Task Server II - Making Task Synchronization Effortless

Mabud Alam

175 hours

TaskWarrior is a powerful command-line task management tool that enables users to manage tasks locally or sync them across multiple devices. It offers robust filtering, script integrations, and advanced task tracking via CLI.

TaskServer (also known as Task Server II) is the core daemon that facilitates task synchronization between different TaskWarrior clients. Last year, we laid the foundation for Task Server II, allowing it to work as a TaskServer with basic functionality.

✅ This year, our primary focus is to make TaskServer production-ready — ensuring that users can self-host it, use it as a public service, and integrate it smoothly with the existing TaskWarrior mobile app. We also want to significantly improve performance, efficiency, and usability based on the learnings from last year.

We will stick to Golang as the base language for the backend, but contributors are free to use any modern JavaScript framework/library (React.js, Vue.js, Next.js, etc.) for the frontend. Additionally, if needed, contributors can use any other language to build supporting services or tooling.

⚠ A major part of your work will also involve helping us integrate Task Server II (TaskServer) with our TaskWarrior mobile app. This will ensure seamless cross-device sync and a rich user experience.

TaskWarrior

Your task will be to finalize TaskServer for production by implementing key features such as:

  • Authentication System
  • Secure API Layer
  • Self-hosting support
  • Data synchronization across devices
  • Integration with TaskWarrior mobile app
  • Enhancing the Web UI

Additionally, a lot of the groundwork was already done last year. However, we believe there's still a lot of room for improvement in terms of performance, architecture, and scalability. This year, we aim to:

  • ✅ Improve the API architecture
  • ✅ Build a production-grade Web UI
  • ✅ Enhance sync stability across devices
  • ✅ Optimize server performance and resource utilization
  • ✅ Seamlessly integrate Task Server II with our mobile app

Your role will be crucial in taking Task Server II from "experimental" to "production-ready".

  • Implement a secure authentication system using:
    • Google OAuth
    • Email & Password Login
    • JWT (JSON Web Tokens) for session management.
  • Ensure all TaskServer API endpoints are secured using the JWT token.
  • Align authentication with TaskWarrior's existing protocol for seamless integration.
  • Encrypt user passwords and tokens using encryption.
  • Implement user sessions with the ability to:
    • Generate TaskServer API Keys per session.
    • Sync Tokens that allow TaskWarrior clients to sync tasks.
    • Concurrent session management across multiple devices.
  • Ensure session expiration and token refresh mechanisms.
  • Prevent unauthorized access and implement rate-limiting on APIs.
  • Define robust data models for:
    • Tasks (ID, description, due date, priority, etc.)
    • Projects (Project-specific task lists)
    • Tags (Task categorization)
  • Ensure complete compatibility with TaskWarrior's current schema.
  • Enable bi-directional sync between TaskWarrior clients and TaskServer.

✅ This is one of the most critical aspects of the project.

  • Your role will also include ensuring TaskServer can sync with our TaskWarrior mobile app.
  • Tasks created/modified on mobile should instantly sync with TaskServer.
  • Changes made via CLI (TaskWarrior) should reflect in the app.
  • Push notifications should be triggered for task updates.
  • Implement background sync to ensure offline tasks sync automatically.

We expect contributors to have a clear understanding of the TaskWarrior mobile app's architecture and work towards a seamless sync experience.

5. Self-Hosting Capability (Public & Private Hosting)

  • Provide easy self-hosting options using Docker.
  • Allow users to host their own TaskServer using a one-click setup.
  • Ensure that CCExtractor can also host Task Server II as a public service.
  • Include environment variables and config files to customize deployment.
  • Provide instructions to deploy on:
    • Docker Compose
    • Kubernetes (Optional)

We also expect you to build a full-featured web UI for task management using:

  • React.js / Vue.js / Next.js (your choice)
  • Tailwind CSS / Bootstrap for styling.

The Web UI should include:

  • ✅ Dashboard for task overview.
  • ✅ Bulk task editing, filtering, and sorting.
  • ✅ Data Export/Import options.
  • ✅ Session Management UI (API Key, Tokens).
  • ✅ Light/Dark Theme Support.
  • ✅ Ability to close accounts or reset data.
  • Expose a clean and secure API layer using GraphQL / REST.
  • Endpoints should cover:
    • User Authentication (Login, Signup, Session)
    • Task Management (CRUD Operations)
    • Task Sync Token Management
    • Account Management
  • Implement proper error handling, input validation, and rate limiting.
  • Provide detailed API documentation using Swagger/OpenAPI.
  • Write comprehensive unit, integration, and end-to-end tests.
  • Implement a CI/CD Pipeline using GitHub Actions or Jenkins.
  • Ensure 90%+ test coverage for the API layer.
  • Add health-check endpoints and monitoring.
  • Implement auto-sync across devices using sync tokens.
  • Provide a retry mechanism for failed sync attempts.
  • Sync tasks from:
    • ✅ TaskWarrior CLI
    • ✅ TaskWarrior Mobile App
    • ✅ TaskWarrior Web UI
  • Ensure low-latency sync with minimal conflicts.
  • Containerize everything using Docker.
  • Provide an easy-to-use deployment script.
  • Integrate error logging using Sentry or similar.
  • Include infrastructure as code (Terraform, Docker Compose, etc.).
  • Write clear documentation for:
    • ✅ API Endpoints
    • ✅ Deployment Setup (Docker/Self-hosted)
    • ✅ Web UI Usage
    • ✅ Mobile App Integration Guide
  • Provide a simple "Getting Started" guide.
  • ✅ Enable RSS Feeds for upcoming tasks.
  • ✅ Allow push notifications for task reminders.
  • ✅ Provide Task Archive and History functionality.
  • ✅ Support for legacy TaskWarrior 2.0.

✅ Tech Stack (Preferred)

We highly recommend sticking to the following stack:

Backend:

  • ✅ Golang (Mandatory) – We have already built most of TaskServer in Go, so continuing with it is preferred.

Frontend:

  • ✅ React.js / Next.js / Vue.js – Any modern JS framework for the Web UI.

Styling:

  • ✅ Tailwind CSS / Bootstrap.

Database:

  • ✅ **PostgreSQL / SQLite / Any ** (SQL is preferred , goal is to make it cost effective cause some users will have 100k tasks in their system).

Infrastructure:

  • ✅ Docker, Docker Compose for deployment.
  • ✅ Sentry for error tracking.

🚀 Why Is This Project Important?

We strongly believe that Task Server II (TaskServer) can become the go-to solution for task synchronization across devices. By making it production-ready, we are empowering all the TaskWarrior users with:

  • ✅ Seamless cross-device sync.
  • ✅ Easy self-hosting.
  • ✅ Web-based task management.
  • ✅ Rich mobile app integration.

Your contribution will leave a lasting impact on the open-source productivity space.

📜 Ready to Contribute?

👉 Start the Qualification Task

💬 Questions?
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We're super excited to see how you improve TaskServer. Let's build something amazing together! 🚀