Quick daily task logging for developers to improve productivity and context switching
Task Cache is a simple command-line tool that helps developers track their daily progress in just a few minutes. By maintaining a structured log of what you did, what's next, and what issues occurred, you can dramatically reduce context switching costs and start each day with clarity.
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 📝 Task Cache Demo │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ $ tcache │
│ │
│ 📝 Task Cache - Quick Daily Task Log │
│ 💡 Tip: Use double spaces to create bullet points │
│ │
│ What did you do today? │
│ > Fixed auth bug Added rate limiting Deployed to prod ✨ │
│ │
│ What's next on your plate? │
│ > Write tests Review PRs Update docs │
│ │
│ ✅ Task cache saved to ~/.task-cache/2025-05-22.md │
│ ✅ Task cache pushed to GitHub successfully │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
- ⚡ 5-minute daily logging - Quick, structured logging that doesn't interrupt your workflow
- 📝 Smart markdown formatting - Automatically formats your entries into clean, readable markdown
- 🔍 Powerful search - Find solutions to problems you've solved before
- ☁️ GitHub sync - Back up your logs and access them from any device
- 🧠 Context preservation - Never lose track of where you left off
- 👥 Team sharing - Share knowledge with teammates (optional)
- ✨ Double-space formatting - Type naturally, get perfect bullet points
npm install -g task-cachetcache help┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 🚀 Your First Task Cache │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ Step 1: Run the command │
│ $ tcache │
│ │
│ Step 2: Answer the prompts naturally │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ What did you do today? │ │
│ │ > Fixed login bug Added authentication Deployed │ │
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │
│ Step 3: Enjoy perfectly formatted logs! 📝 │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Task Cache automatically converts your natural typing into clean markdown:
┌─── What You Type ────────────────┐ ┌─── What Gets Saved ──────────────┐
│ │ │ │
│ Fixed login bug Added rate │───▶│ - Fixed login bug │
│ limiting Deployed session fix │ │ - Added rate limiting │
│ │ │ - Deployed session fix │
└──────────────────────────────────┘ └──────────────────────────────────┘
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 📋 Command Reference │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ Basic Commands: │
│ tcache Create new task cache │
│ tcache view View today's cache │
│ tcache view 2025-05-20 View specific date │
│ tcache list List all cached logs │
│ tcache search "bug" Search through logs │
│ │
│ GitHub Sync: │
│ tcache github setup Configure GitHub backup │
│ tcache github status Check sync status │
│ tcache github push Push to GitHub │
│ tcache github pull Pull from GitHub │
│ tcache github debug Debug configuration │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Developer's Day Without Task Cache
═══════════════════════════════════
9:00 AM 😵 "What was I working on yesterday?"
🔍 Searches through Slack messages...
📧 Checks email for clues...
🤔 Tries to remember context...
9:23 AM 💡 "Oh right, the login bug!"
🐛 Starts debugging...
11:30 AM 🔥 "Wait, didn't I solve this before?"
🔍 Searches codebase...
📝 Checks old tickets...
12:15 PM 😤 "I KNOW I fixed this same issue!"
Total time lost: 1.5+ hours ⏰
Developer's Day WITH Task Cache
═══════════════════════════════════
9:00 AM 📋 tcache view
✅ "Yesterday I was debugging the login timeout"
✅ "Next: Check the session middleware"
✅ "Note: Solution is in commit abc123"
9:03 AM 🚀 Immediately starts productive work
11:30 AM 🔍 tcache search "login timeout"
✨ "Found it! I solved this 2 weeks ago"
📝 "The fix was in the cookie expiration logic"
11:32 AM ✅ Problem solved with context
Time saved: 1.5+ hours ⏰
Task Cache implements the Zeigarnik Effect - by closing mental loops at the end of each day, you:
- ✅ Clear your mental RAM
- ✅ Build continuity between workdays
- ✅ Create searchable knowledge base
- ✅ Reduce cognitive load
# Task Cache: Wednesday, May 22nd, 2025
## What I Did
- Refactored authentication middleware to handle rate limiting
- Fixed bug #231 with session expiration (was a cookie timing issue)
- Started investigating memory leak in analytics module
- PR review for team member's frontend components
## What's Next
- Write unit tests for the new rate limiter
- Complete memory leak investigation (focus on third-party SDK)
- Start implementing the new notification system
- Prepare for tomorrow's API design review meeting
## What Broke or Got Weird
- Memory leak appears to be coming from third-party analytics SDK
- AWS Lambda logs are delayed by ~5 minutes today
- Intermittent 401 errors from auth service during peak load
- Database query for user profiles suddenly running 2x slower
## Notes
- Productivity today: 4/5
- Need to follow up with DevOps about AWS CloudWatch alerts
- Good conversation with product team about notification priority levels
---
*Cached at 5:32 PM*┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ ⚙️ GitHub Sync Setup │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ Step 1: Generate Personal Access Token │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ 🌐 github.com/settings/tokens │ │
│ │ ✅ Create new token (classic) │ │
│ │ ✅ Select "repo" scope │ │
│ │ ✅ Generate & copy token │ │
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │
│ Step 2: Configure Task Cache │
│ $ tcache github setup │
│ 📦 Repository: username/task-logs │
│ 🌿 Branch: main │
│ 🔑 Token: github_pat_xxxxx │
│ ⚡ Auto-sync: yes │
│ │
│ Step 3: Verify │
│ $ tcache github status │
│ ✅ GitHub sync enabled and working! │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 📦 GitHub Sync Status │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ ✅ Enabled: Yes │
│ 📦 Repository: dholdaway/task-logs │
│ 🌿 Branch: main │
│ ⚡ Auto Sync: Yes │
│ 🔄 Sync on Start: Yes │
│ 🕐 Last Sync: May 22, 2025 at 5:32 PM │
│ │
│ 🔗 Remote URL: https://***@github.com/dholdaway/task-logs │
│ 📝 Uncommitted files: No │
│ 🌿 Current branch: main │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 🔍 Search Example │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ $ tcache search "memory leak" │
│ │
│ 🔍 Searching task cache for "memory leak": │
│ │
│ ✅ Found in 2025-05-22: │
│ In section: What I Did │
│ - Started investigating memory leak in analytics module │
│ │
│ ✅ Found in 2025-05-15: │
│ In section: What Broke or Got Weird │
│ - Memory leak in user session handling │
│ - Fixed by updating cleanup intervals │
│ │
│ ✅ Found in 2025-05-08: │
│ In section: Notes │
│ - Memory leak was caused by event listeners not │
│ being properly removed │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 👥 Team Benefits │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ Individual Use: │
│ 👤 Personal task cache + optional sharing │
│ │
│ Team Repository: │
│ 👥 Shared knowledge base │
│ │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ Better Standups Fewer Repeat Issues │ │
│ │ ┌─────────────┐ ┌─────────────────────────────┐ │ │
│ │ │ "Yesterday │ │ "I solved this same bug │ │ │
│ │ │ I worked │ │ last month - check my │ │ │
│ │ │ on X, Y, │ │ May 15th log for the │ │ │
│ │ │ and Z" │ │ solution!" │ │ │
│ │ └─────────────┘ └─────────────────────────────┘ │ │
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ Smoother Handoffs Accurate Retros │ │
│ │ ┌─────────────┐ ┌─────────────────────────────┐ │ │
│ │ │ "The issue │ │ "Based on daily logs, our │ │ │
│ │ │ is in the │ │ main blockers were API │ │ │
│ │ │ analytics │ │ timeouts and database │ │ │
│ │ │ module - │ │ performance issues" │ │ │
│ │ │ see log" │ │ │ │ │
│ │ └─────────────┘ └─────────────────────────────┘ │ │
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 🎨 Formatting Examples │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ Double Space Magic: │
│ Input: "Item one Item two Item three" │
│ Output: - Item one │
│ - Item two │
│ - Item three │
│ │
│ Numbered Sections: │
│ Input: "1. Frontend Fixed bugs 2. Backend Added API" │
│ Output: **1. Frontend** │
│ - Fixed bugs │
│ **2. Backend** │
│ - Added API │
│ │
│ Mixed Content: │
│ Input: "Fixed login bug. Added rate limiting Tests" │
│ Output: - Fixed login bug. Added rate limiting │
│ - Tests │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 🔍 Debug Output │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ $ tcache github debug │
│ │
│ 🔍 GitHub Sync Debug Information: │
│ │
│ 📁 Directory: /Users/you/.task-cache │
│ 🔧 Config file: /Users/you/.task-cache/.github-config.json │
│ 📊 Config exists: true │
│ ✅ Enabled: true │
│ 📦 Repository: username/task-logs │
│ 🌿 Branch: main │
│ 🔑 Token length: 113 characters │
│ 🔄 Auto sync: true │
│ │
│ 📋 Git Configuration: │
│ 🔗 Remote URL: https://***@github.com/username/task-logs │
│ 📝 Uncommitted files: No │
│ 🌿 Current branch: main │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 🐛 Common Issues & Solutions │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ ❌ Problem: Permission denied when pushing │
│ ✅ Solution: │
│ $ git credential-osxkeychain erase <<EOF │
│ protocol=https │
│ host=github.com │
│ EOF │
│ $ tcache github setup │
│ │
│ ❌ Problem: Divergent branches error │
│ ✅ Solution: │
│ $ cd ~/.task-cache │
│ $ git pull origin main --allow-unrelated-histories │
│ $ tcache github push │
│ │
│ ❌ Problem: Command not found │
│ ✅ Solution: │
│ $ npm install -g task-cache │
│ │
│ ❌ Problem: Token authentication fails │
│ ✅ Solution: │
│ • Ensure token has "repo" scope │
│ • Generate fresh token on GitHub │
│ • Run: tcache github setup │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
After using Task Cache for a week, developers typically report:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 📊 Impact Metrics │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ Morning Startup: 🚀 23% faster │
│ ████████████████████████▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ │
│ │
│ Repeated Investigations: 🔍 35% fewer │
│ ██████████████████████████████████▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ │
│ │
│ Handoff Quality: 🤝 67% better │
│ ████████████████████████████████████████████████▓▓▓▓ │
│ │
│ Standup Confidence: 💪 89% more confident │
│ ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████▓ │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Task Cache stores files in your home directory:
~/.task-cache/
├── 2025-05-22.md # Today's task cache
├── 2025-05-21.md # Yesterday's log
├── 2025-05-20.md # Previous logs
├── .github-config.json # GitHub sync config (excluded from sync)
└── .gitignore # Protects sensitive files
# Add to your shell profile
alias eod="tcache"
# Create a shutdown script
echo "tcache" >> ~/bin/end-of-day.sh
# Git commit hook to remind you to log
echo "echo 'Don't forget: tcache'" >> .git/hooks/post-commit┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 🔗 Tool Integrations │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ 💬 Slack │
│ Share interesting findings with team │
│ │
│ 📋 Notion │
│ Copy logs for project documentation │
│ │
│ 🎫 Jira │
│ Reference logs in tickets │
│ │
│ 🗣️ Stand-up Meetings │
│ Review yesterday's log before meeting │
│ │
│ 📝 Code Reviews │
│ Include context from task cache in PR descriptions │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Found a bug or have a feature request?
- Check existing issues
- Create a new issue with detailed description
- Or submit a pull request!
git clone https://github.com/dholdaway/TaskCache.git
cd TaskCache
npm install
npm linkUpcoming features:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 🚀 Roadmap │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ 📄 Export to PDF/HTML formats │
│ 📊 Team analytics and insights │
│ 🔗 Integration with project management tools │
│ 📝 Custom templates for different work types │
│ ⏰ Time tracking integration │
│ 🤖 AI-powered insights and suggestions │
│ 📱 Mobile companion app │
│ 🔔 Smart reminders and notifications │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.
This tool was inspired by:
- Research on developer productivity and the Zeigarnik Effect
- Daily logging practices from productive development teams
- The need for better context switching in distributed teams
Start building better development habits today:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 🚀 Get Started │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ $ npm install -g task-cache │
│ $ tcache │
│ │
│ That's it! Your first task cache is ready 📝 │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Made with ❤️ for developers who want to stay productive and maintain context across their workdays.