YATT — Yet Another Task Tracker

Markdown is the database. Git is the history. YATT is the UI.

YATT is a plain-text task tracker that lives inside your Markdown files. Tasks are written in a simple one-line format — status, name, duration, assignee, tags — and YATT renders them as a Gantt timeline, Kanban board, or people view. Because everything is text, your whole team can edit tasks in any editor, review changes in pull requests, and get a full audit trail from git for free.

Why YATT?

Most task trackers store data in a database you can't read or diff. YATT flips this: the .md file is the source of truth. This means:

• Git-native — every task change is a commit. Branch for experiments, merge to ship, revert mistakes.
• No lock-in — your tasks are plain text. Open them in Vim, VS Code, Obsidian, or cat them in a terminal.
• Team-friendly — pull requests are planning reviews. Comment on task lines, suggest changes, approve.
• Offline-first — nothing to sync. The file is always up to date.
• Lightweight server — run yatt in any folder to get a live Gantt, Kanban, and People view. Commit and push without leaving the browser.

What it looks like

3 slides: write plain text → timeline view → kanban board. Cycles automatically.

title: Product v2 Launch
start: 2026-01-05

[x] Discovery & planning | id:phase1 | 5d | @alice | delayed 3d
// Research took longer than expected — scope was broader than estimated.
>> Kickoff complete | after:phase1

parallel: design | after:phase1
[done] UX wireframes  | 4d | @carol | %100
[~]    Visual design  | 3d | @carol | %80 | delayed 2d
end: design

parallel: engineering | after:phase1
[x] API scaffold  | id:api | 3d | @bob | blocked 1w | delayed 2d
[ ] Auth service  | 4d | @bob   | after:api | %45
[ ] Core features | 1w | @alice | after:api
end: engineering

[ ] Integration & QA | id:qa | 5d | @alice @bob | after:design,engineering
>> v2.0 Release      | after:qa | +deadline

Tasks render as a minimal line + circle timeline — a filled dot at start, hollow ring at end, bright leading segment for progress. Milestones are bullseye circles. Hover any row for a details card.

Install

npm install -g yatt-md

The package is yatt-md on npm, but the command is just yatt.

Usage

yatt                  # open current folder in the browser
yatt ./my-project     # open a specific folder
yatt --port 4000      # use a custom port
yatt --no-open        # start server without opening the browser
yatt --help           # show all options

Open http://localhost:3000. Pick any .md file from the sidebar. YATT finds all ```yatt blocks in the file and renders them.

The Edit tab lets you write raw YATT syntax. Changes save automatically and the view updates live.

You can also try without installing:

npx yatt-md

Task syntax

One task per line:

[status] Task name | duration | @assignee | #tag | %progress | id:slug | after:dep
// Optional description — attach one or more comment lines immediately after a task

Status sigils:

| Sigil | Word | Meaning | |---|---|---| | [ ] | [new] | Not started | | [~] | [active] | In progress | | [=] | [review] | In review | | [!] | [blocked] | Blocked | | [o] | [paused] | Paused | | [x] | [done] | Complete | | [_] | [cancelled] | Cancelled |

Other syntax:

>> Milestone name | after:id | +deadline   ← milestone; +deadline draws a full-height line
parallel: name                              ← parallel block start
end: name                                  ← parallel block end
[ ] Task | blocked 2w                      ← externally blocked for 2 weeks (red ghost)
[ ] Task | delayed 3d                      ← running 3 days late (orange overrun)
[ ] Task | 5bd                             ← 5 business days
[ ] Task | 2026-04-01                      ← fixed start date
[ ] Task | !high                           ← priority: low / normal / high / critical

The server

yatt [folder] [--port 3000]

Four views, switchable by tab:

| View | What you see | |---|---| | Timeline | Minimal Gantt — lines and circles, hover for details | | Kanban | Columns by status; drag to reassign; empty columns collapse to slim strips | | People | Tasks grouped by assignee | | Edit | Raw YATT source with live save |

Click any task in any view to open the edit modal — change status, assignees, dates, priority, delayed/blocked duration, and description.

Git integration

The top bar shows your current branch and sync state. No terminal needed for day-to-day use:

• Pull — fetch and merge the latest from remote
• Commit — stages everything (git add -A) and commits with your message
• Push — pushes to remote

Merge conflicts and auth are left to the CLI — YATT surfaces the error and tells you to resolve from the terminal.

Key features

• Descriptions — // comment lines immediately after a task become its description (shown in hover card and list view)
• Dependencies — after:a,b (AND), after:a|b (OR), cross-block by ID
• Parallel workstreams — parallel: name … end: name
• Subtasks — leading . or .. (sequential within parent)
• Progress — %60 renders as a bright leading segment on the timeline bar
• Delayed / blocked — delayed 3d extends the end; blocked 2w shifts the start; both show ghost indicators
• Business days — 5bd or header schedule: business-days
• Milestones — >> name | +deadline

Examples

| File | Description | |---|---| | 01-hello-world.md | Simplest chart — sequential tasks with descriptions | | 02-team-sprint.md | Sprint with statuses, assignees, priorities, dependencies | | 03-product-launch.md | Phased launch with milestones, subtasks, cross-phase deps | | 04-parallel-workstreams.md | Multiple workstreams converging on shared milestones | | 05-enterprise-program.md | Full-scale program — all features combined | | 06-delays-and-blocks.md | delayed X and blocked X with ghost indicators |

Documentation

• SPEC.md — Full language reference

License

MIT