Manage Tasks with nag

Dmitri Popov

Productivity Sauce

Jan 20, 2012 GMT
Dmitri Popov

nag is probably the simplest command-line task manager out there. But while this tiny Python script won't replace a full-blown task manager, nag can come in handy for maintaining a short list of tasks with a minimum of fuss. To install nag on your machine, grab the latest version of the script from the project's website GitHub repository and unpack the downloaded archive. Rename the nag.py file in the resulting directory to nag and move it to the /usr/bin directory. Make then the file executable by running the chmod a+x /usr/bin/nag command as root.

nag features just four simple commands (five if you count the -h command that displays a brief description of all commands). The -a (--add) command lets you add tasks, for example:

nag -a "Feed monkey"

The -l (--list) command displays a list of all tasks, while executing the nag command by itself shows the oldest item in the list. To delete a specific task, use the -d (--delete) command followed by the item number:

nag -d 3

Finally, to purge the list, use the -c (--clear) command. That's all there is to it. As you can see, nag's functionality is pretty basic, but the tool will appeal to anyone who prefers to keep things simple.

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