Commands

idea follows a verb-first command shape. Every command operates on fab/backlog.md in the current worktree by default.

idea add

Add a new backlog item.

idea "refactor auth middleware to use JWT"
idea add "refactor auth middleware to use JWT"   # equivalent

The bare idea <string> form is the most-used shortcut. New items get a short alphanumeric ID like [qu1d] assigned automatically.

idea list

Show open items.

idea list                    # all open items
idea list --tag refactor     # filter by tag
idea list --all              # include done items

idea done

Mark an item as done.

idea done qu1d
idea done qu1d --reason "merged in #42"

idea edit

Open the backlog file in $EDITOR.

idea edit                    # opens fab/backlog.md

Useful when you want to bulk-edit, reorder, or add multi-line context that’s awkward via idea add.

Worktree resolution

By default, idea reads/writes the backlog for the current worktree. This means each worktree (managed by wt) has an isolated backlog — useful for parallel changes.

idea list                    # current worktree
idea list --main             # the main worktree's backlog
idea list --worktree feat-x  # a named worktree's backlog

Output formats

idea list --json             # JSON for piping to other tools
idea list --tsv              # tab-separated for spreadsheets

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For the full flag matrix and file format contract, see the GitHub README.