Dewey

A TUI task manager that pulls tasks from multiple sources into one view. Single Rust binary. Works on Linux and macOS.

• Aggregate tasks from local files and Linear
• Quick-add with natural language — priorities, due dates, tags, backend routing
• Scrollable task detail view with full metadata and descriptions
• Live config reload — toggle backends, switch themes, no restart needed
• Optional Waybar (Linux) and xbar (macOS) menu bar integration
• Dark, light, and dynamic Omarchy theme support

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TUI

Navigate, quick-add, edit, and complete tasks without leaving the terminal. Tasks from all backends sorted by urgency.

Waybar (Linux)

Smart badge shows the most urgent count. Tooltip groups tasks by date with source icons.

Backend aggregation

Toggle backends on and off in the config — tasks appear and disappear live.

Live theme switching

Themes reload instantly when config changes.

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Install

Linux

Pre-built binary:

curl -fsSL https://github.com/keyfer/dewey/raw/main/install.sh | bash

macOS

Build from source using Rust:

# Install Rust if you don't have it
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh

# Clone and install
git clone https://github.com/keyfer/dewey.git
cd dewey
cargo install --path .

The binary is installed to ~/.cargo/bin/dewey. Make sure ~/.cargo/bin is in your PATH (the Rust installer usually sets this up).

From source (any platform)

cargo install --path .

Quick start

mkdir -p ~/.config/dewey
curl -fsSL https://github.com/keyfer/dewey/raw/main/config.example.toml \
  -o ~/.config/dewey/config.toml
dewey add "Review PR today (p1)"
dewey add "Buy groceries tomorrow #errands"
dewey tui

Backends

Local file

Reads and writes ~/.dewey/todo.txt by default.

[backends.local]
enabled = true
# path = "~/.dewey/todo.txt"

Linear

Syncs issues from your Linear workspace. Issues show up alongside your other tasks, and you can complete, edit, or create them directly from the TUI.

Setup via the TUI wizard (recommended):

1. Add the backend to your config (~/.config/dewey/config.toml):

   [backends.linear]
   enabled = true

2. Run dewey tui and press L to launch the setup wizard. It will walk you through:

   • Pasting your Linear API key (personal key starting with lin_api_)
   • Selecting your team
   • Choosing which team member's issues to show (or "me" for your own)
   • Picking which workflow statuses to display (e.g. Todo, In Progress, Backlog)

The wizard writes the full config for you. The result looks like:

[backends.linear]
enabled = true
api_key = "lin_api_..."
team_id = "..."
team_name = "Engineering"
assignee = "me"
user_id = "..."
filter_status = ["In Progress", "Todo", "Backlog"]

Multiple Linear workspaces: You can connect more than one team by running the wizard again (L). Each gets its own named section:

[backends.linear.work]
enabled = true
api_key = "lin_api_..."
team_id = "..."

[backends.linear.personal]
enabled = true
api_key = "lin_api_..."
team_id = "..."

Waybar (Linux)

Dewey can output Waybar-compatible JSON for use as a status bar module. When run outside a terminal (e.g. from Waybar), it outputs JSON by default.

"custom/tasks": {
    "exec": "dewey",
    "return-type": "json",
    "format": "{}",
    "on-click": "<your-terminal> -e dewey tui",
    "interval": 30,
    "tooltip": true
}

CSS classes: has-overdue, has-tasks, all-done, backend-error

xbar (macOS)

For macOS menu bar integration, use xbar with the included plugin script.

Install xbar:

brew install --cask xbar

Add the plugin:

mkdir -p ~/Library/Application\ Support/xbar/plugins
curl -fsSL https://github.com/keyfer/dewey/raw/main/scripts/dewey.1m.sh \
  -o ~/Library/Application\ Support/xbar/plugins/dewey.1m.sh
chmod +x ~/Library/Application\ Support/xbar/plugins/dewey.1m.sh

Launch xbar:

open -a xbar

The plugin shows a task count badge in the menu bar with a dropdown listing tasks grouped by urgency. Click "Open Dewey TUI" to launch the full interface.

To change the refresh interval, rename the plugin file (e.g., dewey.30s.sh for 30 seconds, dewey.5m.sh for 5 minutes).

Configuration

~/.config/dewey/config.toml — changes are hot-reloaded. Press c in the TUI to edit. See config.example.toml for all options.

CLI

dewey              # TUI in terminal, Waybar JSON otherwise
dewey tui          # Force TUI mode
dewey add "..."    # Quick-add a task (supports natural language)
dewey list         # List today's tasks
dewey list all     # List all tasks
dewey list --format json  # JSON output for scripting
dewey config       # Print resolved config
dewey setup linear # Instructions for Linear setup
dewey agent status # Show running background agents

TUI keybindings

Task list

Key	Action
j / k	Navigate up / down
Enter	View task detail
a	Quick-add task
e	Edit task
x	Toggle complete
d	Delete task
o	Open in source app / $EDITOR
/	Search
Tab / S-Tab	Jump between groups
Space	Collapse / expand group
C	Collapse / expand all groups
r	Refresh tasks
c	Open config in $EDITOR
L	Linear setup wizard
A	Launch AI agent
S	Agent status
?	Help
q	Quit

Task detail (Enter)

Key	Action
j / k	Scroll down / up
e	Edit task
x	Toggle complete
o	Open in source app
Esc / q	Close detail

License

MIT