to be complete. They are validated by ai-review-ready before a task can be closed.

`backmark task add-criterion`

Add an acceptance criterion to a task.

Syntax:

backmark task add-criterion <task-id> "<criterion-text>"

Examples:

# Add a single criterion
backmark task add-criterion 42 "API returns 200 OK on success"

# Add multiple criteria
backmark task add-criterion 42 "Response time under 100ms"
backmark task add-criterion 42 "Error handling for invalid input"
backmark task add-criterion 42 "All unit tests pass"

Tip: Add acceptance criteria before starting work to define clear goals.

`backmark task check`

Mark an acceptance criterion as completed.

Syntax:

backmark task check <task-id> <index>

Examples:

# Check the first criterion (0-indexed)
backmark task check 42 0

# Check the third criterion
backmark task check 42 2

Use backmark task view <id> to see criteria indices.

`backmark task uncheck`

Unmark an acceptance criterion (set back to incomplete).

Syntax:

backmark task uncheck <task-id> <index>

Examples:

# Uncheck the first criterion
backmark task uncheck 42 0

# Uncheck if requirements changed
backmark task uncheck 42 1

Use when a criterion was checked prematurely or requirements changed.

View Acceptance Criteria

See all acceptance criteria for a task:

backmark task view 42

Output includes:

Acceptance Criteria:
  ○ [0] "API returns 200 OK on success"
  ● [1] "Response time under 100ms"
  ○ [2] "Error handling for invalid input"
  ● [3] "All unit tests pass"

(○ = unchecked, ● = checked)

Kanban Board

`backmark board show`

Display interactive Kanban board view of all tasks.

Syntax:

backmark board show [options]

Options:

--watch - Auto-refresh board (watch mode)

Example Output:

💡 This is an interactive TUI (Text User Interface). Use --watch for auto-refresh mode.

Search

`backmark search`

Fuzzy search across all tasks.

Syntax:

backmark search <query> [options]

Options:

--status <status> - Filter results by status
--priority <priority> - Filter results by priority

Examples:

backmark search "authentication"
backmark search "api" --status "In Progress"

Configuration

`backmark config get`

Get configuration value.

backmark config get <key>

Example:

backmark config get performance.useIndex

`backmark config set`

Set configuration value.

backmark config set <key> <value>

Example:

backmark config set performance.useIndex true

Other Commands

`backmark overview`

Display comprehensive project statistics, team activity, velocity trends, and AI collaboration metrics.

Example Output:

`backmark --version`

Show BackMark version.

backmark --version

`backmark --help`

Show help for all commands.

backmark --help
backmark task --help
backmark task create --help

`backmark task create-from-template`

Create task from template.

backmark task create-from-template \
  <template> <title>

Command Tips

💡 Use --help with any command for detailed options
💡 Task IDs can be found with backmark task list
💡 Combine multiple filters for precise queries
💡 Use quotes for multi-word values: "In Progress"
💡 Press Ctrl+C to exit watch mode
💡 All commands support --verbose for debug output