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Jean-Marc Strauven
Jean-Marc Strauven

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I Built a Task Manager for the AI Coding Era (and It's Just Markdown Files)

#productivity #cli #ai #markdown

The Problem: Task Managers Weren't Built for AI Collaboration

I've been coding professionally for over 15 years, working with everything from Laravel to complex enterprise systems. Recently, like many developers, I've started "vibe coding" with AI assistants like Claude and ChatGPT. It's transformed how I work.

But here's the thing: traditional task managers don't understand this new workflow.

When I'm working with an AI assistant, I need separate spaces for:

  • My personal task breakdown and thinking
  • The AI's planning and approach
  • Documentation that the AI generates
  • Self-review notes from the AI

Tools like Todoist, Trello, or Linear force everything into the same bucket. It becomes messy fast. Plus, they're cloud-dependent, use proprietary formats, and treat AI as an afterthought.

The Solution: BackMark

I built BackMark to solve this exact problem. It's a CLI task manager with one core principle: your tasks are just Markdown files.

Why Markdown? 

---
title: "Implement user authentication"
status: "in_progress"
priority: "high"
tags: ["backend", "security"]
---

## Description
Build JWT-based authentication system with refresh tokens.

## AI Plan
- Set up Laravel Sanctum
- Create user migration and model
- Build auth controllers
- Write tests

## AI Notes
Using Sanctum instead of Passport for simpler token management.
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That's it. A plain .md file with YAML frontmatter. You can:

  • Edit it in any text editor
  • Track it with Git
  • Read it in 50 years
  • Own it forever (no vendor lock-in)

AI-First Design

BackMark treats AI as a first-class team member with four dedicated spaces:

  • ai_plan - Where your AI assistant outlines its approach
  • ai_notes - Working notes and decision rationale
  • ai_documentation - Generated docs and explanations
  • ai_review - Self-review and validation checks

This keeps human thinking and AI planning beautifully separated.

Blazing Fast Performance

When my task list grew past 1,000 items, I needed speed. I integrated LokiJS for in-memory indexing:

$ backmark list --tag backend
⚡ Found 247 tasks in 8ms

$ backmark search "authentication"
⚡ 12 matches in 6ms
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That's 50-250x faster than scanning files directly. Sub-10ms queries on large collections.

Beautiful CLI Experience

I wanted the CLI to feel delightful, not like a chore:

$ backmark board

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  📋 TODO (23)    🚧 IN PROGRESS (5)    ✅ DONE  │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  • Fix login bug  │  • User dashboard  │  • Tests│
│  • Add logging    │  • API endpoints   │  • Docs │
│  • Update deps    │  • Database        │         │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
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Features include:

  • Colorful, readable output
  • Interactive Kanban board
  • Fuzzy search
  • Smart prompts and autocomplete
  • Task complexity estimation
  • AI-powered task breakdown

The Philosophy: Privacy & Ownership

BackMark is 100% offline. No cloud sync, no accounts, no telemetry. Your data never leaves your machine.

In an era where every tool wants to:

  • Store your data in their cloud
  • Charge monthly subscriptions
  • Lock you into their ecosystem

BackMark is refreshingly simple: local Markdown files you completely own.

Real-World Usage

Here's my typical workflow:

  1. Create a task: backmark add "Build payment integration"
  2. Let Claude plan it in the ai_plan section
  3. Work through it, updating status as I go
  4. Have Claude document in ai_documentation
  5. Review with Claude adding notes to ai_review

Everything stays organized, nothing gets lost, and I have a perfect audit trail in Git.

Technical Highlights

For the developers curious about the stack:

  • Node.js - Cross-platform CLI
  • LokiJS - In-memory indexing for speed
  • Commander.js - CLI framework
  • Chalk - Colorful terminal output
  • 100% TypeScript - Type safety throughout

The architecture is simple: watch Markdown files, index with LokiJS, provide fast queries. No databases, no complexity.

Getting Started 

npm install -g backmark

# Initialize in your project
backmark init

# Create your first task
backmark add "My first task"

# View your board
backmark board
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Check out the documentation for more.

Why I Built This

I'm a Chapter Lead at BNP Paribas Fortis and maintain several open-source Laravel packages. I've tried every productivity tool out there. But when AI became part of my daily coding workflow, nothing fit.

BackMark is the tool I wish existed when I started vibe coding. It's built by a developer, for developers, with a deep respect for:

  • Your data ownership
  • Your privacy
  • Your freedom from vendor lock-in
  • Your time (hence the speed)

What's Next?

I'm planning to add:

  • Better Git integration (auto-commit task changes)
  • Time tracking features
  • Integration with popular AI coding tools
  • Team collaboration (still 100% local, using Git)

If you're coding with AI assistants and feeling the pain of messy task management, give BackMark a try. It's free, open-source, and built for exactly this use case.

Links:

What do you think? Are you using AI assistants in your daily coding? How do you manage tasks in this new workflow? Drop a comment below! 👇

P.S. - If you enjoyed this article, follow me for more insights on Laravel development, AI-assisted coding, and building developer tools.

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