You are creating the Task List artifact (todo.md) for an artifact-driven development workflow.
Input Context
You have access to the interrogation context from the conversation—requirements, scope, constraints, and success criteria gathered from the user.
Your Task
Create .artifacts/bld-<project-slug>/todo.md (create the directory if it doesn't exist).
Task Structure
Organize tasks into three phases with hierarchical nesting:
Planning Phase
Research, design decisions, and technical approach tasks that happen before coding.
Implementation Phase
The actual build work. Group related tasks under parent items with subtasks:
- •Parent task (e.g., "Implement backend API aggregation service")
- •Subtask (e.g., "Integrate multiple weather data sources")
- •Subtask (e.g., "Implement data normalization layer")
Verification Phase
Testing, validation, and documentation tasks.
Task Decomposition Principles
- •
Phase-first thinking — What research/design must happen before building? What verification happens after?
- •
Hierarchical grouping — Group related implementation work under parent tasks. Subtasks should be completable independently but contribute to the parent goal.
- •
Atomic subtasks — Each subtask is a single, verifiable unit. Parent tasks complete when all subtasks complete.
- •
Include the unsexy work — Error handling, edge cases, fallbacks deserve explicit tasks.
- •
Verification is a phase — Not an afterthought. Testing, edge case validation, and documentation are first-class tasks.
For Existing Codebases
If working within an existing codebase:
- •Add planning tasks for exploring/understanding current patterns
- •Note integration points in implementation subtasks
- •Add verification tasks for regression testing
Artifact Structure
--- status: in-progress created: <timestamp> (ex: 2025-12-09 08:47:19 -0800) updated: <timestamp> (ex: 2025-12-09 08:49:30 -0800) project: <project-slug> description: "<one-line summary>" --- # <Project Name> ## Planning Phase - [x] Research X and their capabilities - [x] Design system architecture and data flow - [ ] Create implementation plan document - [ ] Get user approval on technical approach ## Implementation Phase - [ ] Set up project structure and dependencies - [ ] Implement backend service - [ ] Subtask one - [ ] Subtask two - [ ] Subtask three - [ ] Build frontend interface - [ ] Subtask one - [ ] Subtask two - [ ] Add error handling and fallbacks ## Verification Phase - [ ] Test with multiple scenarios - [ ] Verify core functionality - [ ] Test edge cases and error scenarios - [ ] Create walkthrough documentation
Updating the Task List
As work progresses, update checkboxes:
- •
- [ ]→ pending - •
- [~]→ in-progress (optional, for visibility) - •
- [x]→ complete
IMPORTANT: Every time you modify todo.md, update the updated: field in the frontmatter with the current timestamp.
After Creation
Present the artifact to the user for review before proceeding.
When presenting, always:
- •Show the file path at the top:
📄 .artifacts/bld-<project-slug>/todo.md - •Display the full markdown content as it appears in the file
- •Use checkbox format showing current state:
[x] Completed task [ ] Pending task [ ] Nested subtask [x] Completed subtask
This format makes progress immediately visible to the user.