@scheron/daily-cli

@scheron/daily-cli

Daily task automation from the shell — the command-line companion to Daily, a local-first, day-centric task manager for macOS.

Manage tasks, tags, and projects from the terminal against the desktop app's database, or run the CLI as a standalone sync node with its own database that stays in sync through a shared folder or over SSH.

Install

npm install -g @scheron/daily-cli   # Node >= 22.5.0
daily --version

This provides the daily binary.

Usage

daily today                              # today's tasks in the active project
daily tasks                              # list a day (default today)
daily tasks 2026-07-20 --project Work
daily tasks add "Review PR" --tags focus --estimate 90
daily tasks done a1b2                    # <id> = full id or a unique prefix
daily tasks move a1b2 2026-07-20 --time 09:30
daily tasks log-time a1b2 25
daily tasks delete a1b2                  # soft delete; --force purges
daily tasks search "release notes"
daily tags
daily projects

Task subcommands: add, done, reactivate, discard, move, update, estimate, log-time, delete (--force), restore, deleted, search. Tags: tags, tags delete <id|name>.

Scope any command with --project <id|name> or --all; without either, commands use the project active in the desktop app. Run daily --help or daily <command> --help for the full reference.

Scripting & AI agents

Every command accepts --json (or set DAILY_JSON=1 for the session) and prints a stable envelope:

• success (stdout): {"ok":true,"data":{…}}
• failure (stderr): {"ok":false,"error":{"code":"…","message":"…"}}

Exit codes: 0 ok · 1 usage · 2 invalid/ambiguous · 3 not found · 4 refused · 5 sync failed.

Run daily schema --json once for the full machine-readable contract — every command with its arguments, options, output shapes, error codes, and Task/Tag/Branch type definitions. An AI agent can drive Daily entirely from that.

DAILY_JSON=1 daily tasks
daily schema --json

Direct vs node mode

Direct mode (default). The CLI reads and writes the installed Daily app's database directly (~/Library/Application Support/Daily). A running app watches for CLI edits and refreshes live. Use this on the same Mac as the app.

Node mode. The CLI keeps its own database (~/.local/share/daily) and syncs it through a folder — ideal for a headless machine or server with no app installed.

daily sync enable --dir ~/daily-sync   # switch to node mode
daily sync status                      # mode, folder, snapshot info
daily sync doctor                      # read-only node-folder diagnostics
daily sync                             # one-shot pull-merge-push
daily sync disable                     # back to direct mode

In node mode the CLI pulls before and pushes after every mutating command (skip with --no-sync). The desktop Daily app can sync with that same folder over SSH (Settings → Remote), so a server running this CLI stays in sync with your Mac.

How it works

The desktop app and a CLI node are equal sync peers. Each keeps a local SQLite database and exchanges an atomic snapshot through the configured folder; the folder is storage, not a server or a process that must stay running.

flowchart LR
  app["Daily app (Mac)<br/>local SQLite"]
  folder[("SSH sync folder<br/>atomic snapshots")]
  node["daily CLI node (server)<br/>local SQLite"]

  app -->|syncs changes| folder
  folder -->|pulls and merges| node
  node -->|pushes merged snapshot| folder
  folder -->|syncs and merges| app

1. The app syncs its local changes to the configured SSH folder.
2. Before a node command, the CLI reads that snapshot and merges it into its own database.
3. After a node command changes data, the CLI writes the merged snapshot back to the folder.
4. On its next sync, the app reads and merges the node's changes.

This communication is bidirectional: create or edit tasks, tags, and projects from either the app or the CLI node. Sync is local-first and uses Last Write Wins when the same record changed on both sides; the newest updated_at value wins. You can run daily sync at any time to perform a one-shot merge and push without making a change.

The CLI never opens a connection to the app directly. It only needs access to the shared sync folder; the app needs SSH access to that same folder.

Config lives at ~/.config/daily/config.json.

Requirements

• macOS or Linux, Node.js ≥ 22.5.0
• The Daily desktop app for direct mode (node mode is standalone)

License

MIT Scheron